IT IS THE DAY BEFORE THE PRIMARY ELECTION NOW --- AND ONLY ONE CANDIDATE HAS DEEMED IT WORTHWHILE TO SHARE HIS VIEWS IN DETAIL ON THE ISSUES --- SEE HIS RESPONSES BELOW:
IT PROBABLY ISN'T TOO SURPRISING AS THE OTHER CANDIDATES ARE SPENDING ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY ON ADVERTISING THAT TALKS ONLY ABOUT ISSUES THEY WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU --- AND THEY KNOW THAT IN MOST FORUMS, WITH ONLY A MINUTE OR TWO FOR A RESPONSE THEY CAN OBFUSCATE LONG ENOUGH TO NOT ANSWER IN DETAIL.
IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THE BIG MONEY SPENDER WINS --- AND EVEN MORE INTERESTING IF ANY OF THE CANDIDATES WHO HAVE PUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS INTO THEIR CAMPAIGNS, REPAY THEMSELVES WITH FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS AS WASSERMAN HAS IN THE PAST.
There are Four Candidates in the Democratic Primary this coming Tuesday in the 22nd District Race.
They are Andy Feldman, Guy Johnson, Dan Kohl, and Sandy Pasch.
I sent a questionnaire to all four candidates, and promised to post their responses today in my blog, without editing or commentary.
Although it would be impossible to cover all issues and relevant questions in one questionnaire, I tried to present a wide scope of issues that any Assembly Representative will have to address at one time or another.
As of this moment, I have the response from Guy Johnson, which follows. As (and if) I receive responses from the other candidates, they will be added in the order received.
I have now received a response from Sandy Pasch, which follows Guy Johnson's response (does not answer questionnaire).
As of Friday Afternoon (9/5/08) Dan Kohl and Andy Feldman have made No Response at all.
(note questions are in italics, answers in bold)
QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES
THESE ARE FROM CANDIDATE GUY JOHNSON
Why
are you running to represent the constituents of the 22nd Assembly
District.
I have the desire to serve the people of the 22nd
and my experience as Shorewood
Village President pairs
with that desire. I will be honored to
be selected by the people in the district to represent them in Madison.
What
do you think will be the defining issues of this Primary Election.
My answer is different today than it was at the
beginning of the campaign. At the
beginning of the campaign I was sure that fiscal correction of the state budget
was the most important issue. Now, I am
beginning to think that while the state budget is the most important
legislative issue, this Primary Election has focused on spending to win the
race!! How much should a candidate
spend? I think between 5000 and 10000 is
fine, but other candidates seem to feel that spending much more is O.K. I'm concerned.
What
do you think sets you apart from the other candidates for this Seat.
I have significant elected office experience and it is the kind of legislative
experience that will be helpful to the 22nd-combining services to
save funds, voting for the ban on smoking, enhancing our central business
district, etc. None of the other
candidates have any
legislative experience.
If
you are elected, will your voting on the issues reflect only what you think
your constituents support, or will you look at the broader picture of what is
best for Wisconsin as a whole.
I will look at the broader picture of what is best for Wisconsin as a whole,
while listening really carefully to the voters of the 22nd.
Do
you believe that local governments should rely more or less on monies from the
State ?
In order for true local control, money should come from
the locale, not the state. This is some
wishful, idealistic thinking however because as it stands now, the funding
approach at the state level intertwines with local government funding. Good communication between local and state is
the best way to ensure local control to the greatest degree possible. As your state representative, I would work
closely with the district's school boards and municipalities to get the best
and fairest levels of local/state funding packages.
Do
you believe that the State should fill the role of "re-distributing
wealth" from more Prosperous Communities to those who are Less Prosperous, or
from those who have Fewer Social Support Needs to those who Maintain more
Facilities for the Needs of the Poor, and Treatment for Mental Health Issues.
This question is hard to answer because there are many
functions that the state has to fulfill, some are more fitting to the state,
some are constitutional mandates, some are current law-thus the state has to
re-distribute wealth in some cases. Concerning mental health, the state should
definitely play a significant role.
Should
the State distribute more financial resources to Poor School District from more
Affluent School Districts.
My answer to the above question holds here. The State of Wisconsin is constitutionally responsible
for educating citizens. Wisconsin has chosen a
combination of local control and state control.
Since 1993 the state has had much more control than the local school
boards (in terms of finance structure).
This is a current reality, but must be revisited in this next
session. Can the state afford to fund at
current levels? How much difference
should there be between the education a student receives from one community to
another? How much money is enough? These questions need serious consideration as
the state rethinks the funding formula.
Do
you support School Choice, Charter
Schools, Open Enrollment,
etc.
School choice and open enrollment are expensive programs
that have not proven themselves wise investments. Charter schools can be very effective ways of
reworking schools of districts.
Do
you think the current Election Campaign Finance Laws are generally adequate for
State Political Candidates, or would you like to see changes.
See my first answer.
