Bice: Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele spending big money to target county supervisors in election

Deep-pocketed Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele spent millions to get re-elected two years ago.

Then, Abele dropped nearly $350,000 from his own pocket in the second half of last year on a media campaign aimed largely at Milwaukee County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. to try to win support for Abele's budget plan, new filings show.

Now, Abele is funding a new political committee with the apparent aim of remaking the County Board more to his liking.

Leadership MKE, headed by Abele's former chief of staff George Aldrich, has already received a $50,000 donation from the county exec, money that was spent on a 20-minute poll on Lipscomb and flyers in three supervisors' races.

The fledging committee has some supervisors on their heels.

"Abele's large amount of personal wealth invested in this super PAC combined with his newest power grab in Madison is concerning," said Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic.

No one has a bigger target on his back than Lipscomb. Abele has hit him from all directions, setting up a website, running digital ads and airing TV and radio spots that touted Abele's position on the county budget against Lipscomb's alternative.

Abele also put up digital ads targeting the districts of eight supervisors.

RELATED: Bice: Chris Abele targets County Board with $250,000 ad campaign to win support for budget

RELATED: Bice: Milwaukee County Exec Chris Abele uses ads and website to attack foe

RELATED: State legislation reignites power feud between Chris Abele and Milwaukee County Board

Andy Suchorski, political director for Abele’s campaign fund, originally suggested that the media campaign would cost $250,000.

But new campaign filings show the figure was closer to $350,000. That includes $305,000 to AL Media in Chicago, nearly $4,000 to Facebook and $30,000 to VR Research in Oakland, Calif. Suchorski said the Oakland-based firm did opposition research — the polite phrase for digging up dirt — on Supervisors Peggy West and Michael Mayo, as well as gathering information on particular issues.

Mayo has announced that he is not running for re-election. In 2006, the county paid $9,300 to Mayo's former aide to settle a sexual harassment complaint against him. West, chairwoman of the Finance and Audit Committee, is facing off against Sylvia Ortiz-Velez in April.

Suchorski said it would be unfair to say Abele ran an "anti-Lipscomb" campaign. Instead, Suchorski said the county executive was using various platforms to urge county residents to call their supervisors to show their support for Abele's budget proposal.

"Chris viewed the County Board's budget cuts, introduced by Theo Lipscomb, as reckless and not in the best interests of the people of Milwaukee County," Suchorski said. "That's what the media campaign was about."

To Lipscomb, however, it feels like he's got a large target on his back. He is running for re-election against Casey Shorts, a former aide to now-retired U.S. Rep. Dave Obey and Sen. Herb Kohl, both Democrats.

"Chris Abele is wildly throwing his money at a gaggle of dark money operatives and outsiders to smear me because I listened to the 72% of voters who rejected his proposal to double the wheel tax to $60," Lipscomb said in a text message.

"Chris is fuming mad because he got only 98% of his budget request, but regular people don't expect to win 100% of the time and wouldn't spend their family's fortune picking a fight over it."

It's true that Abele in the past has poured money into groups that don't have to disclose their funding sources under state law. But that is not the case here.

Last year's media blitz was conducted by his campaign. As a result, we know that Abele lent his fund $550,000 to cover all his campaign costs, including Suchorski's salary and the multimedia campaign.

Since 2010, Abele — the son of billionaire Boston Scientific co-founder John Abele — has pumped $6.5 million into his campaign fund.

Leadership MKE is an independent expenditure committee, so it must also disclose its activities under state law.

So far, the group has reported it had spent nearly $20,000 on mailers and other items critical of three incumbents, West and Supervisors David Sartori and Steve F. Taylor. Leadership MKE hasn't yet said how much the lengthy Lipscomb poll cost.

Aldrich, the executive director of the group, said it hopes to jump in "any race in the region where there’s opportunity to support determined people willing to make our community a better place to live, work and raise a family."

Aldrich said the group hopes to draw donations from people who share the group's goals and vision. He referred to Abele's $50,000 donation as "seed money."

Asked to respond to Lipscomb's characterization of the group, Aldrich said Abele is not the type to get "fuming mad" or "wildly throw" his money around.

Aldrich added: "Theo Lipscomb calling me a dark money outsider just proves that he doesn’t understand that the people in this community are sick and tired of divisive and petty political games and desperately want him and the board to focus their attention on maintaining vital county services."

Aldrich has previously worked for the city, county and state governments and is a former aide for then-U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat.

Many local politicians will be watching to see which candidates Leadership MKE will support or skewer with its outside spending.

Dimitrijevic noted that Abele, a Democrat, recently gave $1,000 — just short of the maximum — to Supervisor Deanna Alexander, the most conservative member of the board.

Abele and Alexander, Dimitrijevic said, have "extremely different sets of values," particularly on social issues. The two have been able to work together on the county budget and other county matters.

By contrast, Abele is trying to oust politicians who lean to the left, such as Lipscomb and West.

"It's internecine warfare," said one county insider. "A lot of money being spent by Democrats and Democratic operatives to fight other Democrats."

Lipscomb put it differently: "Abele proclaims he works with anybody. Clearly, that's only true if you agree with him 100% of the time."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.