Paul Esslinger, A Real Class Act

A few points on Paul Esslinger's essential dismissal of Ted Bowen and Shirley Maddox from their respects seats on two city boards ...

• 1.) It was handled in the completely classless way that we should expect from Esslinger.

Maddox and Bowen have both devoted decades to serving the city in various capacities and essentially fall under the category of local "elder statesmen" -- not "good old boys," mind you, but people who have devoted a great deal of time and energy to making this city a better place. Regardless of what anyone may think of their positions on issues, there is little doubt they arrive at them from a sincere desire to make Oshkosh a better place.

Folks like that are very rare in any city and when the time comes for them to move on they deserve to be honored, or at least thanked, for their service. The article makes it clear that neither of them were ready to move on. Now, as it is the mayor's prerogative to appoint people to various city boards, Esslinger has ever right not to re-appoint Bowen and Maddox, but when one does so to people with long records of service a little decorum is required. Esslinger clearly doesn't understand that.

What he should have done was express his intentions to both Bowen and Maddox and seek their input on possible successors. Then when the time came to make the changes public, he should have released a statement thanking the two of them for their service. I'm not suggesting Esslinger give them the keys to the City, but a "thank you" was the very least he could have done ... and I mean the absolute minimum.

By the way, this "screw you" attitude Esslinger is so fabulously demonstrating is a significant reason why numerous businesses have decided not to set up stakes in Oshkosh. I'm not saying Esslinger is directly responsible for losing businesses, but his classlessness is indicative of an attitude that has permeated local government and cost the city dearly over the years. How we treat ourselves is usually a reflection of how we treat others and there's no incentive for City Hall to change it's ways when the guy in charge lacks any degree of tact whatsoever.

• 2.) Esslinger's rationale for the move is equally oblivious.

Here's what Hizzoner had to say about his motives:

“I want to see some debate,” Esslinger said. “I want to see some real debate on issues and not just rubber stamps.”

Get used to that phrase, Oshkosh, because you're going to be hearing it a lot. Esslinger could have said "fresh ideas," "new blood," or even "contrarian views." Instead he said "debate," which is to say he just wants people that will argue -- not produce their own ideas or solutions -- just argue. He wants "obstructionists," you could say.

What makes this stranger is that Bowen was actually the last thing from a rubber stamp during his time on the Parks board. In fact, Bowen was arguably the most "conservative" member of the board. I use "conservative" in the old fashioned sense that he was extremely resistant to change. There were a ton of very popular initiatives that Bowen opposed much to the frustration of other members of the board. By Esslinger's own definition Bowen is the kind of person he should want sitting on the board. While not quite the contrarian Bowen was, Maddox always did her due diligence and had valid reasons for voting the way she did. Her famously sunny disposition, enthusiasm and optimism were also a valuable asset in a town that is typically dour and pessimistic when it comes to things like development.

So when Esslinger implies that Bowen and Maddox are "rubber stamps" he's basically saying that they are either too stupid to know how to arrive at decisions on their own or, even worse, are being manipulated by forces unseen. It's a pretty odious insult to levy on a pair that have served the city honorably and selflessly for a long time.

• 3.) Of course it was politically motivated!

Here's when small town politics starts becoming personal -- more like hand-to-hand combat than an exchange of artillery fire. In fact, it's not so much personal as it is downright incestuous.

Bowen's biggest problem isn't his record of service, which as we noted above would appear to be exactly what Esslinger is looking for. It's his wife, school board member Karen Bowen. In certain quarters of Oshkosh, Mrs. Bowen has the reputation for being a bra-burning feminist commie hellbent on raising your tax dollars to indoctrinate your children with atheism or maybe witchcraft (or something). Those who see her as such, probably voted for Paul Esslinger. Getting rid of Mr. Bowen isn't about losing a "rubber stamp;" it's about sticking it to Mrs. Bowen and her supporters, who -- let's be honest here -- probably did not vote for Paul Esslinger.

