Jenifer Finley didn't fit into staff role; Will she run for county exec next time?

The mysterious Dan Vrakas-Jenifer Finley saga is finally beginning to make some sense.

Questions and speculation have swirled since Vrakas, the newly elected Waukesha County exec, announced that Finley, spouse of the former county exec, was leaving her job as Vrakas' chief of staff.

Neither of the principals has been willing to talk about it, Finley hasn't been in the office for weeks, and has reportedly been working at home on some final reports Vrakas asked her to finish before her departure.

From today's story:

"I resigned because Mr. Vrakas did not present a conservative budget," Finley says in her statement. She says she had presented several suggested cuts, including eliminating the Waukesha County Board lobbyist job and ending the vacant project/program analyst position, but Vrakas rejected both ideas.

"Ultimately, he whittled down the (2006) budget cuts to what I consider an unacceptably low amount," Finley wrote.

WisOpinion has her entire statement posted. Here's part:

I can no longer stay silent about my resignation.

My original preference was not to discuss the reasons for my departure on a public platform, because I had hoped to keep things publicly positive. However, I can no longer remain silent about my resignation because Mr. Vrakas has mishandled the management of my resignation � and he needs to be accountable as a public servant for it.

I resigned because I felt that Mr. Vrakas did not present a conservative budget. As Mr. Vrakas' former campaign chairperson, I feel that Mr. Vrakas promised but then did not deliver a conservative enough budget to the taxpayers. Mr. Vrakas ran as the fiscal conservative in this race and I believed in him. He argued to the taxpayers that he was more fiscally conservative than County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer. As his Chief of Staff, I presented to Mr. Vrakas a series of cuts and other actions that would have delivered significant relief to the taxpayers in the budget, among them eliminating the County Board lobbyist position and a vacant project/program analyst position.

Mr. Vrakas rejected my recommendations and many others that would have provided far more significant relief to the taxpayers. Ultimately, he whittled down the budget cuts to what I consider an unacceptably low amount. I do not believe the taxpayers of Waukesha County expected Mr. Vrakas would cut a few dollars off their property tax bills when they elected him. I will concede that we had a short amount of time to deal with the budget vetoes, but Mr. Vrakas could have, and should have, done more. I believe in fiscal conservatism that is supported by actions, not words or hopeful promises. Thus, I can not be part of an administration that is all rhetoric and no meaningful action. I also can not be part of an administration that does not live up to the campaign promises that I helped to espouse.

I hope that Mr. Vrakas takes this message to heart and next year delivers to the taxpayers the budget they expect.

It's not unusual for a staffer to have different opinions from the elected official for whom he/she works. Internal debates, discussions and disagreements about policy are common. But in the end, the elected official -- the one who's name was on the ballot and the one people voted to entrust with the authority -- makes the decision. And the staff supports it.

That's the difference between being the county exec and the chief of staff.

It's also the difference between being the campaign manager and the chief of staff. I served, at different times, in both roles for Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, and when people asked how the jobs were different, that was my standard answer. In the campaign, I could do what I thought was in his best interests, even though he sometimes disagreed. In City Hall, I could offer my opinion, but he got to decide.

Sometimes, over time, a staffer may decide that there is a fundamental difference in philosophy that can't be reconciled. That's when it's time to leave.

But to quit the first time the boss doesn't do exactly what you suggest -- and then to publicly criticize his decisions -- is a sign there's something else wrong. (It is still not entirely clear whether she resigned or was asked to resign.)

Maybe Jenifer Finley thought she was the co-county executive. Vrakas obviously didn't think so.

Back to today's story:

Finley said that she had hoped to finish out her service working at the County Administration Building but that Vrakas ordered her to work from home and barred her from returning. Although her resignation was to be effective on Dec. 31, Finley had not appeared in the courthouse office since Dec. 8.

While remaining on the payroll, she was to prepare reports and recommendations for Vrakas, who has provided her with a letter of recommendation. But Finley's statement says that since resigning, Vrakas has failed to give her the necessary information to do the reports he requested.

"Since Mr. Vrakas and I have not spoken directly since my resignation regarding my job assignment and his expectations, I have come to the conclusion that my work serves no real purpose and that the taxpayers should not have to shoulder this unnecessary expense," Finley wrote.

Finley, who has turned in time cards to the county payroll office, says in her statement that she will not accept any money or benefits after Dec. 13.

So Vrakas and Finley aren't even speaking, and she has gone in six weeks' time from his chief booster to his chief critic. Now, she's referring to him as "Mr. Vrakas," not even as "the county executive," which would be customary for the chief of staff.

Vrakas was elected to fill Dan Finley's unexpired term, which ends in April 2007.

Jenifer Finley is probably wishing she had followed her first instinct and run for the post. She could well be on the ballot as Vrakas' challenger in 2007.

UPDATE: Conservative Brian Fraley puts JF on his do-not-hire list.

James Widgerson, who runs a suburban library and pub, wonders -- when he's not thinking about other people's sex lives -- if this was about the budget, why it took Finley so long to resign.