Chris Abele-funded group is pouring nearly $500,000 into campaigns to reshape Milwaukee County Board

An independent campaign spending organization started by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has spent more than $456,000 on just five County Board races in an attempt to reshape the board while targeting three of his most vocal critics.

Leadership MKE's payout is expected to exceed half a million dollars on those five races — for part-time jobs mostly paying less than $25,000 a year — as the meter is still running on campaign expenditures heading into the April 3 vote.

Long-time political observers say the spending is unprecedented in County Board races.

Leadership MKE has spent an average of $91,340 per race — from a low of $20,693 in District 7 to a high of $130,742 in District 8 — as of Sunday, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission's online campaign finance records.

"It's shocking," Common Cause Executive Director Jay Heck said of the spending by Leadership MKE.

"It's deeply troubling that it comes down to who has the most money to spend" in these local races, Heck said.

"This spending for a County Board seat is unimaginable," said Mordecai Lee, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a former state legislator.

The messages could be a "good thing" if they generate greater public attention to county government and the board, he said.

"This will be a bad thing if money is the sole factor that can influence the outcome of a race," Lee said.

Most state Senate and Assembly candidates were not spending $100,000 on their own campaigns as recently as 2000, according to Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reports.

There are seven contested races for Milwaukee County supervisor seats this spring. The election of 11 supervisors will be uncontested.

Abele's hit list includes Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. of Glendale; Supervisor Peggy West of Milwaukee, the board's 1st vice chair; and Supervisor Steve Taylor of Franklin, second vice chair. Leadership MKE is pushing multiple negative messages on glossy printed flyers and in social media in those districts.

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Leadership MKE, an independent expenditure committee, also is paying serious money in two other board races where incumbent supervisors will not be on the April ballot.

The committee is set up to spend money on independent campaign messages in support of a candidate but without the consent or cooperation of the candidate. The funds are not contributed directly to a candidate's campaign and the candidate does not control the message put out by the committee.

Abele launched Leadership MKE with a $50,000 contribution on Jan. 5 of this year. George Aldrich, the committee's executive director, gave $100 to the committee on Jan. 1. Aldrich is Abele's former chief of staff.

Aldrich refused to disclose whether Abele had provided additional funds to the group since Jan. 5. He also would not identify other contributors at this time.

In addition to the five supervisor races, Leadership MKE is supporting nine other candidates for municipal and school board offices in the county, Aldrich said.

The committee must submit a revised report on contributions it has received to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission by Monday. Monday also is the deadline for all spring election campaigns to report donations and expenses.

Abele certainly has the financial means to bankroll Leadership MKE. He is the millionaire son of billionaire John Abele, co-founder of Boston Scientific.

Aldrich declined to explain why the group decided it was necessary to push its spending in three supervisor districts to such unprecedented heights.

"Leadership MKE is dedicated to supporting candidates who want to make Milwaukee a better place to live, work and raise a family," Aldrich said. "That’s why we are determined to run strong communication programs that make sure voters have sufficient information about the candidates."

District 1: Leadership MKE has spent $120,188 as of Sunday in support of Casey Shorts' effort to unseat Lipscomb.

"I can't match that," Lipscomb said. He expects to spend a personal record $25,000 on his re-election bid, up from a previous high of $8,500 in 2012.

Lipscomb, West and Taylor said their most effective counterpunch to such heavy spending by the group is old-fashioned knocking on doors of district residents. Lipscomb prefers "face-to-face and one-on-one" conversations with voters, he said.

Lipscomb has experience in weathering a deluge of Abele spending on media messages.

Last year, Abele personally paid out nearly $350,000 on a media campaign aimed at winning public support for his 2018 budget proposal that included a $30 increase in the county wheel tax to a total of $60 and the collection of parking fees in county parks.

The media messages portrayed Lipscomb's proposed budget cuts, and opposition to the heftier wheel tax, as not in the best interests of the public.

District 7: Supervisor Michael Mayo Sr. did not seek re-election this year. Leadership MKE has spent $20,693 in support of Felesia Martin in her race against Kenneth Ginlack Sr. for the open seat.

District 8: Supervisor David Sartori lost his bid for re-election in the February primary election when his two challengers advanced to the April 3 ballot.

Leadership MKE has spent a whopping $130,742 to boost the campaign of James Davies in his race against Steven Shea for that district's seat.

Shea has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Working Families Party. Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic is executive director of the left-leaning political organization.

Working Families Party did not contribute money directly to Shea's campaign, said Stacey Mink, a spokeswoman for the political group.

Party volunteers are assisting the campaign in the field and on social media, Mink said.

"Money isn't everything," Mink said. "We believe in people power and voter contact."

District 9: Leadership MKE has paid out $129,069 in support of Patti Logsdon's race against Taylor.

Taylor said he is being targeted by Abele because he opposed the executive's push for a $60 county wheel tax in the 2018 budget and rejected the administration's plan for charging parking fees at county parks and parkways this year.

District 12: Sylvia Ortiz-Velez is the beneficiary of $56,005 in spending by Leadership MKE on advocacy messages aimed at boosting her candidacy and defeating West.

Lipscomb, Taylor and West said the heavy spending by Leadership MKE on negative messages will backfire on Abele and not gain public support for his preferred candidates.

Abele has had a rocky and combative relationship with most supervisors since he backed a 2013 state law, known as Act 14, that reduced board terms to two years, cut board staff and funding, and asked voters to approve a referendum cutting supervisor pay in half and eliminating future health and pension benefits. The pay cut was approved by voters 71% to 29% in April 2014.

Supervisors are elected to two-year terms. They have been paid an annual salary of $24,285 since April 2016 for this term.

The chair of the finance committee is paid an annual salary of $30,356 in this term while the board chair is paid an annual salary of $36,428.

Supervisor pay will increase to $24,984 a year for the next term beginning April 18.