The state of public education in America was on display earlier this week in Milwaukee, when at a county commission meeting on the subject of a proposed boycott of Arizona over its recently-passed immigration law a Democrat elected official who proudly calls herself a Mexican-American demonstrated that she doesn’t know Arizona is on the border with Mexico.

The woman in question is County Supervisor Peggy West, whose bio reads as follows:

Peggy West was elected 12th District Supervisor in 2004 and, after being reelected in 2008, is serving her second term representing 50,000 residents on Milwaukee’s south side. She currently serves as 2nd Vice-Chair on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor West also has the unique distinction of being the first Latino/Hispanic American to be elected to the Milwaukee County Board.

Supervisor West grew up in Milwaukee and graduated with a degree in Human Services from the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Prior to her election to the Board, Supervisor West worked for 10 years in the human service field.

Supervisor West is currently Chairwoman of the Health and Human Needs Committee and is a member of the Economic & Community Development and Finance & Audit Committees.

Active in her community, Supervisor West was named the 2004 Hispanic Woman of the Year by UMOS, Inc.

A committed believer in community service, Supervisor West volunteers for UMOS, Inc. and Mexican Fiesta and serves as a mentor at Notre Dame Middle School.

Peggy serves on the Latina Resource Center Advisory Board, Sports Authority Planning Council, Health Care Policy Task Force, Milwaukee Center for Independence Board of Visitors, Kosciuszko Community Center Advisory Board and Esperanza Unida Board of Directors; she is Co-Chair of the Side Side National Night Out Planning Committee as well as the Cesar E. Chavez Drive Advancement Committee. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Milwaukee Democratic Party.

Supervisor West resides in the Walker’s Point neighborhood and is the proud parent of three daughters.

It’s wonderful that West – who local radio host Jeff Wagner lambasted as a “dim bulb” – is active in Hispanic- and Mexican-American affairs in her community. Doesn’t it seem especially damning, then, that she can’t correctly identify one of only FOUR states which border her ancestral homeland? And if she doesn’t know enough about Arizona to understand why they might have a problem with illegal immigrants there, why on earth does she think she’s qualified to attempt a boycott?

It’s Know-Nothing idiocy like this which seems to drive the Hard Left in America at present. Supervisor West might be a nice lady, but if she started a political discussion in a bar with this level of command of the facts she’d find herself taken to the woodshed by people too plastered to drive home. Who put her in a position to affect policy affecting hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people?

Who? Well, here’s a hint:

12th District Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy West will join Service Employees International Union Local 1 janitors and community supporters Monday at noon outside the Marcus Center for Performing Arts (PAC) to call on PAC management to cancel its contract with non-union cleaning company Gibb Building Maintenance.

Gibb took over the PAC cleaning contract August 16. Six union janitors represented by SEIU Local 1 are now out of work.

Gibb typically pays its janitors less than $8 per hour and does not offer affordable health insurance. The janitors they replaced were employees of Modern Maintenance, and were paid at least $9.45 an hour with access to full health benefits at 30 hours per week.

“How can the arts truly represent the best of what Milwaukee has to offer if arts facilities eliminate good, family supporting jobs,” asked Supervisor West.

(Hat tip: Innocent Bystanders.)