Recall vote/from page 1 senate recall campaigns across the state, has drawn national attention and raised the emotions of many to a fever pitch as discussion focused mainly on Gov. Scott Walker’s curtailment of collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers. Millions of dollars have been spent by special interest groups on behalf of recall candidates statewide as the outcome of the recall elections will determine if the Republicans retain control of the state Senate.
Debates still coming
Moore, a Democrat, is a high school English teacher active on the state level in supporting teachers unions and Harsdorf, a Republican, is a dairy farmer and former ag loan officer who first served in the state Legislature and then in the Senate. The two agreed in the final month of the campaign to meet in three face-to-face debates - two of which took place last week, the first hosted by the Hudson Patch (hudson-wi.patch.com), an online newspaper, on July 25, and the second hosted by the River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, on July 28. Links to videos of those debates can be found at the Leader’s Web site at www.the-leader.net. A third debate is scheduled for this Thursday, Aug. 4, on Wisconsin Public Radio at 5 p.m., and KSTP (Channel 5) announced Tuesday it would focus on both candidates during its “At Issue” program to be broadcast Sunday, Aug. 7, at 10 a.m.
Hearing the candidates
Candidates used last week’s forums to clarify their stances on a variety of issues including Walker’s Budget Repair Bill which curtailed collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public employees, a move that sparked recall movements in Senate districts across the state and brought tens of thousands of protesters to Madison and the Capitol rotunda. Both candidates spoke of longing for more civility in elections and government but neither shied away from attacking each other’s records and stances, particularly during a debate hosted by the River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau last Thursday, July 28. Each candidate elicited some murmurs and a few boos following statements each made which in essence, questioned the other’s integrity or motives. But most of the hour-long forum saw each take the opportunity to clarify their positions on issues from job creation to school funding and from affordable health insurance to promoting bipartisanship and civility in today’s hostile political environment in Wisconsin and nationwide. Dr. Del Permann, interim pastor at Roberts United Church of Christ, moderated the forum, which offered candidates two minutes to answer each of several questions offered to both candidates. No follow up opportunities were offered the candidates but they were allowed closing statements.
Collective bargaining
On the question of the curtailing of collective bargaining, Harsdorf said it was not completely eliminated by the budget reform bill, and collective bargaining for wages for public employees was retained. She said that while some have said there is no cost to collective bargaining, in reality that’s not true. She gave an example of a senior citizen who volunteered to be a crossing guard at his school - but the union came in and told the school they needed to pay for that position. The same occurred when inmate labor was proposed to mow medians in one city, she added. She also mentioned the case of a union member demanding insurance cover the cost of Viagra. The budget bill changes that, she noted. “We’re giving tools and flexibility to local units of government,” Harsdorf said of the Walker budget bill. “So they can protect their budgets.” She said school districts can now competitively bid for health insurance and some are already experiencing significant savings. “We’re asking public employees to pay 12 percent (of their health insurance premiums),” Harsdorf noted. “I don’t know how many of you are self-employed who are paying 12 percent or less.”
She said she knows of one farmer who pays $1,300 a month for health coverage and that’s with a $5,000 deductible. “Our reforms are giving tools to local governments and schools so they can manage in this tough economy and avoid mass layoffs, unlike what we are seeing in other states.” Moore responded by saying “We are not avoiding mass layoffs. When a school district lays off every single member and then recalls some ...” She said everyone knows someone who has seen either layoffs or cuts in pay. “Collective bargaining has been here in Wisconsin since 1959. It’s a way for people to sit down and talk with each other, it’s been about compromise and shared sacrifice.” She said it often involves issues of working conditions, the ability to decide what is taught in the classroom, prep time and safety concerns for road crews on work sites. Moore said the Viagra story is “ludicrous” and was actually a case about a breach of contract involving a complete prescription drug program that was totally paid for by givebacks by insurance - not by taxpayers. “But I’m not surprised my opponent doesn’t understand all ramifications of collective bargaining,” Moore said, “because at end of day what collective bargaining is about is two groups of people sitting down and respecting each other, drawing conclusions together with respect, thoughtfulness, respect, listening and compromise these are all things that have been completely lost in the current Wisconsin Legislature.”
School funding
Moderator Permann asked both candidates what options there are to provide a more even revenue stream to schools, which often have a difficult time developing long-term strategic plans due to the unpreditable state funding levels. Harsdorf said that one of the biggest challenges is how to fund schools - shifting more of the cost from property tax to state taxpayers. She said she was part of a state Legislature that made a commitment to schools in the ‘90s to pay two-thirds of the cost for each district. “The commitment was in place for many years and was a top priority,” Harsdorf said. “(Education) is the single largest line item appropriation - and that’s where it should be.” The two-thirds commitment, Harsdorf said, was easier in the ‘90s when revenues were better - but the commitment was met even when budget shortfalls came along. She said Gov. Doyle’s administration cut $660 million from schools but allowed that cost to be shifted onto property taxpayers. She said the reforms set in place by the Walker administration were designed to help schools deal with those the cuts in state aid - and they include a property tax freeze. When studying the Budget Repair Bill, she said, she and other legislators heard from schools, meeting with school officials, who wanted those reforms. “They were fearful and asked how long the reforms were going to be blocked by special interests,” she said. “Without reforms they would be in a world of hurt right now.” Moore said the measures taken back in 1993 by legislators were “arbitrary caps placed on fiscally responsible districts” and legislators were supposed to revisit the school funding system - but never did. She said there have been numerous studies on how to better fund schools - but they have been ignored by legislators. She called the property tax model “ineffective,” and negatively affecting school districts which either have a lot of state or national land or where property values exceed the income of the people. “They keep saying they gave us tools but it was tools to cut employees,” she said. She said “real leadership” would have provided a school funding model that worked and helped schools in northwestern Wisconsin instead of providing money for a private school voucher program in Milwaukee.
