MILWAUKEE ­ In testimony filed at a State Capitol public hearing on Tuesday, Wisconsin State Senate candidate Donovan Riley detailed his opposition to a proposal giving control of Milwaukee County’s Mitchell Airport to an appointed semi-private authority. No action was taken on the bill at the abbreviated hearing, which occurred just before Tuesday’s Assembly legislative session.

“I have yet to learn what Milwaukee residents and taxpayers would gain from taking Mitchell Airport away from Milwaukee County and putting it in the hands of an appointed authority,” Riley said in his written testimony. “But it’s easy to understand what we would lose — our voice in how the airport is run and how that affects our neighborhoods.”

Riley and others were unable to testify in person against the bill, in part because the hearing on the 47-page bill was first announced on Friday. While the proposal has received significant public attention and media coverage, exact details have been under wraps. The bill itself was introduced only the day before the hearing.

“The authors are trying to railroad this through before anyone knows what hit them,” Riley said. “It tells you they’re afraid of the public finding out what’s in it.”

Riley’s testimony points out that under the proposal “unelected officials in charge of the airport would gain broad governmental powers, such as the power to take private property from area residents and businesses under eminent domain ­ again, without accountability to citizens via their elected officials. Yet there is no provision in the bill for compensation to Milwaukee County or its residents for the loss of the airport. These provisions have people in the areas surrounding the airport not just concerned but frightened. And they should be.”

Riley, a Bay View resident who has been talking with airport neighbors about the proposal while campaigning as a Democratic candidate for the area’s 7th District State Senate seat, said he would continue to speak out against the proposal on behalf of the people of the airport neighborhoods. The area is represented by State Sen. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee), the Senate author of the bill and the only Democrat among its 16 sponsors.

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Full text of testimony
March 7, 2006

Members
Assembly Committee on State and Local Affairs
Wisconsin State Legislature

Dear Committee Members:

I am unable to attend your hearing today, but in lieu of testifying in person, please accept this written testimony in opposition to Assembly Bill 1089, relating to the creation of a local airport district in southeastern Wisconsin that would assume control of Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport. As a resident of Milwaukee’s south side and as someone who has talked to many airport neighbors about the issue while campaigning in that area for election to the State Senate, I’m deeply concerned about the bill.

Despite ample public attention and media coverage, I have yet to learn what Milwaukee residents and taxpayers would gain from taking Mitchell Airport away from Milwaukee County and putting it in the hands of an appointed authority. But it’s easy to understand what we would lose —­ our voice in how the airport is run and how that affects our neighborhoods.

People who live near Mitchell Airport cope every day with inconveniences such as increased noise and traffic. Planes fly low and loud on a regular basis over my own neighborhood, Bay View, on their approach to Mitchell. Inconveniences like this won’t go away if the airport becomes part of a regional authority. So it’s important for the airport to remain accountable to its neighbors through their elected officials, rather than unelected appointees in distant areas.

Even more troubling is the fact that the unelected officials in charge of the airport would gain broad governmental powers, such the power to take private property from area residents and businesses under eminent domain ­ again, without accountability to citizens via their elected officials. Yet there is no provision in the bill for compensation to Milwaukee County or its residents for the loss of the airport. These provisions have people in the areas surrounding the airport not just concerned but frightened. And they should be.

Taking Mitchell Airport away from Milwaukee County is especially illogical in light of the county’s excellent management of the airport. With its far-reaching powers and lack of public accountability, the airport authority bill is a classic example of elected officials trying to fix what isn’t broken ­ and potentially breaking what can’t be fixed. I urge you to reject this ill-considered and fundamentally flawed legislation.

Sincerely,

Donovan Riley