Executive Director’s Message

By Thomas W. Bahr

The WPPA is pleased to announce two additions to our staff. The first is Mark Hollinger, who has joined the WPPA’s Legal Services Division as staff attorney. Some WPPA members may recall that Mark served the WPPA in this capacity from 1997-2001, before leaving to pursue private practice. During the last few years, Mark has continued to represent WPPA members in various cases, and given his familiarity with our members’ issues, we have no doubt that his experience and expertise will serve this organization well.

The second addition to the WPPA is business agent Gary Anderson. Most recently a sergeant with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Gary comes to the WPPA with more than 32 years of law enforcement experience. Gary is well-versed in bargaining and grievance representation, and I am confident that he, like Mark Hollinger, will be an invaluable asset to our staff.

The WPPA will be hosting the 74th Annual Convention at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. This year’s convention will be from Saturday, May 20 through Monday, May 22 and will prove to be quite extraordinary in terms of the planned events and the information provided to our members.

First, the WPPA will host two “town-hall" style forums which will allow our members to meet and, via a moderator, pose questions to the announced candidates for the office of Governor and Attorney General. Our Director of Governmental Affairs, Jim Palmer, will serve as the moderator for both meetings.

The first forum will be for the announced candidates for the office of Attorney General. This would include the current incumbent, Peg Lautenschlager; former Unites States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, J.B. Van Hollen; Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher; and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. Lautenschlager, a Democrat, will have to defend against a Democratic primary with Falk, and Van Hollen and Bucher will compete against one another in a Republican party primary.

The second forum will be for Governor Doyle and Congressman Mark Green. As of the deadline for the April issue of the magazine, we have received confirmation that the Republican candidate will attend and participate.

This will be an extraordinary opportunity for our members to hear firsthand the views and perspectives of the individual candidates, and I would urge all convention attendees to come and listen for yourselves. The WPPA’s endorsements in these two races will rely, in large part, on the feedback and insights from those members who attend this exciting event.

The keynote speaker for our convention will be Dr. Alexis Artwohl. Dr. Artwohl provides training and consultation across the United States and Canada. She has consistently received excellent ratings from the many police officers she has trained across North America. During her 16 years as a private practice clinical and police psychologist, she provided traumatic incident debriefings and psychotherapy to officers and their family members at multiple agencies in the Pacific Northwest. In January 1999, Dr. Artwohl closed her clinical practice to join her husband, Assistant Chief Dave Butzer, in his retirement from the Portland Police Bureau. They now devote their efforts to law enforcement training and consultation. Dr. Artwohl is co-author of the acclaimed book, Deadly Force Encounters, written with retired police officer Loren W. Christensen. She is holding two seminars during the convention addressing the topics of Critical Incidents: Investigations and Preparing to Survive.

If you have not done so already, please make plans for you and your family to attend this year’s convention where you can relax, meet with old friends and stay informed about the issues affecting public employees all across the state.