We got into a little back-and-forth recently with Pete Kennedy, a former Waukesha Freeman editor, who wrote a column for that newpaper which began and ended by saying, "Milwaukee sucks."

My response, in a slightly different version, appeared in the Freeman a week later.

Now comes Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson, a good guy (and even a Democrat) to defend his fair city.

You can read his entire column below.

He makes some good points about the interdependence of Milwaukee and its surrounding counties, and of the need for cooperation.

But he's in denial if he thinks Waukesha isn't a suburb, or that it would be a free-standing city of 70,000 if it weren't for its proximity to Milwaukee.

Unlike Kennedy, I didn't say Waukesha sucks, simply that it is dependent on Milwaukee, which offers far more social, cultural, and economic advantages than a city little more than 10% its size.

I'm sure Waukesha has its charms, but I won't be taking the tour to check them out. He won't persuade me that Waukesha is on par with Milwaukee. A lot of it has to do with sheer size and diversity. I lived in Madison for 25 years, and while it is three times Waukesha's size, it can't measure up to Milwaukee, a real city, either. (Will Madison's Mayor Dave write the next column?)

Mayor Nelson wants to show me that Waukesha has a good Mexican restaurant and other amenities. But here's the real measure: Let's go to the 20 best Mexican restaurants in Waukesha and Milwaukee, or the five best French restaurants in each, or the three best African eateries, or the 10 best espresso places.

You get the idea. It's scale and diversity. The same is true of entertainment and cultural offerings. The Waukesha County Fair may be fun, but it is not the Wisconsin State Fair (which is in West Allis, another suburb.)  Waukesha is simply not in the same league as Milwaukee.  As much as I love Milwaukee, I wouldn't try to say it compares with Chicago or New York City.

It's great that development is happening in Waukesha, too. But Anthropologie is not Menard's, or even Steak 'N Shake. 

I don't hate Waukesha or think it sucks. I certainly like the blue collar City of Waukesha better than the rest of the county.

What I don't like, and what I was reacting to, was the kind of anti-Milwaukee mentality expressed in Kennedy's column. That's what got my dander up.

Now, if anyone's still reading, here's what the mayor has to say:

Regional respect needed for future
Waukesha, Milwaukee are both valuable, 
viable places to live, work and play

By LARRY NELSON
August 2, 2007

Two summer columns in The Freeman reminded me of a message I tried to teach my former middle school students for 30 years. You don’t have to like all the other students but you should learn to respect them.

Pete Kennedy’s "Milwaukee can’t be defended any longer" column and Bill Christofferson’s "Without Milwaukee, there would be no suburbs to complain" column are not only both wrong, but they’re vivid examples of the prejudiced 20th century thinking that has stopped southeastern Wisconsin from reaching its full potential.

Kennedy’s columns usually use humor and irony to make his points but to start and end his column with "Milwaukee sucks" not only is disrespectful but is the type of vulgar street language that the violent punks use that he rightly criticizes.

When Mayor Tom Barrett asked me to join the U.S. Conference of Mayors fight against illegal guns, I was proud to join the effort because the residents of Waukesha should be concerned about the violence in Milwaukee. I do think Milwaukee could learn from our highly successful community oriented policing program and the school resource officer program that has prevented and solved more crimes in our public high schools than most people realize.

However, I know that Milwaukee doesn’t suck because I grew up on the northwest side, am a proud graduate of John Marshall High School, earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and as an adult, am a proud member of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Milwaukee Public Museum and a season ticket-holder to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. (I should mention as a true believer in regionalism I’m also a proud member of the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago and a season ticket-holder for the Waukesha Civic Theatre and the American Players Theatre in Spring Green).

I’ve also been going to Summerfest for 40 years (Pete, you missed a great Steely Dan concert this year) and in my first 52 years of life have never been a victim or witness to any crimes, not that I believe, as Pete seems to, in generalizing from my own experiences. Still I’m in agreement with Bill Christofferson that "we can and must do more to combat it (violent crime)." I also agree with Bill that "the benefits of urban living more than outweigh the disadvantages."

Bill Christofferson is usually an insightful political analyst and operative but joins Pete Kennedy in the gutter by saying "But without Milwaukee, Waukesha would be Mukwonago, a dot on the map. Waukesha and the other suburbs whose residents like to feel so superior exist only because Milwaukee exists."

Now I know I’m biased as mayor of Waukesha, but let me add some facts to this debate. Waukesha has grown to be the seventh largest city in Wisconsin with almost 70,000 residents and Money magazine last year named us the 36th best small city to live in (No. 1 in Wisconsin). On top of that, America’s Promise named Waukesha one of the 100 best communities in the United States for young people, Laura Bush named us a Preserve America city, we were named a Tree City USA for 28 years in a row, and we were recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to be a Big Read city, where our whole community will be encouraged to read "Fahrenheit 451."

So Bill, don’t call us a suburb or minimize us. We are a growing and thriving city that has more in common with Milwaukee than most of the rest of the region. We’re glad that Anthropologie has chosen to locate in Milwaukee. I’m guessing that you don’t know in my first year as mayor, Gander Mountain, Menards, Car Max, Life Care Hospital, Midwest Kidney Dialysis Center, a rehab hospital and Steak ‘n Shake, have all chosen to locate in Waukesha. Not to mention Andy Ruggeri and his partners, who helped start Hotel Metro, the Delafield Hotel and Andrew’s Restaurant, have chosen historic downtown Waukesha and Riverwalk for the luxury boutique Clarke Hotel and the upscale restaurant, the Black Trumpet.

Bill, Waukesha is proud to have the most racial, cultural and economic diversity in our county, as should Milwaukee be proud of its diversity. We can learn from Mayor Barrett’s leadership in having an office of sustainability as we were the first Waukesha County community to sign an energy efficiency agreement with Johnson Controls and are exploring green and sustainable development.

It’s not a coincidence that Mayor Barrett and I are the two active mayors in the visionary Milwaukee 7, which as you correctly point out "recognizes that the seven counties are interdependent and is aimed at ending the rivalry that pits one community against another." I believe the key to regional and local success in southeastern Wisconsin in the 21st century is to put past and present prejudices (as seen in the two columns) aside and find nonpartisan ways to resolve issues like water and transportation. Only then can Milwaukee and Waukesha lead southeastern Wisconsin to be the leading Midwest region that the Milwaukee 7 has shown can become the reality.

In the meantime, I’d like to invite Pete Kennedy and Bill Christofferson on a fact-finding tour of Waukesha and Milwaukee. We can compare the corned beef at Rochester Deli and Jake’s, the Mexican food at La Estacion and Acapulco, the coffeehouses of Sprizzo’s and Alterra’s, Waukesha’s Art Fest and art crawls with the Festival of the Arts and Gallery Walks. I could go on and on, but the conclusion will be obvious to those in both cities with open minds.Waukesha and Milwaukee are both great cities that should not only respect each other but celebrate each other’s successes. Working together to solve regional problems and be leaders in both the Milwaukee 7 and the state of Wisconsin should become our joint new vision. I challenge Pete, Bill and other area leaders, both public and private, to join me in this 21st century vision.

(Larry Nelson is mayor of Waukesha.)