Panel held its first meeting in January

During his 2011 campaign for Milwaukee County executive, Chris Abele criticized the level of debt the county had amassed.

"For years, debt problems were allowed to accumulate while politicians bickered and kicked the can down the road,” he said in March 2011.

The solution? Abele promised to "convene leaders from public and private companies to identify a long-term plan to tackle the county"s long-term debt program."

The panel met for the first time in January 2012 to establish the agenda for the group"s discussions on the county's debt and other long-term liabilities, said Abele's spokesman, Brendan Conway.

The members: businessman-philanthropist Sheldon Lubar, who was part of Abele's transition team; retired Northwestern Mutual chief executive officer Ed Zore, a vocal supporter of Abele"s 2012 county budget; former county official Rob Henken, who is president of the Public Policy Forum government watchdog and research organization; Milwaukee Public Museum president and chief executive officer Jay Williams, a former Private Bank executive; and state Rep. Jason Fields, D-Milwaukee.

The panel's work is still to be done, but Abele's promise was to convene the panel.

We rate this a Promise Kept.