LETTER: Under election pressure, Duey Stroebel now a Clay Bluffs fan

To Ozaukee Press:

I was flabbergasted to see State Sen. Duey Stroebel in a photo on the front page of the News Graphic touring the Clay Bluffs Cedar Gorge Nature Preserve. It appears Stroebel realizes his election in a new senate district is in trouble over his lack of support for the preserve.

Stroebel’s recent claims about his environmental record, particularly regarding the Clay Bluffs project, are misleading and disingenuous. While he denies being the source of the anonymous objection that nearly derailed the project, his record on conservation and his past writing paint a clear picture.

Stroebel has consistently criticized the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, arguing that conserving Wisconsin’s natural lands aren’t worth the investment. This stance is evident in his 2019 op-ed and 2021 letter to the Ozaukee Press, in which he dismissed the value of conservation to Wisconsinites.

Even if Stroebel wasn’t behind the anonymous objection, what’s evident is that he did nothing to help secure the grant for Clay Bluffs. Did Stroebel, as vice chairman of the Joint Finance Committee, do anything to urge the committee to hold a meeting and take a vote on the Clay Bluffs grant? No such hearing was ever scheduled.

It was Gov. Evers who stepped in to save the project by funding the final $2.3 million for the preserve using federal dollars, not Stroebel.

Voters would be wise to reject Duey Stroebel in November and elect Jodi Habush Sinykin, an environmental lawyer, for the 8th Senate District. 

James Blank

Cedarburg