Accused of phony budgeting
David Riemer, running against Walker for County Executive, accuses him of phony budgeting and challenges him to sign a “no surprises, no layoffs” pledge for 2004 in the wake of 280 county employees being laid off this past year. Instead of vetoing the county board’s revision of his proposed budget, Walker signs it while expressing concerns about meeting it. Riemer:
If Walker thought the budget wasn’t balanced, he should have sent it back or used his line-item veto power to alter it. This isn’t leadership, this is showmanship.