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THE MERCIFUL FALLEN
It remains unknown whether the bowling pins, scattered day in and day out and then hour in and hour out, feel the strike of the balls that put them down. They are made of a mineral-painted hardwood material so feeling very probably plays no part in their performance in the game.
In Lake Geneva City government, however, the ‘bowling ball’ Tood Krause was recently ‘pitched’ down the political alley, and the ‘pins’ are falling all over the place. The city administrator has announced his resignation (to be with his family), while the harbormaster has resigned (to be with his people in Williams Bay where he’s an official), and the parking manager has also resigned (likely also to spend more time with his family). What pins are left for the Krause ball to score a spare?
Is the building inspector next, as his relationship with the builders and some big money notable property owners is a bit close? How about the city comptroller who sat at a city council meeting and insulted the citizens in front of her at a big meeting? Will the coming forensic audit give her the shivers as her numbers are poured over and all the accounts, she’s been responsible for are fully revealed and accounted for?
Meanwhile, the bowling ball must deal with almost certain gutter balls when trying to negotiate and work with powerful developers like Pollard, Basso, and Shodeen. There are also the operations which Todd has no authority over or likely ability to have much influence like the Business Improvement District (BID), Visit Lake Geneva, the Tourism Commission, and the Police and Fire Commission (that one is a stacked deck, hand dealt by the former mayor before she went into seclusion).
Todd is playing with bumpers up along both gutter rails for some of this stuff and it’s going to be most interesting to watch how he performs, given the ‘weak mayor’ form of Lake Geneva government (wherein the city administrator has more actual official power, and most of the city council ultimate power). The ‘reformation’ of city government and administration continues to foment and change, like late spring thunderclouds rotating above everything but only occasionally forming up and touching down to create tornadic effects on the population below.
It was instructive and inspiring to see the mayor riding in the back of a convertible during the Memorial Day parade, while bystanders and viewers lined the route, all cheering him on. It’s been some time since a leader of the city has entered the office with so much support and open endorsement. The Lake Geneva Regional News editorial staff ran a very supportive article last week about the new mayor. Krause also has received the full endorsement of the management and staff of 96.1 The Lake radio station in downtown Lake Geneva. The endorsement and support of Mayor Krause from the GSR are likely very evident from the reading you may be doing here in absorbing the body of this article. There are two long years ahead in his first elective period of service in front of him and there are some pretty overwhelming problems to be responded to with good decisions and wise implementation and everyone is wishing him well.
