Wake Up! Waukesha

Is Mayor Scrima looking for the "Deus ex machina" in his Waukesha tragedy?

Posted by Jay Walt on July 8, 2010

Community, Observations, Community Happenings

Deus ex machina...A deus ex machina (Latin for "god from the machine"; plural: dei ex machina) is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object.

Let's recount Jeff Scrima's first 3 months in office as Mayor of Waukesha:

• You alienate City Administrators, paid City consultants, Committee Chairs, many of the Common Council, and polarize (read the "Comments" following any article on Mayor Scrima in JSOnline) a large part of the Community
• You tape record, without permission, a meeting with 2 of the City's top Administrators
• You send the print media copies of internal memos from you to a Department Head
• You promise, again and again and per your campaign promises, alternates to the City's planned request for Milwaukee water. No feasible plan produced to date!
• You are caught using a Milwaukee bloggers exact statement and using it as if your own
• You are "suspected" of responding to criticisms under other names (exact verbiage was used in those responses matching your own earlier published statements)
• You have completely discounted outside petitions authored by many Community Business Owners and Leaders asking you to reconsider your water stance
• You unquestionably had a "major difference of opinion" with the City Administrator whereby she has been taken out of your sphere of control. And based on the Common Council's decision and end result - you and/or your actions were the reason for this action.
• You discount these same leaders with a coy, all-encompassing "They don't live here..."
• You hire a non-Waukesha business to paint your Waukesha Mayor's office
• You put Waukesha in a negative light  in editorial comments - as recently (and extremely well put) as a July 15th JS editorial 
• And the list goes on.....

With all credit, the Mayor is donating about half of his salary - and criticizing the tax benefits to him is just quibbling. He did it - Thank You - and let's graciously accept the generosity of this action.

But - If this was a Greek Tragedy -  "Cue the Deus ex machina and have some unknown character, ability, or object interjected onto this very public stage... And please let this intervention suddenly and abruptly solve this seemingly inextricable problem..."

But it's not a Greek tragedy - It's Waukesha's own tragedy...and at some point even the most ardent and fervent Mayor Scrima supporters have to realize that "Everyone else can't be wrong... on everything". 

My original goal in blogging for WaukeshaNOW was and is to highlight the many positives in our Community. And I will continue to do so. Unfortunately there just has to be someone somewhere who can get to the Mayor and convince him it's not about "Him". Jeff Scrima said he ran for Mayor to help and serve this City. It's past time to do that. Wake up and recognize that when "Mayor Scrima" is in the news almost daily (and almost universally it's in a negative light), Waukesha loses. People and businesses use the internet to gather information on Communities, and who is really attracted to a Community whose mayor is under self-imposed siege and intractable in his every decision and stand?

This truly has become a "WaukeshaTragedy"...without a Deus ex machina in sight...