I understand, appreciate, and agree with Dan's concerns, but it's the voters that will choose. Tom McDonald is not much older than Sam, and I believe many times he's been the voice of reason on the council. Though Tom may have more formal education, I doubt he brought the world experience to the table, as described in this blog, at the time of his election.

TIME OUT for CONRY! I KNOW that in most mental hospitals, the "emotional reaction" as Conry himself calls his tirade, would REQUIRE a TIME OUT! Skip Bliss - I urge that YOU provide Conry with some additional FURLOUGH - VACATION time so he can get desperately needed R&R&R. Is Conry trying to get Rush's job?! Sad! WCLO has lost a great deal of credibility in the Janesville community, Skip! Are you out there listening in Janesville OR are you over in Walworth County (where you live) ALL the time so out of touch with WE THE PEOPLE in Janesville? Time for CHANGE, SKIP! Here we go... John W. Eyster

"...to not loose site..."

--Really? loose site?

Mr. Bliss, it's great that you got yourself a puppet to promote your right-wing agenda, but you might want to enroll him in an English Writing class so he sounds a little more credible...

This morning, I heard Dan talking about this 25 year old with no experience, XYZ, who wanted to run for council. After looking into it, and reading these posts, I realize that it's Sam Liebert that he's talking about ... I knew Sam when he was a very young kid. Sam has been a hardworker from the word go - and he was not "given" anything. I would think Mr. Conry would respect that - from what I've heard him say about his own background - sounds like he came from a similar hardworking, earn what you receive, sort of childhood. Give the kid a chance. I haven't seen him in YEARS, but it's nice to see a kid who grew up here come back wanting make a difference. We don't see that very often. And if serving in Janesville gives him the experience needed to move on to "bigger and better" things - I say - more power to him. Good luck, Sam!

The answer to your question - should we, the voting public, look into the background of any person running for office (to represent us). Of course we should. Should that person expect that his/her background (private and public) will be scrutinized. Yes.

Does the fact that a candidate has no "real world" experience preclude him/her from being able to sit on a city council and debate an issue and make a decision? No. But that's up to the voters to decide based on who else is running. I'd take a no experience person over someone with an agenda any day. People with agendas are not great team players and they often do not listen to both sides of any argument. They simply want their agenda forwarded. End of story. Give me a person with a brain who hasn't made up his/her mind on every issue yet. This 25 year old sounds like a possibility to me. Thanks for educating me about him ...

I would be more concerned if my elected official had made poor moral/ethical choices in his/her personal life than if he/she hadn't been in a leadership role before.

I would argue that Sam's apparent lack of "real world" experience (Do you really know ANYTHING about him except what you read on an application form?) gives him a great advantage! - His unbiased ability to run a city without being a slave to special interests. You make it sound like he's Joe Blow off the street trying to commandeer Janesville. Sam has educated himself and gotten "real experience" out in the political world. I understand that change is scary for everyone and that our gut reaction is to fight it tooth and nail, but i for one would welcome fresh ideas from a well-educated, community oriented person with the potential to do real good. I agree with the other posters - Invite Mr. Liebert on your show. Talk to him about his goals for Janesville instead of jumping to conclusions based off of black and white labels that you're using to stereotype him and paint him negatively (Young, liberal, democrat, non-business owner) If you REALLY have Janesville's best intentions at heart, get Sam's word from SAM instead of trying to infer his intentions from other sources.

put him on your show,give him = time,and let the PEOPLE decide who to vote for.

Dan,

Why not invite him on your show so that you can get to know him? If you do, please refrain from asking him to "take a shower and change his Depends," or subjecting him to any other juvenille insult your hurling that particular day. He has been in Janesville a lot longer than "a couple of months," maybe you could learn something from him.

I worked with Sam on the Obama Campaign and I can think of no better man to serve Rock County.
I served in the USMC 97-01 and 03-05 as a SGT. Currently in the US Army which I will be going OCS shortly. I went to college at UW Rock County in the Plattville EE program and have over 165 college credits.
Sam understands change isn't about a number. As a 19 year old kid I was put in charge of 27 other Marines. Age wasn't a requirement for the Marine Corps; ideas, leadership, focus, prioritizing and determination to get the job done were in line with what they sought. Sam showed those same qualities out there on the campaign trail. He sought out voters and helped register new ones; organized new people from all over the country...not just once but in every State he campaigned; he listened to the voters and was able to communicate those ideas back to campaign.
Dan: I'm not going to sit here and go tit for tat with you; I've got more important things to do like protecting our nation. I think Sam as a 25 year old holds the qualities of leadership and has exercised those abilities. I think Rock County as well as Janesville would be remiss if he were not given the chance to serve diligently and honorably as I have seen first hand!

Semper Fidelis

I don't trust people who can't spell the word "lose."

Wonder how Conry feels about a 19-year-old rmanaging Tuls proposed industrial-level farm with so much at stake - not only from paving over some of the richest farming acerage in the world but how the thousands cows with the tiniest "accident" could pose very REAL and irreversible danger to the environment in an instant. In 1960, Kessler became the youngest person (up to that time) ever elected to the Wisconsin Legislature. He was sworn in on his 21st birthday. Republican Theodore Roosevelt was 24 when he won a New York State Assembly seat. David Clarenbach was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1972, at age 18. In 1974, he was elected a Madison alderman, before being elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly that same year at the age of 21. All served well and honorably. Dan, from your pontificating, I think your answer to Rose's question is disingenuous at best.

Isn't that what being a free country is all about? Anyone can run for public office if they choose. And then living in a democracy we have the right to choose who we vote for. I personally want to hear what that 25 year old has to say and will not keep him from speaking his mind - whether I vote for him will depend on what he has to say.

If this guy is such a loser, why are you giving him so much attention?

It's sad... but sometimes there are not enough qualified candidates to fill the seats that become vacant. Then it's a matter of voting for the best available... whether they have experience or not.

Nothing wrong with a critical look at any candidate. None will be the perfect soldier, business owner, parent and saint that some may require for their vote. It's also possible that someone with those attributes is also the worst possible choice. There's more to a candidate than background. What about the actual policies she advocates?

Same could be said for an 80 year old county board chairman that pays no property taxes. Yet he holds final say on mine?

Why in the hell would I want to know if someone running for the City Council was in the military? We are talking about the City Council here. George Bush never had a job and he became president. Of course, he was in the military. Even if they couldn't find him for several of those years.