George Watts: A Class Act

I first met George Watts in 1999, the day he announced he would run against Mayor John Norquist. I was advising Norquist's campaign, and attended the Watts announcement at his downtown tea room. He welcomed me when I walked in, and even after I introduced myself invited me to take a seat and make myself comfortable.

He was, as his eulogies in the media and elsewhere have said, a gentleman who cared greatly about Milwaukee and about the way people were treated by society. He did what he could, on a personal basis, to right the wrongs he saw.

That said, there are a couple of things to go on the record. I keep reading that his 44% of the vote against Norquist was a surprise, even to Norquist, according to one editorial. I can assure you it was no surprise to Norquist or anyone in his campaign. We made an all-out effort from the word go and never took George Watts lightly.

However, in politics we still consider 55% a landslide victory. Norquist got 56% against Watts, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on television.

And, yes, we criticized George Watts for (a) moving from suburban Ozaukee County into the city to run for mayor and (b) switching from the Republican to the Democratic party, since Milwaukee is a Democratic city. (I joked that if someone told him a woman had a better chance of being elected mayor, he'd have a sex change operation.) The editorial writers give him a pass, but after the election Watts (a) moved back out of the city and (b) rejoined the Republican party.

While we celebrate George Watts' life and contributions, his record and accomplishments stand on their own. There is no need to rewrite history.