Letter to the Editor: Echoes of the Past

Senator Frank Lasee’s recent editorial piece wherein he casually tells such lies as, “The opponents of the [Sawyer Hotel] project have not brought forward any reasons for their opposition; they simply don’t like it,” brings to mind something his elder cousin Alan sent from his senatorial desk a few years back.

Alan Lasee’s impassioned letter implored then-Governor Jim Doyle to defund the Michigan Street Bridge rehab, calling it “fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary given the addition of the new Oregon Street Bridge.”

Proclaiming that “this bridge does not qualify” for state funding (while suggesting that it might be converted into “a walking bridge…and a community gathering space”) he gave no reason for the disqualification (and no hint of how the re-purposing might be funded). He apparently just simply didn’t like the bridge as an actual bridge.

Fortunately, the governor was not moved by the letter; pro-bridge sentiment prevailed and the bridge has been serving the community ever since.

I’m not saying there’s a Lasee family conspiracy to hurt Sturgeon Bay, but Frank’s letter did bring Alan’s immediately to mind – if only because Frank, having taken over Alan’s job, has apparently taken over his role in Sturgeon Bay too: stepping in at crucial times, belittling local sentiment in condescending letters, trying to discredit grassroots movements, faithfully following in his elder cousin’s footsteps to join him on the wrong side of history.

pat mAcdonald

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.