I don't know why I've become so fascinated with the campaign of Jonathan Steitz, the mysterious Republican lawyer who lives in Wisconsin and is challenging Democratic incumbent State Senator Robert Wirch in the upcoming 22nd Senate District recall election. Maybe it's because I refuse to believe that "a former small business owner" and current "transactional attorney" can just appear on Wisconsin's political scene at age 37 with almost nothing to say about his background or personal life and then win a Wisconsin election - not after Scott Walker fooled the state in that same manner last November.
Steitz, a Texas native, long-time Illinois resident, and former manager and promoter of Christian music artists, has scripted a short version of who he is and he's sticking to it. In a recent radio interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, he responded to almost every question by riffing on this description of himself from his campaign site:
"My private-sector experience as a former small business owner and as a transactional attorney working in international capital markets provides a unique understanding of the drivers of economic growth that will provide a sustainable answer to the problems facing the 22nd District and Wisconsin."
(I have no idea what that means, but if he has that "sustainable answer", why doesn't he just tell us what it is?)
It's a terribly boring interview that leaves you feeling like you know less about him after hearing it than you did before.
In his brief bio, Steitz mentions that he, his wife, and his four children reside in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
"Reside" is the perfect description of his ties to the 22nd Senate District of Wisconsin. He doesn't seem to be "from" there, if you know what I mean. Although he and his wife have owned a home (a duplex, to be precise) in Kenosha since 2001, he hasn't spent much time in the community since 2004, when he started law school and graduate business school at Northwestern University near Chicago. One can only assume he spent a lot of his days in Illinois during those years.
After graduating in 2007, Steitz went to work for the law firm of Latham and Watkins and was assigned to their London office. He and his family spent about 3 years in England (the time line is a bit sketchy), returning about a year ago. Steitz worked at the Chicago offices of Latham and Watkins until he recently took a leave of absence to run for the Wisconsin Senate seat.
The Steitz's live in Pleasant Prairie now, close to the Illinois border, and they rent out their Kenosha duplex. They are also renters themselves. Their current residence is owned by a man in Utah. Steitz says the fact that the recall effort against Wirch was spearheaded by a group in Utah is a coincidence, and he laughs off any suggestion of a connection. He says his family simply outgrew their Kenosha duplex (they have four children, after all), didn't want to sell it in the current market, and that their landlord is in Utah to take care of his elderly parents.
Steitz has not bothered to vote in off-cycle, local elections until earlier this year when he began considering a run for the Senate. Except for the 2004 April election, his voting record shows that he voted only in the 2008 Presidential election and the 2006 and 2010 mid-term General elections. The current senator, Robert Wirch, has voted in every election during that period, including a school referendum election.
I guess Steitz did have lot on his plate, and voting absentee from overseas is kind of a pain if it's not a Presidential election. Even if he voted only infrequently, Steitz was still an honest, taxpaying citizen. Oh, except for 2003, when the Wisconsin Department of Revenue had to "remind" him to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Oops. Not very supportive of your community to skip out on paying your taxes.
So who is Jonathan Steitz? He is a lawyer, a father, a husband, and a Christian, but except for a small group of like-minded people affiliated with Living Light Christian Church, he appears to be not well-connected on a personal level with the larger, diverse community he hopes to represent, especially when he is compared to Senator Wirch.
He was the manager or road manager for the Christian rock groups Skillet and Jonah33 and is credited as sound engineer on a number of albums. (I don't listen to Christian rock, but I understand that Skillet, based in Kenosha, is quite popular and successful.) The Living Light Christian Church site has a link to the Skillet web site.
He and his wife were able to find an evangelical Christian church to their liking while in London. Jonathan Steitz was assigned a preaching engagement on one of their Sunday rosters, but I don't know if he preached that day. The Steitzs even used a service called "ChristianFlatshare.org" when they advertised a room for rent in their home.
The small businesses he owned in Kenosha were truly small, maybe even a one man operation. They were run out of the Steitz's duplex home and were called Cornerstone Audio Works and Cornerstone Management Group. His business included managing, promoting, and audio engineering for Christian rock bands - honorable work, but not the kind of work that connects one to the local "Main Street" businesses in Kenosha.
See what I mean? A pretty small circle of like-minded people.
Still, he lived in London, he was into music, he does international finance...kind of cool stuff. Why not talk about those things? Who cares if he's a "transactional attorney" or wants to reduce government debt? BOOOORING!
He says this...
I'm concerned about my children's future. I want them to have the freedom to experience the American dream, and that means making tough decisions now to make sure we don't pass insurmountable debt on to our kids
...but where's the passion? If you're a political newcomer with no record and no roots in the community, you kind of owe the voters a better explanation of who you are, where you come from, and what drives you. Robert Wirch has lived in the area for most of his life and has two decades of legislative votes, so we know where he stands. And he showed us the passion in February when he stood up to Scott Walker.
While I don't want or expect Steitz to give a sermon, I get the sense that he is hiding an essential part of who he is. Why would he not willingly talk about the work he's done and about what truly motivates him?
The answer, of course, is that he wants to win. He says he isn't a politician, but the first thing a new politician is told is to hide things about himself. The second thing is to learn to stay on message. I think he's getting bad advice. Wisconsin in 2011 is not like any election cycle you have ever seen.
So what is Steitz hiding? He has willingly checked all the boxes on his Tea Party application, and maybe he's sincere, but I have a sense that the "sustainable answer" that Jonathan Steitz actually has for Wisconsin is Jesus-centered. That melding of government and religion is probably a tough sell in his district, but the blank-slate strategy is an even harder sell right now.
Finally, remember the biography of Jonathan Steitz from his web site that I quoted above, the one that says so little about him? Compare it to the biography of Senator Robert Wirch:
Background Information
Family: Wife: Mary
2 Children: David, Julia
Birthplace: Kenosha, WI
Home City: Pleasant Prairie, WI
Education: BA, History, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 1970
Professional Experience:
United States Army Reserve, 1965-1971 Liaison, Job Training Partnership Act Programs
American Brass, Factory Worker
Political Experience:
Senator, Wisconsin State Senate, 1996-present
Assembly Member, Wisconsin State Assembly, 1992-1996
Supervisor, Kenosha County Board of Supervisors, 1986-1993
Organizations:
Member, Danish Brotherhood
Member, Democratic Party of Wisconsin
Member, First Presbyterian Church
Member, Friends of the Kenosha Public Museum
Member, Kenosha Area Business Alliance
Board of Directors, Kenosha Literacy Council
Advisory Council, Kenosha Scout Leaders Rescue Squad
Member, Kenosha Sport Fishing and Conservation Association
Member, Polish Legion of American Veterans
Member, Senior Action Council
Member, Shalom Center
Former Board of Directors, Kenosha Boys and Girls Club
Former Member, United Steelworkes Local 9322
Now, I ask you...Who are the voters going to decide is "from" Wisconsin's 22nd District and who just "resides" there?
UPDATE: Just heard on the radio that the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity dropped another $150,000 for attack ads against Democrats running in the recall elections. Please help us counter their lies...