During the Tuesday, Aug. 12 primary, voters will select the Democratic candidate for the 17th Senate District. Pat Bomhack of Spring Green and Ernie Wittwer of Hillpoint will face each other on the ballot, to see who will move on to the Nov. 4 election and face Republican candidate Howard Marklein in the final race for the senate seat.
The Republican Journal sent a questionnaire to each candidate so they could present their stance and opinions to voters. Their replies are as follows:
Pat Bomhack
Please provide a brief background outlining what qualifies you to represent the 17th District. Why are you the best candidate for the position?
I love my community and our way of life in southwest Wisconsin. I believe the best way I can make a difference is by fighting for our rural communities in the State Senate. My former boss and mentor, Senator Russ Feingold instilled in me the importance of public service and taught me how to be an independent voice for Wisconsinites.
What are your thoughts and proposals on solving the school funding dilemma?
Every child in southwest Wisconsin deserves a quality education. We need to stop the voucher system that has taken away vital resources from our public schools. As State Senator, I will say “no” to vouchers and “yes” to a strong public education system.
What do you plan to do to ensure that the voice of rural southwest Wisconsin is heard at the state level?
Over the past several months, I have talked with thousands of people in southwest Wisconsin and I have taken to heart what their concerns are. As Senator, I will hold listening sessions in all nine counties in the 17th Senate District. And if anyone wants to sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk about their ideas for the future of Wisconsin, I always want to be open and available.
What is the top concern of those in the 17th senate district, and how can you, as one state senator, address those concerns?
Reinvesting in our local public schools, strengthening our rural economy and protecting our environment are the most important issues I am hearing from the people in our community. The land in southwest Wisconsin has sustained us for over 150 years. As State Senator, I will work to preserve it by keeping our strong, local controls over frac sand mining.
What are your plans to try to improve the economic climate in the district?
As State Senator, I will fight to ensure that southwest Wisconsin gets its “bite of the apple,” and has the funds needed to repair our roads, support worker retraining, and expand access to broadband internet.
Please provide your final thoughts and address any other issues you believe are important in this election:
Elected officials must do a better job at reaching across the aisle and working together. The Wisconsin way is not to “divide and conquer.” The Wisconsin way is to invite everyone to the table—Democrats, Republicans, and independents—so we can find common-sense solutions to the problems that affect all of us here in the Badger State.
Ernie Wittwer
Please provide a brief background outlining what qualifies you to represent the 17th District. Why are you the best candidate for the position?
I have been working in and studying government for the past 40 years. I was the senior career person at the state department of transportation with management responsibility for an agency of 4,000 people and a budget of $2.5 billion, so I’ve seen a lot of government at high levels. I’ve worked with governors and legislators of both parties. I’ve implemented programs and been responsible to constituents. In addition, I have deep roots in the district. I’ve lived here for 16 years and been a taxpayer for 25 years. I care deeply about the issues that affect the people of the district. I’ve spent much time studying those issues. I also have the support of many community leaders and activists. I am ready to serve the people of the district.
What are your thoughts and proposals on solving the school funding dilemma?
We have to allocate more money to public schools. Over the past several years, Wisconsin has cut more from school funding on a per pupil basis than any other state save Alabama. We have to get back on track. Next, we need to end the competition of publically funded private schools. We simply can’t afford to pay for two school systems, one of which is totally unaccountable to any state academic criteria. Third, we have to revise the school funding formula along the lines proposed by State Superintendent Tony Evers. His proposal would recognize the costs associated with declining enrollment schools, which virtually all schools in southwest Wisconsin are. Finally, we have to fix the school transportation aids formula, which was so badly crafted that most of the additional money went to suburban Milwaukee.
What do you plan to do to ensure that the voice of rural southwest Wisconsin is heard at the state level?
We need an independent senator; one who is not beholden to his party or to special interests. Dale Schultz was such a senator. I intend to follow his example.
What is the top concern of those in the 17th senate district, and how can you, as one state senator, address those concerns?
I hear about four things: Education has already been addressed. The economy is your next question. The environment is the third. People are concerned about sand mining and the lack of meaningful state regulation of the industry. They want to be sure that their health, homes, farms and businesses are not adversely impacted by the opening of a sand mine. Today, the only real protection provided to those potential neighbors comes from county and town government. I will protect the right of counties and towns to continue providing that protection. I will also support legislation to provide state funding for research on the long-term health, economic and environmental impacts of sand mining. The fourth issue is women’s rights. The repeal of the pay equity law and the passage of the ultra-sound bill have many people, men and women, angry. I will work to reinstate the pay equity law and repeal the ultra-sound bill.
What are your plans to try to improve the economic climate in the district?
This is a huge and complex issue. Addressing it will require a number of steps. First, we have to get back to a progressive tax structure in the state. Each time taxes have been changed in the past three years the benefit has gone to wealthy people and large businesses. Most of us have seen little benefit. In fact, the poor are paying more now than they were three years ago. That means that dollars are being taken from the pockets of people who spend in our local communities and sent to those who don’t. Second, we need to accept all the federal money we can. This administration has left billions of dollars in Washington that might have built a passenger rail service, expanded BadgerCare, and expanded broadband. Now we have none of those benefits and we don’t have the thousands of jobs that would have been created by those billions. Third, we have to expand BadgerCare using the federal dollars. It will have the affect of putting money into the pockets of thousands of people in southwest Wisconsin. It will also help our local hospitals and clinics, which are major employers in the district. Fourth, we need to find ways of making capital available to small businesses and small farmers. A state bank may be one way of doing it. Using our community banking network may be another. But we have to do something to stimulate the creation of small businesses, which create most of the new jobs in our economy. Fifth, we need to raise the minimum wage. Economists tell us that a $10 minimum wage would create thousands of jobs in Wisconsin by putting a little more money into the pockets of the people who will spend it. Sixth, we have to reinvest in our transportation infrastructure. This will put many construction workers back to work and make our economy more efficient. Finally, we need to reinvest in our schools and other public services. We need quality schools and other public services. Investing will create jobs.
Please provide your final thoughts and address any other issues you believe are important in this election:
2014 is a critical election for Wisconsin. Three years ago, we took a sharp turn to the right. We’re paying for it with imperiled schools, a floundering economy, an endangered environment and threats to our basic democracy—gerrymandered districts and voter suppression. Now we can chose a different path, a path more in keeping with Wisconsin history, values and tradition. I want to help lead us on this new path. Vote on August 12 and again on November 4 to select a new path.