There's another complication to all of this. One of Karen Bowen's ideological antitheses on the school board is Michelle Monte, part of a husband/wife team that has tied their political fortunes with Esslinger's for some years now. I'm not suggesting that there was a conspiracy between the Montes and Esslinger to boot Bowen from the parks board (that would take a degree of planning that, frankly, I don't think they're capable of), but I am saying that they are smart enough to realize that what's good for one half of the team is good for the other and that Esslinger, to his Machiavellian credit, seized on an opportunity when he was presented with it.

If all of this sounds a little too petty to be believed, just consider this: Bowen's replacement on the Parks board will be Bob Freid, whose record of public service (according to Google, in any event) is rather sparse, save only a public endorsement of ... you got it: Michelle Monte for School Board.

Kent Monte's role in this drama is a bit different. According to one of the comments on the NW thread (so take it with a grain of salt) he served as Esslinger's "campaign manager" or whatever. There's good reason to believe that Kent and Esslinger are of the same mind on a lot of issues, which would make him a good proxy for Paul. As it would happen, Esslinger is no longer allowed to sit on the Planning Commission now that he's Mayor, so there's just such an opening ready to be filled by just such a person.

And as luck would have it, Esslinger's departure coincides with the end of another member's term. During her time on the common council Shirley Maddox came to be identified with the -- ooooohhh, what ridiculous cliche would the Northwestern use that does the city no good and only serves to inflame divisions? oh, yeah -- "wine and cheese" crowd. By replacing her with Monte, Esslinger is pretty obviously throwing a bone to his base, which apparently exists at the opposite end of the Nebulously Defined Socioeconomic Foodstuffs Strata.

• 4.) Why this is an indication of poor leadership.

As mayor, Esslinger is going to presumably have to work with people who disagree with him on various issues. In other words, Esslinger will not always have the luxury of simply appointing like-minded cronies to positions when they are held by people of a different opinion. If he can't get his way in the future, as is inevitable, how will he react?

The smart money is on "not well," but I'm going to put all my chips on "by taking his ball and going home."

• 5.) Here's the thing: On one level this is just politics ... but on another, it's not.

Every new "executive" is going to appoint people he knows and trusts to positions that fall under his or her purview. The dirty little secret about the federal government is that there are probably thousands of people around the country who can successfully be the Secretary of the Interior, but the President is going to pick someone from that pool that he knows and trusts.

That's not necessarily "dirty politics" or a quid pro quo so much as responsible team building. You can get away with that at the federal and even state level, but not in a city like Oshkosh. We're too small and the talent pool is too shallow. Appointments start to become crooked when people are provided positions of power who aren't competent and/or when they replace people who are for politically motivated reasons. Time will tell if the former is true, but the current circumstance certainly suggest the latter is the case.

While there is definitely a dispassionate political angle to all of this, one that the current mayor clear understands, there is another that Esslinger seems hopelessly oblivious to: Politics is as much about common courtesy as it is about cold-blooded wrangling. That's a concept a classless boor like Esslinger clearly has no comprehension of and we're the poorer for it as a city.

• 5.) Don't plan on seeing a new council member any time soon.

This is exactly the reason why we urged as much transparancy as humanly possibly during the selection of the next council member.

This is the first of what will surely be a long and distinguished line of Esslinger instigated distractions that will take the focus off of the real issues. If the council has to devote a ton of time to fixing appointments to boards, it certainly won't have the capacity to refill it's own bench. Actually, now the council must fix this mess before moving on to selecting a new member precisely because Esslinger has diminished the council's ability to make appointments by calling into question at least one member's ability to do so in good faith.

Bra. Vo.

• 6.) Hey Northwestern, why not include a list of all the appointments Esslinger is submitting to the council?

Just a thought, it seems like it would be relevant to the story. [MORE: They've added a link since last I checked.]

• 7.) There is every reason to believe this is how Paul Esslinger is going to behave throughout the rest of his term as Mayor.

Here it all is in a nut shell, folks. This is the kind of unforced error we should all get used to because we've seen it time and time again from Esslinger and he never quite seems to learn from his mistakes.

Now the question becomes: will the voters in Oshkosh eventually learn from theirs?