Februarty
Back in the saddle The Badger men are on a roll after a tough win in Happy Valley Tuesday night +SPORTS, page 8
Pull out your planners! Check out this month’ +ARTS, pages 4 & 5 Arts calendar! University of Wisconsin-Madison
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dailycardinal.com
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Dems. announce senate recall candidates By Adam Wollner The Daily Cardinal
Two weeks after petitions to recall four Republican state senators were turned in, Democrats have their candidates to challenge three of the seats in potential recall elections. At a press conference held at Monona Terrace Tuesday, Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, announced former Democratic legislators Sen. John Lehman, Rep. Kristen Dexter, and Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, will face Sens. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, and Pam Galloway, R-Wausau, respectively, if the recall elections occur. Lehman’s race against Wanggaard would be a rematch of a 2010 election, when Lehman lost
to Wanggaard by five percentage points after serving just one term in the state Senate. According to Lehman, his run is influenced by Wanggaard’s support of legislation limiting collective bargaining and unwillingness to compromise. “Gov. Walker dropped a bomb on us, and…Van Wanggaard went along from the very first minute,” Lehman said. Like Lehman, Dexter did not think she would run for office again after losing her state Assembly seat in 2010. But she said seeing recall volunteers who had never been involved in politics before motivated her to challenge Moulton again, who she defeated in a 2008 state Assembly election.
“They’re looking for somebody to take the ball and carry it further down the field,” Dexter said. Seidel, the current assistant minority leader in the state Assembly, also said the activists involved in the recall process inspired her to run against Galloway, who Seidel said has lost sight of the values and priorities of her district members. “People feel that not only does she not care about their struggles and concerns… but that she doesn’t listen,” Seidel said. In response to the announcement, Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Ben Sparks said the three candidates helped create the $3.6 bil-
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Shoaib Altaf/the daily cardinal
Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, introduced the Democrats’ candidates for three of the state senate recalls Tuesday.
Republicans
Democrats Former State Sen. John Lehman Former Rep. Kristen Dexter Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau.
VS.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine. Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls. Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau.
Walker recall petitions released to public No names removed from recall petitions despite privacy, safety concerns By Ben Siegel The Daily Cardinal
campus
Dashing through the slush
Wisconsin has been enjoying unseasonably warm weather this January. Tuesday’s high was in the mid-40s and similar weather is expected for the rest of the week.+ Photo by Stephanie Daher
Baldwin leads senate race fundraising By Alison Bauter The Daily Cardinal
Candidates for Herb Kohl’s U.S. Senate seat announced 2011 fourth quarter fundraising earnings Tuesday, with sole Democratic challenger and current U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin leading the pack at $1.1 million. Republican primary competitors, former governor Tommy Thompson and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, raised around half of Baldwin’s funds, with each pull-
ing in over $500,000. With just one month to raise money, Thompson ended the fourth quarter with $656,504, slightly outpacing Neumann’s $518,000 earnings. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Assembly Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, trailed behind, raising less than $100,000 in the fourth quarter. For Republicans hoping to get the four-seat edge needed to achieve a GOP senate majority, the race will be especially tight for Kohl’s seat,
which Democrats have held for the past fifty years. While the Thompson campaign touted its fundraising speed, Neumann campaign manager Chip Englander emphasized his candidate’s overall earnings—$820,000 since September— and Neumann’s credentials as “the most conservative candidate in the race.”
Wisconsin election officials published recall petitions submitted against Gov. Scott Walker online Tuesday, after petitioners’ privacy concerns delayed the initial release date. The Government Accountability Board, which first received signatures from Democratic recall organizers Jan. 17, postponed the planned
Monday release of the petitions after hearing concerns from individuals and the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. Among complaints was the fact that names and addresses would be made public, including those of petition signers with personal safety concerns, such as victims of domestic abuse. After reviewing state public records law and rulings of both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the board concluded that the accessibility of petitions and full disclosure of all signers remains paramount. “Few processes in the electoral system or elsewhere are more public than the signing of recall petitions
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$$$$ 2011 Fourth Quarter (Oct.-Dec.) campaign fundraising figures: For Sen. Herb Kohl’s seat:
-U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin—$1.1 million -Former Gov. Tommy Thompson—$656,504 -Former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann—$518,000 -Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon—$77,685
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”