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Long a local government watchdog and critic, conservative activist Orville Seymer is now asking the federal government to help him sort out his money troubles.

Seymer -- a top official with Citizens for Responsible Government -- filed for bankruptcy last month, listing $147,126 in assets and more than $1 million in liabilities. He is seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which stops all legal actions and could allow him to write off many of his debts.

Seymer is pinning much of the blame for his financial woes on City Hall, saying he has been targeted by city building inspectors for speaking out against local officials.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's administration is dismissing his complaints.

"His allegation that we are political hacks, for lack of a better word, has no credibility in my mind," said Art Dahlberg, head of the Department of Neighborhood Services.

In an interview, Seymer called the bankruptcy filing "embarrassing" but pointed the finger at "bad tenants and the city of Milwaukee" as the two primary causes for his current hardship.

Seymer, 61, owns seven rental properties in the Milwaukee area through his company ODS Properties. Dahlberg's agency has cited his buildings over the years for numerous code violations, many of which ended up in court.

"With all due respect, DNS is a blatant political organization whose mission is to punish those people who make any attempt to stand up against it," Seymer said via email. "Because I stuck my neck out a few years ago, I am still getting punished for speaking out against them. That punishment continues today."

Seymer said he was once told by a city inspector that he was under pressure from "higher-ups and City Hall" to ding the conservative critic.

In addition, Seymer noted that he helped expose problems with the city police's digital radio system, known as OpenSky, during Barrett's failed 2010 gubernatorial bid.

"Barrett and Co. have not forgotten that," Seymer said.

Seymer has been with CRG since it was formed in 2002 to try to recall then-Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament over a county pension scandal. Since then, the citizens group has emerged as a conservative critic of local government -- amassing databases of spending and filing numerous open records requests -- and an ally of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Dalberg, a Barrett appointee, suggested that Seymer was overstating the impact of city inspections on his business.

The commissioner noted that Seymer listed more than $1 million in liabilities in his bankruptcy petition but owes only about $10,000 in forfeitures or reinspection fees as a result of enforecement actions by Dahlberg's agency.

Many of these actions go back a number of years, Dahlberg said, and most were affirmed by Municipal Court. If Seymer had any objections to the violations, Dahlberg said, he could have appealed to a city administrative review board, which is separate from the neighborhood services department.

Dahlberg -- who sent forwarded pictures of shoddy conditions at two properties -- would not tab Seymer a slumlord, noting that there are much bigger property owners in Milwaukee.

"I don't waste a lot of time thinking about Orv Seymer," Dahlberg said.

In his federal petition, Seymer said he and his wife owe the city more than $50,000 for everything from property taxes to what he dubs "nuisance fees." The couple lives in Franklin.

He reported owing $742,000 to Waterstone Bank in Wauwatosa for mortgages on four properties and another $103,000 to Sunset Bank in Waukesha for two additional mortgages. He said six of his seven rental properties have no equity in them.

He listed his gross income from his real estate business at $13,776 a month, or roughly $165,000 a year. Of that, he said he pays more than $8,000 a month on his various mortgages.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a court trustee liquidates some of a debtor's assets to pay off as many creditors as possible. Once this is done, most of a bankrupt individual's debts, including credit card and medical bills, are wiped from the books. Seymer hopes to exempt six of his rental properties from liquidation.