Oshkosh politics stays interesting

Tuesday night, I sat with a couple friends for several hours and watched the Oshkosh Common Council meeting in its entirety.

Not your average night for three people in their early 20s, but it proved to be worth our time. That's because Oshkosh local politics is more entertaining than The Colbert Report and Family Guy put together.

The real fun came when the Council heard statements from the 16 people (minus a few no-shows) who were applying to be appointed to the vacant 7th Council seat.

The process allowed any citizen of Oshkosh to apply for the position and to make a statement in front of the Council. It showed.

Despite my roommate and I kicking ourselves for not applying and giving us an opportunity to speak in front of the great Tony Palmeri, it was a wonderful night of entertainment. We heard several hopefuls delve way too far into their personal history, at least four describe themselves as "blue collar workers" and enjoyed the awkwardness of Steve Cummings' and Larry Spanbauer's spiteful presentations.

We found it a little odd that some of the Councilors seemed so impressed with Harold Bucholz's speech. He had a couple pieces of paper, printed in all capital letters, outlining his qualifications. In it, he included three personality tests (he's a "red," by the way) and declared that he doesn't watch "American Idol." This immediately made him our favorite candidate, if only for the irony.

The greatest part was during the selection. My roommate, who is headed off to Omaha, NE, for grad school in August, said that if the Council selected Bucholz, he was "never leaving Oshkosh."

I guess we're extending our lease.

Now things are really getting interesting, or what I think is the best way to describe it, "more awesome." Jef Hall, one of the applicants, is accusing Councilors Palmeri and Bob Poeschl of violating an open meetings law. I don't have the energy to explain the whole thing, but you can read about it here.

In turn, some are accusing Hall of simply being bitter about not being selected, or more likely, upset that the Council did not select former mayor Stephen Hintz to fill the vacancy. Hintz is active in the Democratic Party (and the father of state Rep. Gordon Hintz), and Hall is the chair of the county Democrats.

Does Hall have a case? Or is this just political maneuvering? Regardless, it's fun to watch.