County Board Overrides Van De Hey; Greens Assist
Nov. 16, 2004
(Oshkosh) After listening to around 20 members of the community urging them to be mindful of their responsibility to the less fortunate, the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors voted 28-9 to override County Executive Jane Van De Hey's veto of a $600,000 addition to the Human Services Budget. The addition will be used to provide home care services for elderly and developmentally disabled citizens currently on a county waiting list. Twenty-six votes were needed to override.
Supervisor Mark Harris, rumored to be considering a run against Van De Hey in the next County Executive election, voted for the override and argued that state and federal funds to support the Human Services' programs would probably not be forthcoming. He called the override vote a "test of our community."
Supervisor Bill Wingren also supported the override, saying that he had changed his mind on the issue after hearing testimony from the community. He said supporting the less fortunate was in the tradition of the politician he most admires, the late Robert F. Kennedy. Supervisors Tom Widener, Woody Weber, Dave Machotka, Robert Warnke, and Steve Rankin also made eloquent statements in support of the override.
The amendement vetoed by Van De Hey had passed only by a 17-16 vote. This means that a significant number of supervisors changed their "no" vote into a vote for the override.
Members of the Lake Winnebago Green Party came to the meeting and spoke in support of an override. Greens Tony Palmeri, Justin Mitchell, Luke Tomberlin, and Bob Poeschl all spoke. Greens Mandy Mabbott, Angie Nichols, and Ben Farrell attended the meeting. County Supervisor Machotka is also a Green Party member. Each got a kick out of supervisor Widener's urging of the Board to "vote green"--he was referring to the color of the "yes" vote on the electronic screen that records votes, but it sounded as if he was endorsing the Green Party platform.