I truly wish that our joke of a Common Council would spend 1/100^th of the time they waste on stupid stuff and devote it to taxes and spending, issues that really matter.

Instead they continue to yap and yap away on a proposed code of conduct, a veritable ‘How Can We All Just Get Along?’ manual, that nobody knows about and nobody cares about. This has been going on for about a year now. A year! And the lame exercise to stroke their egos took place again at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

At one point Mayor Steve Olson became annoyed with Alderwoman Kristin Wilhelm who is obsessed with this ridiculous code of conduct issue. Olson thought Wilhelm was resurrecting a code item that had been dealt with a month and a half ago. As I said Olson got annoyed and it’s understandable. If you’ve seen or heard Wilhelm at these meetings she is quite annoying.

Admitting he lost his patience Olson asked the City Clerk who was next in line to chair the meeting. Because of Alderwoman’s Shari Hanneman’s absence the answer was Wilhelm.  With that Olson calmly got up and left and asked that he be summoned when discussion on that particular item was finished. He did not raise his voice. He did not storm out of the room. And I don’t blame him.


Wilhelm and her confidant Alderman John Nelson, the two worst members on the council, don’t like Olson. They are attempting to thwart Olson any chance they get. Nelson would love to be mayor someday so he’s got knives with Olson’s name on them.

Like Olson’s manner of running a meeting, his personality or not. The city over the past few years has enjoyed record progress and growth. The mayor deserves credit.

While Franklin is booming Wilhelm and Nelson play games, and are more concerned about how council members talk to one another. Code of conduct. What a totally absurd waste of time.