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WisPolitics Profile
By Joanne M. Haas
January 9, 2002
PROFILE SUBJECT: Tim Sheehy
TITLE: President, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, since October 1992.
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: April 16, 1959, Milwaukee
EDUCATION: Bachelor of science, political science, University of Wisconsin-Madison,1981; Completed several Institute for Organization Management conferences at various campuses nationwide over five years.
OTHER JOBS: Served as a Lyndon Baines Johnson congressional Intern for U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., during college, and joined Sensenbrenner's staff after his 1981 graduation; Worked in various capacities, including as a lobbyist, for Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce since joining the group in 1983.
FAMILY: Married, 3 children, ages 11, 9 and 5
STAFF: 40
BUDGET: $4.5 million annually
OFFICE ADDRESS, TELEPHONES: 756 North Milwaukee St., Suite 400, Milwaukee, WI 53202 (voice) 414-287-4100, (fax) 414-271-7753
PUBLICATIONS: "Commerce," monthly publication; also numerous publications for members, including demographic reports, voting records and more.
WEB SITE: www.mmac.org
English author and critic Gilbert Keith Chesterton wrote: "The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they generally are the same people." Sounds like Chesterton could have been talking about the gathering in Wisconsin's northwoods several weeks ago when a select few met at the invitation of gubernatorial consultant Morris Andrews to talk about the future of the state's education system. Tim Sheehy, the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Chamber, was there. He says he witnessed a breakthrough at that meeting.
"We all felt we were going to defend our own turf," he says of the business, government, labor and education representatives gathered at a former corporate retreat north of Minoqua. The great "breakthrough" was when "we all recognized that the competition wasn't in the room. It was in Austin and Boston and St. Louis."
Sheehy sees no purpose in all-out turf protection. As the state is pressed to solve a possible budget deficit of $1.3 billion, Sheehy believes the time is ripe for seeing each other and the various state regions as partners to solve the fiscal nightmare instead of competitors for dwindling resources. "One of the first things I learned as a lobbyist is to understand the arguments against your point of view as well as your own point of view," he says.
Not only must he understand the daily challenges and successes of the 2,500 businesses his group represents in metro Milwaukee, including Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties, but also "what makes the rest of the state tick.
"When I have a conversation with (Democratic Sen.) Bob Jauch about the new stadium in Milwaukee, I sure better understand what is going on in Superior or Poplar so he can relate better," Sheehy says of the longtime senator from northwestern Wisconsin.
"Part of doing a good job in the Legislature is having the ability to compromise and the ability to be flexible, and look at somebody else's point of view without giving up the core values that you believe in supporting," says Sheehy, who first joined MMAC in1983. "I take great pride that our organization has a very good working relationship with both sides of the aisle."
In order to act successfully and strategically, he argues, "we have to think of ourselves as a region." says Sheehy, part of McCallum's inner circle of trusted advisers. He credits the first-year governor for promoting a change in the traditional thinking. "It's not the `D' or the `R' that's the problem," says the third-generation lobbyist, often viewed as a potential future candidate. "It's combining the best views of both sides of the aisle, and looking for the coalitions where we can make investments, or reduce spending...to put the state into a better position."
Using the state's congressional delegation as an example, Sheehy says individually the officials work hard to do the best for their constituents. "But we are ineffective as a group," he says, citing Wisconsin's consistently poor showing in the return of federal dollars. "That is a failure at the congressional level."
Sheehy's perspective stems from the family business -- lobbying. His late grandfather Ray Sheehy served as a lobbyist for the gas company in Madison. After 40 years of service, Ray Sheehy was replaced by his son John Sheehy, one of the city of Milwaukee's first lobbyists and still on contract with Wisconsin Energy, now the parent of the gas company.
It doesn't stop there. His sister, Mary Sheehy Reid is the deputy secretary of the Department of Tourism and his brother-in-law, Bill Reid, lobbies for the Eli Lilly and Co. "It's in the blood or the water," Sheehy jokes.
Sheehy's exposure to lobbying and government came young. He often traveled to the Capitol with his grandfather, and listened to his father talk about his work. And he got to know the state quite well as a child by traveling to various political events with his grandfather and father.
Sheehy says "one of the best ways to learn how to lobby is to be on staff for a legislator, or in this case, a congressman." Sheehy saw first hand what lobbying methods work and which fail during his days as a Lyndon Baines Johnson Congressional Intern and then staffer for U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.
In fact, it was on a 1983 district visit with Sensenbrenner that Sheehy learned the association he now leads was in search of a lobbyist. "I had no idea what the Chamber was," he says. "But I was interested in the lobbying experience."
So Mr. Sheehy went to Madison and remains grateful for the mentoring he received from many colleagues, including Kenyon Kies and Jim Hough.
"I do a fair amount of lobbying now, and I think it will always be part of my job. I enjoy it, and yet I spend a lot of time on the strategic end," he says of his work with the association -- approaching a 20-year mark in 2003.
The big issues, regionally speaking, for the association include the Marquette Interchange, the addition of power plants to answer the state's changing energy needs, and education to ensure Wisconsin is producing high-quality citizens.
While Sheehy says he just really got to know McCallum after he took over as governor, he says he's grown to respect the governor's methods.
"I think he is much more prone to act from his heart and his beliefs and be much less concerned about the political consequences of his action," Sheehy says. "And that's a wonderful attribute.
"And I just think enough people need to recognize his actions so he can repeat," he says, referring to the upcoming gubernatorial elections.
What about elected office for Sheehy?
"I get asked that a lot -- especially about (Milwaukee) mayor," Sheehy says, adding he's attracted to the the idea. But for now, he likes the balance of his current leadership role because it straddles the public and private sectors. Plus, there's a big family commitment to take care of: he's married with three young children. Still, he won't rule out a future run for political office.
In the meantime, he's back in the house he grew up in -- just 10 miles or so out of the city limits. "I like to say I'm back to cutting the grass without an allowance," he says with a laugh.
And he and his family often take advantage of Milwaukee.
"What makes Milwaukee so wonderful is the absolute accessibility of things," he says. Things some people consider attempting in other urban areas maybe once a month "we do with reckless abandon here. "It is very easy to run downtown to go to an event, or run over and have a dinner," he says, adding you can get away without going away. "It's a running vacation in your own town."
Which makes Sheehy sound a little like Chesterton -- it's all in how you look at things.
Written exclusively for subscribers; further distribution is a violation of the WisPolitics Subscriber Agreement. The WisPolitics Profile is Copyright 2002 Wispolitics Publishing.
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