I think too much money is spent on elections. We are in danger of watching individuals buy
seats.
What
is your opinion of Public Campaign Financing ?
My answer above fits here. We should carefully fund campaigns and
control outside funding sources to protect us from lobbyists purchasing
electoral power.
What
is your opinion on the current Laws regarding Campaign Financing of Judicial
Candidates.
See above.
Do
you think Judicial Races should continue to be nominally "non-partisan", or
should the candidates run under "party banners" ?
Non-partisan is best here.
Are
you contributing any of your own money into this race? How much ?
Yes. $100.
If
you contribute any of your own money into this race, will you use future
contributions to repay yourself the monies you "loaned" to your Campaign.
No.
If
you are currently employed or self employed, is it Full Time or
Part Time, and approximately how much do you earn on a yearly basis.
My full-time job is with UWM where I am the director of
the executive MBA program (in the 50-100 K pay range). I also have a part-time job as president of
the Shorewood Village Board (1300 per year pay).
If
you succeed in winning the Seat in the Assembly, will it be your "Only"
employment, or will you continue to work in Full or Part Time in any other
business, job or profession ?
I cannot answer this at this time - needs to be
determined.
Do
you have Full Health Care Coverage Now ? If so, is it from a Private
Employer or a Government Employer ? Do you have more than one coverage,
such as from a spouse's plan, and if so, is that from a Private or Government
Employer ?
I have health coverage through my full time employer.
If
you have current Health Care Coverage that you are able to retain if you are
elected, will you forgo additional Health Care Coverage from the State ?
Needs to be determined.
Do
you support a Single Payer Universal Health Care System for All Wisconsin
Residents?
I support universal health care, but it has to be worked
out not just in Wisconsin,
but at a national level. I fully support
Badger Care and the steady move to ensuring that we are insuring all children,
followed by families. This will take
some work across the body politic of the State of Wisconsin. I look forward to working on this issue.
Do you think that Health Care in Wisconsin has a
"monopoly" aspect with physicians hired by hospitals and large physician
groups? Do you think that Hospitals and Large Health Care Groups should
be able to hire physicians and set their rates ? Do you think there should be a
cap on the number of physicians that can belong to any practice ?
Physicians' groups,
hospitals, private individuals-all should be able to set their rates. This should be matched with an accountability
system. Minnesota has put a system into place where
individuals can see how effective and expensive medical folks are, then decide
whether to use them or not. I like the
concept.
How do you think we can stop the Job
Drain of Manufacturing Jobs from Wisconsin.
Quality of life for
workers and employers are important:
safe neighborhoods, good parks, housing that is affordable and
well-built, high quality education and extensive business research support will
help bring both employers and employees to the state.
Specifically,
what Green Legislative Initiatives do you support, or would like to see
implemented.
Public transportation, funding for alternative clean
energy, high quality (and speedy) review of new energy systems.
Do
you support Regional Light Rail for the Milwaukee
- Racine - Waukesha
- etc. areas ?
Yes.
Do
you support Hi Speed Rail between such points as Milwaukee, Chicago,
Minneapolis, Green Bay, Madison ............ ?
Yes.
Do
you think we have Too Many Counties in Wisconsin,
with duplicative services and taxes. Would you support a minimum
population per County ?
Your question focuses on one unit of government. I think we have to look at different
approaches to delivery of services. The North Shore
Fire Department is an example of one system across multiple communities. Can we mimic this with road repair, plowing,
school bus service, administrative services, etc.?
Do
you support keeping the Teacher Salary Caps ?
The entire funding formula needs careful review. We cannot remove the teacher salary caps without
addressing the rest of the formula.
Since we have had this formula since the early 1990's it is time to
review and make thoughtful changes to protect our investment in high quality
K-12 education while we fix the budget defecit.
In
regards to the legal drinking age in Wisconsin,
which of the following would you support:
Keep
the law at 21 years of age for all alcoholic beverages.
18
years of age for beer only, all other beverages 21 years of age.
18
years of age for beer and wine, 21 years of age for hard liquor.
21
years of age for all alcoholic beverages, except 18 years of age for persons
that are married, a member of the National Guard, or a Veteran of any Conflict
in the Armed Services.
Keep the law at 21.
What
is your position on Concealed Carry Laws ?
Keep current law as is.
OTHER COMMENTS AND VIEWPOINTS YOU WOULD
LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE VOTERS ...............
Given the lack of media coverage
in local affairs, I commend bloggers for attempting to fill the gap. Thank you Dave. I would also urge readers to see the Village
Spillage blog on whitefishbaynow.com written by Kevin Buckley - he has had
quite a few postings on the 22nd Assembly race.
I hope to earn your vote on
September 9th. Guy Johnson
RESPONSE FROM SANDY PASCH
Hi David,
Thank you for your interest in this campaign.
Unfortunately, I do not think I will have time to adequately respond to
your questionnaire at this late date.
If you'd like a response for the general election, I can comply with your request.
Thank you, Sandy
