September
2005
Saving Dave - Alderman takes on Wal-Mart and faces recall
Dave Olsen is a Jefferson Alderman who is facing a recall from daring to oppose a Wal-Mart in his community. Since recalls in the area all have had the funk of CRG on them in recent years, it wouldn’t shock me of those gutless weasels were involved in trying to take Alderman Dave out. I don’t know Dave but if Wal-Mart is against him he’s worth supporting.
Here’s a message from SavingDave.org.
HELP DAVID FIGHT GOLIATH!
One of those classic David and Goliath battles is about to be resolved this Tuesday in Wisconsin.
David needs our help, right now.
David’s last name is Olsen. He’s an alderman in Jefferson, where he was elected 16 months ago without opposition.
That was before Goliath came to town.
Goliath’s last name is one of those hyphenated ones. It’s Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart had plans to build one its giant superstores on the edge of Jefferson. Actually, it had plans to build down the road, in Fort Atkinson, but when the people there said no thanks, Wal-Mart came to Jefferson.
Jefferson’s City Council also has said no to Wal-Mart. Twice, in fact.
And David Olsen was one of the votes against it.
Now the same people who led the pro-Wal-Mart movement in Jefferson have filed petitions to force a recall election of Olsen, to take place this Tuesday, September 27th.
Wal-Mart says it is not involved. Most people think they are.
But it doesn’t really matter.
If David Olsen loses his seat for opposing Wal-Mart, local officials across the state will get the message. Don’t mess with Wal-Mart.
The aldermanic race is non-partisan, but Olsen is a longtime Democratic and community activist, who’s worked for a host of other candidates including Herb Kohl and Jim Doyle.
He’s been there when others needed his help. Now he needs our help – financial, volunteer, and moral support.
Will you help David stand up to Goliath?
Dave needs the resources for the final push, if you can, please donate online today to help.
Every little bit will help when you are fighting against one of the richest corpoartions in the world.
We thank you in advance for your support.
Paid for by Olson for Alderman, Wes Tennyson, Treasurer. info@savingdave.org
NOTE: There’s an interesting comment to this post.
UPDATE #2: CRG denies having anything to do with this recall.
Jim McGuigan
Watchdogging CRG
RSS feed
Link
You’re falling for a pitch from a con man. It’s perfectly possible to be opposed to Wal-Mart and be opposed to Olsen.
David Olsen is the guy that the City of Jefferson paid for five years,
1996-2001, full-time, to perform economic development.
He has long, belligerent track record in Jefferson. He fought
compliance with Wisconsin’s Open Records and Open Meetings law for years, blocking the public from participating in the economic development process.
The stated goal and purpose of his job was to bring big business to
town as well as the County. You have to ask yourself about this hypocrisy: Was he lying about wanting to bring big-box stores to Jefferson for five years, or what caused him to change his tune now?
Olsen is remarkably vague about his opposition to Wal-Mart. I challenge
anyone to show me, in print, where Olsen has explained his stance.
He’s not touting Al Norman’s book, he’s not stated he’s against
low wages or lack of health care, he’s said nothing about small-town
quality of life - he only says he’s a man of the people and that
right now they’re telling him they don’t want Wal-Mart.
This is an old political trick. He’s free to change his vote because
he’s not tied to principles. I predict he will flip-flop on his Wal-Mart
vote as soon as they make minor changes to location or traffic flow.
Please read “Olsen’s Propaganda” and “In Defense of Ald. Olsen”
on my web at http://www.gojefferson.com/banner/opinion/foust/index.html .
After that, jump down to “Jefferson County Economic Development”
and see how many times his name shows up.
Or pick a random document at
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Awww.gojefferson.com+olsen
and look back at his history in Jefferson.
WalMart folks have forced him into a recall election. He is running and WalMart has put up a candidate. Who ever get the most votes on next Tuesday, Sept. 27th is the new alderperson. WalMart is running a deceitful, vindictive operation.
It makes for a great conspiracy theory, but let’s be rational.
There is no evidence that even hints that Olsen’s opposition,
Chris Havill, is well-organized or funded by Wal-Mart. There’s a
glaring spelling error on Havill’s lawn signs. It looks like he
wrote and designed his own campaign literature.
The only person who’s suggested that Wal-Mart is behind the opposition
is Dave Olsen. Olsen also claimed they tried to bribe him. He’s
supplied no proof. No one has ever spotted even a tasty rumor to
buttress his claims, either. Extraordinary claims require
extraordinary evidence.
As for campaign contributions, I don’t see where Olsen’s spending that
money. You’re probably contributing to the war chest for his next
campaign. Olsen’s put out a few dozen lawn signs he had left over
from his last campaign. I haven’t seen any newspaper ads yet from
either side.
I don’t see how Havill could’ve been backed by Wal-Mart Corp.
He’s put out even fewer signs. He’s inheriting a car dealership.
He needs money for a Council campaign? This is a tiny town of 7,500.
Be reasonable: Why would Wal-Mart Corp. bother to attempt to influence
one Council race here?
I have no doubt the recall petition people want a Wal-Mart. I have
no doubt they don’t like Dave Olsen. There’s plenty of reasons not
to support him. But “deceitful” and “vindictive” apply more easily
to Olsen, and there’s a paper trail. Don’t take my word for it.
Call anyone at City Hall. Call the Chamber. Call the people he used
to work for. Ask about Olsen with your contacts at Kohl’s or Doyle’s
or Norquist’s offices, where Olsen once worked.
Or read http://www.gojefferson.com/banner/opinion/walmart/index.html
and see what Olsen’s done lately - filing police complaints against
another Council member because she called him a “f**king liar” in a bar.