Bullied Town of Middleton Write-ins put Voters back in Power over Walker's Opt Out Law.

Lawmakers on an Assembly committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill proponents say will streamline the process by which Dane County towns can withdraw from county zoning. But opponents argue it takes residents’ voices out of the equation.

Dane County is the only one of Wisconsin’s 72 counties in which towns can opt out of county zoning, as a result of a bill authored by Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi, and signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker last year. Under that law, towns can withdraw if residents approve the move through a referendum or a vote at an annual town meeting. The new bill, also authored by Ripp, would transfer the decision-making power to town boards.

Supporters of the bill argued that Town of Middleton residents are being misinformed by “outside groups” about the implications of opting out of Dane County zoning. “The outside forces are making it extremely difficult for town residents to make an educated decision on this issue,” said Ripp aide Matthew Rohrbeck. Rohrbeck declined to name the outside groups, but Roehl suggested the push was coming from the county level. “What this legislation does, in my mind, is it keeps Dane County influences out of our town halls,” Roehl said.

Deb Nelson, a 35-year Town of Middleton resident,  said she was “insulted” by the suggestion that she could not sift through information being presented to her as a voter.

Michael Rhoads, also a resident of the Town of Middleton, said the bill is “unfair, undemocratic and extremely discriminatory against town residents in Dane County.”

A former liberal radio talk host who likes to ask the “follow-up question” at Democurmudgeon.blogspot.com