Racine exec thinks he's the emperor

Bill McReynolds, Racine County exec and would-be state senator, must have been absent the day they discussed separation of powers in civics class.

McReynolds apparently has the impression that everyone in Racine County government works directly for him. He's forgotten there's this other thing, called the legislative branch. He's the executive, not the emperor.

How else to explain McReynolds' outrageous order to county staff, directing them not to speak to an elected county supervisor, but to refer her to him if she has questions.

The supervisor, Diane Lange, "has a tendency to work outside of the system," McReynolds told the Journal Times.

What system is that? It's the Old Boy, You-Scratch-My-Back-I'll-Scratch-Yours, No Questions Asked system. It operates in a lot of local governments, unfortunately. Everyone goes along to get along, afraid to rock the boat for fear of being isolated or considered a troublemaker.

That, apparently, is how McReynolds sees Lange.

I don't know Diane Lange. She might be a pain in the rear. But the voters in her district elected her to the County Board. That gives her the right to ask questions and expect answers, without having to go through the county executive.

The newspaper reports:

McReynolds said he has directed county employees to refer ...Lange to him if she asks them any questions or requests any information. Once she makes contact with his office, McReynolds said, she will be free to talk with county employees.

"I have directed the county staff that if she (Lange), as a County Board supervisor, needs assistance, she is to communicate that with me ... and then she has free access to the staff," McReynolds said Friday. "She is not denied access to staff."

Lange said on Friday that county department heads and McReynolds' Chief of Staff Geoff Greiveldinger declined to talk with her in recent weeks, citing McReynolds' "gag order." Instead, they referred her to McReynolds, she said.

Lange said she met with McReynolds on Friday in hopes that he would rescind the gag order on the county staff, but he refused.

"After the meeting, I realized I was going to have to fight this because it's making me ineffective as a supervisor," she said.

Just what have Lange's sins been? She has disagreed with McReynolds on some major issues, like a $19 million jail expansion, which she opposed.

But the real issue may be something a little closer to McReynolds' heart -- his travel budget, which Lange tried to cut in half. She lost, but McReynolds was "infuriated," Lange said.

Back to the newspaper:

"This is a vindictive response based on his disapproval that I had gone after the travel money," she said. "... He's gone overboard on his power as county executive at this point."

McReynolds said his order to staff, with regard to Lange, does not apply to other County Board supervisors - only her. He said the order was needed because Lange often was "coming out of left field" with her ideas and that she caused conflict within his office with the requests she made to staff, or by not working with others.

For example, he said, Lange introduced a $25,000 amendment to the county budget on Tuesday that key officials didn't know about - including people closely affiliated with the drug and alcohol court program the money would benefit.

"She has a tendency to work outside of the system," he said. "We're just going to deal with Supervisor Lange within the manner of the rules. We want to know where she's coming from. She will not be denied any access to staff."

As for whether he was upset with Lange over her proposal to cut his budget, McReynolds said: "She can tell whatever story she wants to."

Greiveldinger declined to comment on McReynolds' orders with regard to Lange. "What he (McReynolds) directs me to do or not do I generally don't comment on," he said.

The Journal Times editorializes today. Headline: McReynolds should rescind petty information policy."