CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – A tweet from Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg refers to “yap yap” radio as being overly negative.
Make no mistake, she is referring to The WSAU Wisconsin Morning News.
And before accepting the ‘overly negative’ label, I’d like to point out that I’ve said many positive things about our community during these commentaries. I’ve praised the choice of our new developer for the Riverlife project. I’m delighted that our school board, which has a conservative majority, has been retiring older, more expensive debt which is leading to lower school taxes. Mayor Katie and I both agree on keeping the warming center open year round. And we both have chosen this community, above all the other places we could live, as our home. I’ve said many times that moving here was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
My disagreements with how the city is being run are in two areas. First, Wausau’s leaders are big spenders. This year, even with a huge infusion of Biden Bucks, the city raised taxes. We’re told to expect a city tax hike for next year’s budget too. Cutting spending and lowering taxes just aren’t part of the equation. Taxes cannot be on an ever-upward trajectory. Eventually the property owners in the city won’t be able to pay any more. And second, our Mayor, while she serves in a non-partisan office, is a far left Democrat. The candidate she most closely identified with is Mandela Barnes, who I expect to be defeated at the polls tomorrow. One of the overriding themes of the conference she attended in Germany was how to make a green-socialist agenda more palatable to the public. And those ideas are unpopular with a majority of voters.
And, lastly, a word about popularity. ‘Yap Yap radio’, also known as the WSAU Wisconsin Morning News, is the most-listened-to radio program in Central Wisconsin. We were number-one in the last ratings period, and number-one in the ratings before that. I expect that’s where we’ll be in the future.
If our ideas are so negative, why are so many people listening?
Chris Conley
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