The Absent Mayor has an impact on Franklin

Several years ago, the topic and referendum to change the description of Franklin's Mayor to a full-time Mayor was a controversial one, and ultimately rejected by voters with a decent margin. At the time, supporters of the question pointed out that then current Mayor, Tom Taylor, was doing all his work and activities as Mayor full-time in a part-time position. This was true, and even stated as such by Taylor himself. The concern by some was - what will happen under future Mayors? Will residents get the same treatment or attention? Will Franklin have to consistently resort to older or wealthier men or women to fill the role as Mayor in order to achieve this? If so, is that really what we want to have for Franklin's leadership future?

Voters dismissed those questions, and some pundits argued it was an angle by then Common Council President Steve Taylor, who pushed for the question to be put to voters, to secure a higher paycheck for himself in the future. It was no secret Taylor was looking for higher aspirations in Franklin politics, and did run for Mayor after Tom Taylor stepped aside. But at the time, he strongly denied the claims. Now, with Mayor Steve Olson taking the reins of city government, supporters of the question are claiming their worst fears have come true.

Over the past year of Olson being in office, he has had to juggle a ton of his duties as Mayor with his other job being a salesman. This has proved to be a bumpy road it seems, since his depatures out of the area have left Franklin under the leadership of Common Council President Kristen Wilhelm on many occasions. And lately, with the incresing rift between Olson and Wilhelm, there's been concerns that he's leaving the area and not properly informing Wilhelm that he's doing so. This potentially leaves Franklin in a vulnerable state with a lack of leadership if a major crisis unfolds. Surely Oak Creek residents and leadership never expected what transpired at the Sikh Temple several years back. These things happen, and who's going to be able to lead when it does is a major issue.

Additionally, the lack of being around for Franklin residents is taking its toll elsewhere. Several strong NIMBY groups have formed in the city over the past 6 months in response to various projects being proposed - some of which have the potential to be good, community-based projects. But instead of being at the forefront and being the representative of all Franklin residents, Olson has taken the position to pass the buck downward to the individual alderperson of the district where they're being proposed. Why can't both the Mayor AND the alderperson take charge together? Some have made the point that since he's out of town so regularly, there simply isn't the time to do this. Or the Mayor doesn't realize the significance of such a project on the nearby neighborhood and dismisses it too early so he can prioritize other issues when he's in town. When this happens, he juggles it off to city staff, who are just that - staff. They're not geared up for political angles and conversation, and some of them might not even live in Franklin. That's OK - that's not their job nor is it in their job descriptions. And to delegate political bombs off to city staff to epically fail and take the brunt of the anger from neighborhoods is reckless and inconsiderate at best.

If Mayor Olson can't see the ruckus and community divisions that are forming now more-so than ever since he took his oath of office, then he's quite blind...or out of town too often to notice.

There needs to be a realization here that a part-time Mayor cannot be absent frequently and yet still expect to control and run city staff as it stands now. Residents need their politicians to handle these political issues, and when they elect someone to be their leader they don't expect that leadership to be absent or unavailable on a regular basis.