MADISON - This week State Representative Daniel Riemer (D - Milwaukee) speaks on the two legislative seats Governor Walker has held vacant since December and the 200,000 Wisconsinites left without representation.

Audio File of Radio Address

Hello, this is State Representative Daniel Riemer with this week’s Democratic Radio Address.

“No taxation without representation.” The rallying cry of the American Revolution stood for a simple but powerful idea—that no free person should be governed without an opportunity to have their say in the way their government is run.

That high ideal has grown over the centuries, enfranchising Americans with the right to vote regardless of their economic position, their race, or their gender.

What took root in America is visible in budding republics around the globe. Those who remain unrepresented aspire to it in their ongoing struggle for freedom.

All 5.8 million Wisconsinites are represented in our State Legislature by both a representative and a senator.

When vacancies occur in the state legislature the Governor has the sole responsibility to call for special elections to allow voters to choose their representative.

For three months, two legislative seats have been vacant. Governor Walker has refused to call for special elections in these seats, leaving 200,000 Wisconsinites without representation for more than a year in a desperate, partisan attempt to maintain his grip on power.

Last week, a judge appointed by Governor Walker, ordered that the Governor hold special elections to fill the vacant legislative seats.

Rather than honor the decision of the judge he appointed, Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature plan to undermine the basic principles of American government by fundamentally changing Wisconsin’s election laws to allow the governor to avoid calling for special elections.

Wisconsin Democrats stand with all Wisconsinites. We stand for American values. We remain committed to ensuring that regardless of political affiliation, the people of Wisconsin are represented in the State Capitol.

“No taxation without representation” is not a dead slogan, it remains alive and well as long as we fight for it.

Thank you.