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No county in Wisconsin is redder than Waukesha, but in its bid to secure state and city approval to divert Lake Michigan water for its use, the Waukesha Water Utility has gone blue, hiring former Democrats to help plead its cause. On its payroll is the lobbying group, Martin Schreiber and Associates, run by the former Democratic governor, which in turn subcontracts with former alderman Mike D’Amato, apparently to handle advocacy with Milwaukee officials.

(illustration by Adrian Palomo)

Schreiber and Associates had been getting paid $153,600 per year but has kindly slashed the rate it charges to $107,520 annually or $8,960 per month. “This is a substantial reduction of 30 percent from the 2010 rate of $12,800 per month in recognition of the expenditure cuts being made at all levels of government,” the firm wrote in its February proposal to continue providing “government, media and public relations services related to Waukesha Water Utility’s short- and long-term water goals” until year’s end.

The principal for Schreiber on this contract is William McClenahan, an officer of the firm.

Significantly, the contract with the utility does not permit Schreiber to hire subcontractors without prior approval. That exception is granted to “Michael S. D’Amato,” who does business as M. Serafino LLC, and it was D’Amato who responded to a NewsBuzz request for comment from Schreiber about the contract. D’Amato’s expertise was sought to provide “education and advocacy to Milwaukee or other city officials on water purchase issues,” the contract with the utility states.

Mike D’Amato

The utility’s request to divert water from the Great Lakes system (which drains to the Atlantic Ocean) across the subcontinental divide to Waukesha in the Mississippi River basin (which drains to the Gulf of Mexico) is the first since the adoption of the Great Lakes Compact by eight US states in 2008. A successful application will require Waukesha to meet the requirements of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, gain the approval of all Great Lakes governors and forge an agreement with the City of Milwaukee Water Works while navigating various political minefields.

Schreiber and Associates has long done such work, with a high profile as a legislative lobbyist in Madison going back many years: It currently lobbies for some 15 clients, including MillerCoors LLC, Steamfitters Local 601, Wisconsin Troopers Association and the Wisconsin Solar Energy Industries Association. Both Schreiber’s firm and D’Amato are listed with the city as lobbyists for Forest County Potawatomi Community, which owns the Menomonee Valley casino, but neither is listed as lobbying for the Waukesha utility. Nor are they listed in that regard as state lobbyists.

Jeff Scrima

Waukesha Water Utility manager Dan S. Duchniak says Schreiber’s work is concentrated on more nuts-and-bolts issues: “The majority of the work performed has been concentrated on the response to the DNR’s questions on our Application for Great Lakes water.”

The contract doesn’t call for Schreiber and Associates to lobby but to advance the utility’s cause by “analyzing, defining and framing utility issues to encourage support by various stakeholders … providing media strategies and materials, assisting in organizing public hearings and information sessions” and other duties.

D’Amato’s work for Waukesha has raised eyebrows on the Milwaukee Common Council, given the conflicted relationship between the two cities. While aldermen would welcome the revenue from selling water, some worry about contributing to urban sprawl and thereby encouraging more Milwaukeeans to move to the suburbs.

But liberal James Rowen, a former aide to Mayor John Norquist whose blog “The Political Environment” has argued against Milwaukee supplying water to Waukesha, has offered a positive take on D’Amato’s advocacy. D’Amato, Rowen has argued, can make a strong case for Waukesha paying more than New Berlin has for Milwaukee water and can help “move discussions along” on the issue of “Tax Base Sharing,” whereby property taxes are transferred between municipalities to take account of how an asset like water adds value to property.

martin schreiber

But wouldn’t that make D’Amato more of an advocate for Milwaukee than Waukesha?

For his part, D’Amato implies that Rowen might be biased in his writings attacking the idea of selling water to Waukesha.

“I like and respect Jim Rowen, but he is being funded by Brico,” D’Amato says. That is a reference to the Brico Fund, the foundation run by Lynde Uihlein, a Milwaukee heir to the Bradley fortune. Uihlein regularly donates to Democratic candidates and her Brico Fund, according to its mission statement, “aims to secure full participation in society for women and girls, to sustain our natural environment and to promote a just and equitable society.”

Rowen’s blog offers the following disclaimer: “Some of my environmental work is underwritten by the Brico Fund LLC, which has no control over this blog or my freelancing.” Rowen tells NewsBuzz, “I am an independent contractor on environmental issues. My opinions are my own.”

Adding strangeness to this disagreement between Rowen and D’Amato is that both are longtime liberals and that Rowen’s son, Sam McGovern Rowen, served as D’Amato’s administrative assistant and heir-apparent until he lost in a primary election to succeed the 3rd district alderman in 2008.

“As the Council’s long-time urban development specialist, D’Amato’s role could be pivotal, even historic,” Rowen has written, “if the water negotiations proceed openly, broadly and comprehensively.”

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