Am I right?

We read a Leader-Telegram article this morning with mixed feelings. State Representative Warren Petryk (R-Eleva) was to hold a listening session in a conference room at Ken Vance Motors in Eau Claire – but canceled the session after the auto dealership got a “half-dozen” calls from customers saying they’d boycott the business if it actually happened.  Petryk told the L-T, "I was not going to subject the business to anything uncomfortable or controversial. I didn't want their business involved in my politics."

According to Ken Vance and Petryk, it was to be a run-of-the-mill informational meeting, as our elected officials have always held. Vance says he wanted to save tax payer money on room rental for the meeting. Looking at it that way, it’s unfortunate the state’s political toxicity is making even simple proceedings difficult – like it or not, Petryk does represent our area.

I’m not placing blame for this toxicity, I’m just sayin’.

However, Ken Vance Motors is a private business, and its customers are certainly free to criticize its decisions via phone call. Adding fuel to the relatively small fire (we’re talking about six phone calls) is the $500 Ken Vance donated to Scott Walker’s election campaign, which landed the company on a boycott list of Wisconsin companies supporting the governor. However, Vance also donated $250 to Tom Barrett’s gubernatorial campaign and has been a long time supporter of U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse). 

It seems odd to me that Vance/Petryk would cancel the meeting over six phone calls. I’m sure new car sales aren’t stellar right now, but the decision must have been spurred by fear of a much larger hubbub if they’d gone ahead with the meeting.

Say what you will about Ken Vance’s true intentions, Rep. Petryk’s sincerity, or the tricky business of holding public meetings at private companies, one thing’s for sure – from a financial standpoint, any business looking to pull in some cash in today’s economy would be wise to remain non-partisan. But again, that’s a purely financial perspective, and things are rarely that simple – as tens of thousands of people have been chanting about in Madison for a few months now.

I don’t feel this minor debacle has exposed the political agendas of any one group, business, or politician so much as it’s highlighted a much bigger problem festering in the Great State of Wisconsin – citizen division is at an all time high. And there isn’t any number of bills to be passed or politicians to be recalled that’s going to fix that.

So when will you be able to actually talk to Petryk? The meeting is to be rescheduled.