You’ll notice that I said “You’re assuming that West Allis is a one issue town. I think you’re not giving West Allis enough credit here” in response to one reader. So no, we’re not suggesting that Reynolds reflects the views of West Allis but we are pleased to hear a West Allis resident speak up.

I was chatting with Wayne Youngquist (longtime TV news political analyst) last night and he pointed out that Catholics will be key swing votes in this race.

Youngquist also pointed out that there is only one reason Tom Reynolds is in office: Tom Barrett. The Reynolds-Peggy Rosenzweig primary was held when Barrett was going against Gov. Doyle and Kathleen Falk in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Barrett, a Democrat highly regarded in Tosa who used to carpool to the state Capitol with Rosenzweig when they were in the Legislature, drew votes from moderates throughout the district, both Democrat and Republican. About 2,000 voters made the mistake of voting for Barrett and Rosenzweig and had their ballots thrown out (cross-party voting on the same ballot is not allowed in a primary).

That was the difference in the race, and Rosenzweig, a popular moderate Republican who reflected the overall values of the district, lost.

Jim Sullivan is a Democrat, and he’s just like voters throughout the senate district: He’s got a lot more in common with Barrett and Rosenzweig than Reynolds does. At present, the 5th Senate District is a district without a Senator.

If Reynolds wanted to tweak us Catholics, he succeeded. Clearly he doesn’t think he needs any of our votes.

Many people move to West Allis because they like the community, affordable homes and good schools, not because they see it as a quick stopping ground along the road to home ownership.

Your analysis of the district as being self-absorbed, non-community oriented nimby’s doesn’t give the people who live there very much credit.

Stallis is booming with professionals/young families who probably grew up Republican in the southwest Milwaukee County/eastern Waukesha County suburbs and are in Stallis for only as long as it takes to be able to afford to move back to their roots. That is and will continue to be the trend Stallis/West Milwaukee/eastern Tosa.

Those families are more than likely pro-life (at least there are more pro-lifers in the district than pro-choice), they are increasingly white collar and union influence rings hollow in their neighborhoods, and they’ve all benefitted from Bush tax cuts. The make-up of the district is largely upper-middle class (remember, upper-middle class is not that high of an income: two people bringing in 60-70k a year are considered upper-middle class by the IRS. They pay high property taxes, they’re paying off student loans, and between Fisher-Price toys and the cost of batteries for those toys, there isn’t much left). Their concern is not the parks in the communities, but the schools. Except for Tosa, parents there want private schools and don’t want to subsidize MPS or mass transit.

In this day and age, they are concerned with neighborhood safety and not union safety. Remember, the people who are the future of Stallis probably never even had parents who were in a union. Face it, union endorsements amount to nill in a general election, except for the manpower it provides; the majority of voters don’t care about your pro-union ideas.

They are going to vote for Reynolds because he is Republican, not because of who he is. This race isn’t close.