Crowd reacts
A statement by Harsdorf was met with disapproval by some audience members
The 10th Senate District. - Special photo when she brought up the issue of Moore using her school computer at Ellsworth Schools, where she teaches, for political purposes. Harsdorf was responding to a statement by Moore during which she explained that she herself knows the reason for running and felt misrepresented by the information being put forth about her by the Harsdorf campaign. “I am not misrepresenting my opponent,” Harsdorf said. “Go to moretaxes.com - those are her words, not mine go take a look. She was in Madison talking about ‘We breathe union ...’” Harsdorf then said that Moore returned to her school and used school e-mails for political purposes. “No government employee can use their taxpayer-funded computer for partisan political purposes,” she said. “It has nothing to do with being declared a candidate.” (The campaigns disagree on whether Moore’s use of the computer constituted campaign e-mails, with Moore noting the e-mails predated her campaign announcement by two months). “Then she basically dismissed it by saying she didn’t care if it was against the law - that is wrong,” Harsdorf continued. “If you have an elected official with power who doesn’t care if she’s complying with the laws - boy, I tell you - that’s a dangerous situation - but I don’t know which is worse - having an elected official who doesn’t care about the law or the rules - or someone who is teaching our kids that it doesn’t matter.” The statement was met by murmuring, some boos and an audience member saying “Shame on you,” to Harsdorf. Moore received somewhat the same reaction following one of her statements. During the debate she referred to Harsdorf “giving money to her friends and saying it’s about growing jobs,” and during her closing statement questioned Harsdorf’s claim that she’s for the middle class, after passing a budget that hurts them. She also said the Walker administration says the steps they took didn’t affect schools. “Well, it probably would have been more honest for me to take the $6,000 pay cut I and my colleagues at Ellsworth High School accepted for next year and just write that check over to my opponent’s friends at M & I Bank - because at least that would have been more transparent.” Her comments were met with some boos, mixed with applause.
Job creation
Asked about job creation, Moore cited
the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s report titled “Be Bold Wisconsin.” That report cites the number one priority in job creation is having a skilled workforce and talks about the need to promote a strong pre-K through12 program, along with strong tech schools and colleges. She said Harsdorf supported creating the WEDC without any checks and balances as to how money used to fund the corporation is used. Moore said she would support job creation programs that are innovative - not relying on the traditional manufacturing jobs - but creating “long-term, innovative, game-changing jobs that are family-sustaining - not temporary, seasonal, minimum wage-employment.” Harsdorf responded, “We are not studying - we are actually doing.” She said the Walker administration is focused on creating a friendly climate for job creators. “That’s what turns our economy around,” she said. Harsdorf said the state Department of Commerce, under the previous administration (Doyle) focused only 19 percent of its effort on creating jobs - while the department under Walker is focusing 100 percent on job creation. She said already 39,000 new jobs have been created, including 12,900 new private sector-jobs last month alone. Half of the new jobs in the United States were created in Wisconsin, she noted. “Look at what Minnesota and Illinois are doing - chasing jobs out of their state by creating an unfriendly job climate,” Harsdorf said. Moore later challenged Harsdorf’s statement about ‘half the new jobs in the United States’ being created in Wisconsin. Those numbers, she said, came from the McGiver Institute, “a group that uses questionable math from time to time.” “You can’t subtract jobs created here from those created in the nation and say 50 percent,” Moore said. “That’s a leap of logic.”
Turning around the economy
Harsdorf said two things are needed to turn the state economy around - getting its fiscal house in order and growing jobs by doing what it can to keep existing businesses in the state and encouraging them to expand. “I travel and talk with business owners some are doing ok - some want to expand - but want to know they won’t be taxed out of the state or regulated out of the state they want some affirmation we want them to be here.” Moore said what makes a business grow is demand and when you cut the the salaries of a large number of people you end up with less demand. She said her opponent in the recall primary - Isaac Weix, a Republican who ran as a Democrat, said in a forum once that corporations don’t pay taxes - they just place that increased cost onto people who buy their goods and services. “If corporations don’t pay taxes, why do they need tax breaks and incentives?” Moore asked. “It isn’t about growing jobs - it’s a simple history lesson that all of us know,” she added. “There were still people producing things in 1929 - there was just no one able to buy them.” Moore said more family-sustaining jobs are needed - and more money in the hands of the people.
Numbers
Records show that Harsdorf has raised $434,000 and Moore $335,000 during the recall campaign. An estimated$25 million to $30 million has been raised statewide in the eight recall elections with approximately $2 million being spent in the District 10 Senate race alone, much of that on television advertising based in the Twin Cities market, which reaches western Wisconsin. Both candidates have expressed concern about outside interests trying to influence the election through advertising. Polls show the race is close, with a recent poll taken by the Democrats showing Moore trailing Harsdorf by three percentage points, with a margin of error of five points.