Following yesterday's defeat on the PabstCity project, Mayor Tom Barrett lashed out at the plan's critics and called upon them to bring forth their own plan along with prospective developers.

After watching some highlights of the press conference, I was struck by how fired up Barrett was over the vote. That amount of passion hasn't been seen from the mayor since he was campaiging for the job early last year.

Milwaukee has a history of strong mayors like Frank Zeidler, Henry Maier, and John Norquist. They all knew how to use the mayor's office to get things done. Norquist was particularly effective at getting the council to support his initiatives. If Barrett is to win these kinds of battles, he needs to get the residents of the city to rally around his ideas. If he can do that, the council will follow.

As for PabstCity itself, last week's Shepherd has an editorial that runs through the various problems with the project.

Using the House of Blues as an example, is there really a need for the city to subsidize another concert venue? Not too long ago, the Milwaukee Auditorium was upgraded and became the new Milwaukee Theater thanks in large part to assistance from the city. That facility now competes with the Marcus Center, Riverside Theater, and other establishments operating without tax assistance. Competition is great, and ought to be encouraged. What should be avoided is the unlevel playing field that results from giving handouts to the likes of the Milwaukee Theater and the House of Blues.