MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — With one vote in October 1995, George Petak made Wisconsin history twice. He cast the deciding vote to provide funding for the public stadium that kept the Brewers in Milwaukee, leading him to become the first state lawmaker successfully removed from office.
These days, Petak, 73, is retired and lives in Colorado. Nearly 28 years after a vote that preserved Major League Baseball in Wisconsin but also ended his political career, Petak said he has no regrets.
“I was convinced then, and I’m convinced now that it was the right thing to do at the right time,” Petak said in an interview Friday.
The journal of the Wisconsin State Legislature reflects nearly 18 hours of drama beginning just before noon on October 5, 1995. Around midnight, the Senate voted twice on a bill creating a new baseball stadium district and fund it with a new 0.1 percent five-county sales tax in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties.
Petak, who represented Racine as a Republican, voted “no” on both of those ballots, and both failed 16-15. The recess hours followed on a tense night, with acting MLB commissioner and former Brewers owner Bud Selig in the Capitol.
There had been friction within the GOP over the bill. Then-governor Tommy Thompson enthusiastically supported the bill while former Senate Majority Leader Mike Ellis opposed it.
Then, shortly before 5 a.m., there was a third vote, and Petak changed his vote.
He said it was clear no one else was going to go for a yes. Milwaukee Democrats, including former state Sen. Gary George and Gwen Moore, who now serves in Congress, were against the funding plan.
“We weren’t going to get more Democratic votes. We had a limited number of Republican votes,” Petak said. “And it was time to stand up and do the right thing for Milwaukee, for southeast Wisconsin and for the state of Wisconsin.”
The vote placed Racine County on a portion of the stadium’s funding responsibilities. Petak said voter polls were mixed, with a slight edge in favor of the county helping to pay for the construction of a new stadium for the Brewers.
However, the vote sparked a firestorm, and the following March, organizers successfully gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall election in Petak district. Petak lost in June to Democratic challenger Kim Plache, who called the funding bill “the Republican violation of Racine,” he said. a New York Times article summarizing the result.
A new debate on funding
The stadium sales tax ended up generating more than $600 million before being phased out in 2020.
The Southeastern Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District currently has less than $100 million in reserves. The district is responsible for the maintenance of the stadium.
The Brewers’ lease with the district runs through 2030, but the team has an option to extend it for another 10 years.
A study commissioned by the ball club estimates that American Family Field will need $428 million worth of renovations by 2040.
Petak said he supports keeping the Brewers in Wisconsin beyond the end of the current lease, but favors a different form of financing going forward.
“At this point, I would say anyone but the taxpayers [should be responsible,]Petak said.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed giving nearly $300 million in state aid, but Republicans took it out of the state budget.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has said he wants the amount of state aid tied to the amount of income tax revenue the state receives from MLB personnel, which has averaged about $10 million per season in recent years.
Vos wants Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to also pay for the stadium’s upkeep, but the Milwaukee County Board voted last month to oppose spending more money on the Brewers’ stadium.
“To get back to the taxpayers, I personally can’t see this happening without a lot of distress,” Petak said.
Petak said he hoped private businesses and organizations would provide funds for another round of stadium renovations.
The debate will gather steam in the coming months as Republicans craft a bill outlining their counterproposal to Evers.
Petak said he was optimistic the Brewers would end up staying, but he knows better than anyone how sensitive the talks and eventual votes will be.
“I think it will probably be resolved at some point,” Petak said. “But it won’t be easy.”
