Two in 6 months? Looks like he’s going to Sweeden! for the European Green Capital Conference. The conference is next week, Wednesday thru Friday.
Joining Sten Nordin and Ulla Hamilton, Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Stockholm, for this first European Green Capital Conference are: (snip)
From the United States
* Ron Loveridge, President of the National League of Cities and Mayor of Riverside
* Elizabeth B. Kautz, President of the United States Conference of Mayors and Mayor of Burnsville
* Sam Adams from Portland
* Dave Cieslewicz from Madison
* Matt Appelbaum from Boulder
* Larry MacDonald from Bayfield
* John R. Marks, III from Tallahassee
* R.T. Rybak from Minneapolis
* Henrietta Davis from Cambridge
* Eric Spear from Portsmouth
* Richard Krawczun from Lawrence TownshipUpdated 07-10-2010
Funny, he’s been registered since July . . . but we haven’t heard a word about it . . .
Here’s what the site says about costs:
The participation fee for the European Green Capital Conference 2010 is €210, and the fee is to be paid in advance. The payment is to be completed during the registration.
The participation fee includes:
* The Welcome Reception
* Conference including the Professional Study Visits and Stockholm Green Sightseeing
* Food and Beverage
* The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony in the Blue Hall
* Conference Transports on 21 and 22 October
Of course, then there are hotel fees, travel, and I’m sure some meals and other costs.
I wonder who is paying this time? The mayor never provided documentation from his last trip. Madison General Ordinance requires that:
3.35(6)(h) Whenever an incumbent receives anything of value permitted by this Subsection (6) from or has any fee or expense waived or reduced by a person or entity other than the City in connection with her or his official duties, she or he shall, within 10 days of the occurrence file a report with the City Clerk on forms provided by the Clerk.
I checked in yesterday, Maribeth Witzel-Behl, City Clerk confirmed on the phone that he still has not filed the necessary paperwork from the Bike Trip paid for by the biking industry 6 months ago (more on the bike trip here). I also got this email from Adam Gallager, the assistant city clerk, confirming the lack of filing:
from Gallagher, Adam
to Brenda Konkel
date Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 4:01 PM
subject RE: did the mayor ever file?Brenda –
I do not see any additional forms in the binder from when you last reviewed it.
– Adam
Last time I looked there were these, plus one from Adam, I believe . . . none from the Mayor.
What’s amazing to me is the following:
1. Obviously, the Mayor’s Office is aware of the procedure since 3 of the 7 or 8 are from his office.
2. The paper noted that he (or Bikes Belong?) hasn’t filed his papers and he (and staff) still haven’t filed. Read the ordinance above, I don’t think its Bikes Belong that has to file, but rather the incumbent, in this case the Mayor and his staff.)
3. He’s going in the middle of budget?
4. No one in the city has filed an ethics complaint.
Ok, the last one isn’t all that amazing. Who in this city would be willing to file an ethics complaint against the Mayor? I know I don’t want to, because the focus would all be on why I hate the Mayor . . . instead of where it belongs, why does the Mayor hate me?
For the record, I don’t hate the Mayor, he is actually a funny guy. I am unhappy with his policies and the issues he works on or chooses not to work on, and the way he does business in the city. And disappointed in the way he has abandoned what I thought were some of his core values. And now I’m disappointed in his ethics. He, on the other hand, has been known to say his greatest accomplishment is getting me off the council. Nice guy, eh? Tho, I think he might have done me a favor! 🙂
So, Buehler . . . Buehler . . . the Ethics Committee can’t do anything without a complaint. They addressed some of the issues, because of my open letter to the Ethics Board, but they can’t do anything else unless someone comes forward and files a complaint.
For the record, I do hate the mayor, if hate is defined as having no value for all the people of the city.
He ignores ethics.
He longs to be somebody important.
He ignores the plight of the people.
I don’t think he is funny. His humor is often used to ignore points or to deflate potential moments of change when the poignancy of a real moment happens.
You are a better person than I, I hate the mayor’s consistent disregard for the city he represents and for the class warfare his lack of leadership creates.
get him! he doesn’t care about the people!
Mayor Cieslewicz’s commitment to basic services requires him to take multiple trips to Europe.