Political preview: The Men from Milwaukee
Which one will be Wisconsin’s next governor?
Wisconsin is a battleground this political season, with a tight race for one of our two open Senate seats, an equally as hard race in the gubernatorial arena and contention coloring the ballots for a myriad of district, county and even local leadership posts. Regardless of where you live in the state, the race that will make the most difference in moving Wisconsin forward is the one between Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. With opponents so familiar to each other, their challenge is more about getting to know the voters beyond their familiar Milwaukee community than getting to know each other as opponents. To help our readers better understand the platforms of our two gubernatorial candidates, Corporate Report Wisconsin supplied each candidate with the same 10 questions, many of which were inspired by the concerns we’ve been hearing from our readers:
With both candidates hailing from Milwaukee, you draw your insight from the state’s major metropolitan area. One of the issues our readers elsewhere around the state bring up is that people have a tendency to forget the rest of Wisconsin. What would you say in response to a concern that you may not understand the issues of more rural areas? TOM BARRETT: I want to be the governor who makes Wisconsin the No. 1 dairy state again. I intend to accomplish this through a number of agricultural and rural development initiatives such as: (1) tax credits for
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Platteville — most multiple times. I plan to continue doing this as governor so I can continue to hear the concerns of people in all parts of our state. We have to demand that all communities get an equitable share of state resources. To ensure this, I will seek a broad geographic representation on the many boards and commissions that I appoint. What do you believe is the biggest challenge to doing business in Wisconsin right now and how would you change it? TOM BARRETT: The biggest challenge to doing business in Wisconsin is the continuing effect of the national recession. Too many small business owners are looking for loans and too many consumers are trying to manage their own balance sheets in the face of unacceptable unemployment and tight lending conditions. My first priority as governor will be jobs, jobs, jobs. I am the only candidate who has a record of working with businesses to create jobs, and I have presented a specific plan to create more jobs throughout Wisconsin. I coCRWMAG.COM
dairy and dairy processing facilities; (2) balanced priorities for regulatory relief and environmental protection; (3) an annual loan program through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Association to provide an additional $100,000 loan to eligible dairy farms. SCOTT WALKER: Growing up in the small town of Delavan and now, hailing proudly from our state’s largest county, I understand the needs of our urban and rural residents. I have visited every corner of the state, from Superior to Kenosha, from Sturgeon Bay to