Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker made the Twin Ports a destination on his annual tour to promote tourism in Milwaukee County.
With an entourage of Harley Davidson enthusiasts, Walker made a stop at Barker's Island and toured the SS Meteor before heading to Duluth to spread the message of all Milwaukee has to offer. The trip is sponsored by AirTran Airways and ChooseMilwaukee.com, sparing Milwaukee County taxpayers from the annual $3,000 travel expenditure.
From the 11-day, 700-act music festival Summer Fest to the Harley Davidson Museum -- complete with Elvis Presley's Harley -- Walker said Milwaukee has something for everyone.
"We started it in 2003, after the 100th anniversary of Harley Davidson," Walker said. "There was so much excitement with that we decided what better way to promote Milwaukee than on a Harley Davidson?"
For more than 100 years, Milwaukee has been the home of the legendary motorcycle company.
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The five-day, 35-city tour started in Milwaukee on Saturday, and wound its way up the state's eastern border over the weekend with about 117 riders. Many dropped out after the weekend. Monday, the remaining 60 or so riders made the trip from Rhinelander, across northern Wisconsin, which included stops in Ashland, Bayfield and Superior, before ending with a night in Duluth's Canal Park on Monday.
The decision to stay in Duluth rather than a hotel in Superior drew criticism from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Walker, a Republican, is a declared candidate for Wisconsin governor.
"In this tough economy, you would think we would be doing everything to support Wisconsin businesses," Mike Tate, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said. "It is my understanding that five minutes from his Duluth hotel is a Best Western in Superior. ... He could have done it for about $50 less a night."
Tate estimated the group would spend about $4,000 on rooms, not including what they would spend on meals.
Walker declined to answer any questions related to his campaign because he was traveling in an official capacity as the Milwaukee County executive; however, he said the criticism isn't justified because the purpose of the trip hasn't changed since the ride began in 2003 -- to promote Milwaukee County tourism. In spite of being a declared candidate, he said, he still has a job to do as county executive.
"Consider the source," Walker said. "If we didn't do it, they would say he isn't doing his job anymore. ... The simple fact is we want to bring tourism into Milwaukee County. It's the same reason we went to Michigan, and the same reason we'll head to Dubuque, Iowa.
"It [has] got all the big-city attractions with a small-town feel," he said. "This year, with the economy as tight as it is, we want folks coming in and spend[ing] their dollars locally instead of going four states over."
Today, after an interview with Lew Latto, Walker and his motorcycle entourage head south with stops in Hayward and Spooner and points south including Dubuque on Wednesday before heading east to Milwaukee, arriving Thursday, just in time for the start of Summer Fest on Thursday.
