Services for former Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender, a South Milwaukee native, were held on Wednesday, as more and more people offered their thoughts on the local leader and his legacy.
Here is a story from NOW, and here is another story from Patch with reaction to Bolender’s death, including this from State Sen. Chris Larson …
“My first talk with him after the election as a good one. He had endorsed my opponent in the primary so there was a potential that we wouldn’t get along but I never felt slighted by him. He was someone who was above the fray. He was a statesman.
“I have five cities in my district – four full cities and part of Milwaukee. Of the five mayors that I’ve worked with, Mayor Bolender was the one I worked with the most. I sat down to talk issues with him more than anybody. A year ago I couldn’t have predicted that, but he was the easiest to approach, somebody who would get coffee at the drop of a hat if you wanted to talk about issues of development or what was going to be going on with the city hall project, what’s going on with Oak Creek schools, whatever it was … we acknowledged there was a difference between us (politically) but it was never an issue.”
And this from County Supervisor Pat Jursik …
“He was an extremely pragmatic man. He represented the community first and foremost. He did things in the interest of his community and I think that’s why he was such a good leader.
“He just totally loved his family. He wasn’t afraid to say that he loved his family and that he loved his wife.
“He was truly a (University of Wisconsin-) Whitewater fan. He played on the football team in college … and Bolender would wear his Whitewater football jacket around. To show how loyal a person he was, he supported that team his entire life.”
And check out these other headlines from around the South Shore:
South Milwaukee Blog 