NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Candidate for Governor Tom Barrett visited Wausau yesterday.

WSAU news sent a reporter to cover the visit.

Nothing unusual happened. A candidate gave a stump speech about the economy and jobs. All typical campaign-trail stuff.

But everything leading up to yesterday’s Barrett appearance was not typical.

Barrett’s campaign never told us that he was coming to Wausau. His stop in Wausau was mentioned in a newswire story from his stop in LaCrosse a day earlier. No press release was sent to our newsroom. No campaign representative called us.

Knowing that he was coming, we were looking for the time of Barrett’s arrival. We went on-line and searched for his web site. I’m sure he has one. But for you search “Tom Barrett for Governor”, his official campaign web site doesn't come up. A Facebook fan page does… but that’s maintained by his supporters, and doesn’t have a campaign schedule.

We searched the on-line phone book for Barrett campaign headquarters. We couldn’t find it.

We made contact with another news organization in Milwaukee. Could they share some contact information with us? All they had was the Mayor’s office in Milwaukee. Not a campaign office.

Eventually, after a call to a reporter at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, we had a phone number where we could reach someone from the Barrett campaign.

Isn’t one of the lessons from Massachusetts that you can’t run a lackadaisical, disorganized campaign and expect to win? Tom Barrett is the likely Democratic nominee for Governor. Many people consider him the front-runner. Barrett and his supporters should not expect a victory unless they get their act together.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications, Wausau
1.20.10