Abele, Walker And The Couture Project

If Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele pulls off the Couture tower development where the irrelevant eyesore known as the Downtown Transit sits at the Lakefront and Michigan St., he will have created more jobs and tax base than did Scott Walker in eight years.

Of course, there are reasons for that.

Walker used the position as a springboard for personal advancement and political self-promotion to the Governor's office, and had no interest in public policy.

And he eliminated the County's development office - - even tried to turn current John Doe defendant Tim Russell into a manager there - - so the County wasted its power and assets. Exhibit "A" is the open space in the Park East corridor that belongs to the County, which had no plan or personnel or executive leadership to get bricks and mortar there.

(More about Walker's having parked Russell at the development office, here.)

Milwaukee County is not used to a County Executive who likes the nuts and bolts of municipal opportunity.