Citizens for Responsible Government was born of the Milwaukee County pension scandal -- a once-in-a-lifetime political tidal wave. The citizen reform organization could have died with it, too.
Instead, the group has continued to gain power. An offshoot started by three original members a year ago -- CRG Network, a political action committee -- is showing increasing political muscle both inside and outside of Milwaukee County. In particular, CRG is becoming an increasing force in neighboring Waukesha County. But the group now has affiliates from Wausau to Chetek. And in the last few months, the group has been involved in several high-profile issues, from a mayoral recall effort underway in Pewaukee to the failure of a major development proposal in Milwaukee.
"Our intention is to have boots on the ground in all 72 counties," says Chris Kliesmet, one of the group's three leaders. The group's focus, he said, is "governmental corruption and wasteful spending."
A Brown Deer senior citizen outraged by the large backdrop pensions in Milwaukee County started the original CRG, which still exists. Three of the earliest CRG organizers -- Kliesmet, Orville Seymer and Bryan Olen -- created the offshoot, CRG Network. The goal: To make it a clearinghouse to link citizen taxpayer groups statewide.
Seymer is the owner of a property management company and a leader in an apartment association. Olen was a former Cudahy alderman and school board member. And Kliesmet is the son of former Milwaukee County Sheriff Robert Kliesmet and an admitted political novice before getting involved in the recall effort that forced out former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament.
The three run CRG Network on a volunteer basis. The group is funded by citizen donations. But they are on a first-name basis with talk radio hosts (although they recently broke ranks with Charlie Sykes over the PabstCity development in Milwaukee) and Republican politicians both seek their favor and run for cover from the CRG Network kiss of death -- the ``RINO'' label (Republican In Name Only).
They also have a canny ability to bring media attention along with them.
And, although the leaders of the group say they often get more credit than they deserve when they are only one of several players in an effort, they have become a political force across the state, helping citizens organize efforts everywhere from Kewaskum to Hudson, many of them focusing on school spending and open records issues.
Their Web site -- part tongue-in-cheek (it has a picture of state Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, with a Pinocchio nose and political columnists Spivak and Bice in dunce and jester caps) and part serious -- lists 13 state affiliates. Spivak and Bice had criticized Kliesmet in a column for approaching Milwaukee County on behalf of a government efficiency program, which Kliesmet defends as trying to save the county money.
The CRG Network's first official effort was a big one: Helping with the primary election defeat of Republican State Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, who earned its "RINO" label over the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).
But it's the group's involvement in three recent political efforts -- and its success in drawing public attention to them -- that is showing the group's potential future influence:
It looked like PabstCity -- a major Milwaukee redevelopment proposal that would have involved a multi-million dollar city financial investment in a tax incremental finance (TIF) district -- would pass. When the vote was briefly delayed, CRG Network got involved and several key aldermen switched to the opposition days before the vote. The project was voted down. Although CRG was by no means the only player in the defeat of Pabst City, the group's pressure on key aldermen in more conservative Milwaukee districts (especially Robert Donovan, fighting for his political life after a federal indictment) was widely seen as instrumental. The group distributed literature, among other efforts.
Demonstrating how the group is reaching out beyond Milwaukee County, CRG Network has injected publicity and assistance into citizen efforts to recall Pewaukee Mayor Jeff Nowak. CRG Network filed the open records request that revealed that the mayor had requested a list of police contacts against a key citizen involved in the citizen recall effort, giving energy to the movement and attracting media attention.
The group helped organize citizens to defeat a high-profile Waukesha schools referendum that would have increased operating revenue.
The group was a presence at the state GOP convention this spring for the first time, and it raised $1,500 in donations there, with its RINO buttons the most popular merchandise. But it's not affiliated with the Republican Party officially, although it shares a similar philosophy and agenda (voter fraud is another top issue of concern).
Indeed, CRG leaders say they are planning to be a player in the 2006 gubernatorial race. Although the group has not yet decided between Republican candidates Mark Green and Scott Walker, it will definitely not be supporting the current governor, its leaders say.
"Our goal is to have 10,000 members by the governor's election," says Olen. "There are a lot of taxpayers' groups throughout the state. But they were not organized into one group. This is an opportunity for us to get all of the communities networked."
The group's leaders also have their eye on the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Donovan (if he's convicted but doesn't step down) and on Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, who is fighting a slew of ethics violations. The group is also planning to hold a forum in the Waukesha County executive's race and it's involved in an effort in the Greendale School District over severance packages for teachers.
The organizers say they will only take on efforts that meet their rules. For example, they only focus on their areas of interest (corruption and spending/taxes) and thus won't take on efforts involving abortion. And they have a no-carpetbagging rule; local community members must be involved or they won't be.
Historically, citizens felt they could only protest government waste by contacting their alderperson and that was it, Seymer says. The Ament recall movement taught the lesson that more could be done. Through the simple tool of an open records request, for example, change can be made, he says. CRG Network's leaders say their group is mostly an educational and training organization for local citizenry looking to make a change.
"We teach people how to fight their government," Seymer says.
Jessica McBride, a former Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter married to Waukesha County DA Paul Bucher, teaches journalism at UW-Milwaukee and writes a blog.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.
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