Like some 380,000 others, I'm a Green Bay Packers shareholder--hence, an "NFL Owner" of the only community-owned major professional sports franchise in the United States. While I'll never see any profits from my investment, I do have three benefits: (1) knowing that my investment keeps the Packers in Green Bay without significantly raising taxes on Brown County taxpayers; (2) this pretty green stock certificate on the wall of my office (much better than a Jay Cutler poster); and (3) the right to vote on the membership of the Packers' Board of Directors.
I could just stare at it all day, while making the championship belt pose.
So a few weeks back, I got a form in the mail prompting me to visit the Packers' proxy website in advance of the July 24th shareholders meeting. There, I can appoint a proxy to cast my shareholder's ballot in support of the new members of the Board of Directors. Most people just check the box to rubber stamp the prospective members recommended by the current Board of Directors. But I decided to make a statement with my ballot, and I hope others do too.
As you can see, I chose not to vote for seven individuals for one reason:
They all contributed money to Scott Walker's campaign. Those seven didn't get my vote this year, and they never will.
On the other hand, I'm proud of the Packers for adding Ricardo Diaz from the United Community Center of Milwaukee to the Board. It just goes to show that "community organizers" may be worth something, after all. I did consider not voting for John P. Zakowski, a recent Walker appointee to the Brown County Circuit Bench, but since he wasn't a contributor to Walker's campaign, I allowed it. This isn't a statement that I won't vote for a Republican or a conservative, it's strictly a statement about Walker's "divide and conquer" campaign.
If you're a Packers shareholder and you haven't yet submitted your proxy vote, please consider withholding your vote from these seven individuals as well. I'm sure they'll be overwhelmingly voted onto the Board, but perhaps enough of us can dent their numbers to the point that it's obvious they weren't supported for some reason.
Please, join me in sending a message that Packers fans don't like our Board being shills for the most polarizing Governor in the nation!
Side note: Apparently, prior to the latest stock sale, this was at least tried before. I don't know how effective that effort was, but it's worth trying again. At least my conscience will be clear knowing I voted ethically.