Flynn attacks Walker’s record of stagnation as the corrupt WEDC votes on the controversial Foxconn contract

MADISON - Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn today made the following statement criticizing the Foxconn deal as Governor Scott Walker’s corrupt Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) votes to sign the contract with Foxconn.

“What could make Governor Walker take such a desperate gamble? We are nearly seven years into Walker’s destructive policies to attempt to produce his ‘minimum acceptable’ 250,000 jobs. With next year’s election on the horizon, the Governor has decided to buy jobs for hundreds of thousands of dollars each. His partner is a foreign corporation known for demanding exemptions from clean water laws and driving its workers to literally jump out of windows to escape its factories in China.

“This deal is so bad that, at every turn, facts about it have been concealed or distorted. In fact, even the consultancy of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, hired by Walker’s administration, estimates that a whopping ‘40% to 50% of the construction-period spending and ongoing jobs associated with the project could be filled by non-residents.’ Facts are inconvenient to him, so Governor Walker got the figure changed to 0%.

“For most of Wisconsin’s history, we were a state where incomes were above the national average. Yet, since Walker has been in office, our real family median incomes have been below the national average. By contrast, neighboring Minnesota has posted stronger job numbers than ours and their real median family incomes now sit nearly $5,000 higher than ours.

“Minnesota abandoned their GOP special interest policies and instead invested in their people through education and infrastructure. Those investments paid off both in higher incomes and more new business startups. This is the real source of innovation. Companies like Apple and Microsoft were enabled by big public investments in research and human capital.

Economic growth is created by investing in people, the source of all real wealth creation, not by the over-priced buying of jobs from Chinese electronics firms.

“Walker has had his chance to try to make his policies work. They didn’t. It’s time for change in Wisconsin.”

###

Matt Flynn is a Navy veteran, attorney, and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For additional information, visit www.ForwardWithFlynn.com.

Flynn will set things right again after the destructive government of Scott Walker.

MILWAUKEE - Gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn today released his policy priorities for Wisconsin. His fiercely Forward-thinking policies include increasing wages, producing higher-wage jobs, protecting our clean water, fully funding public education, ensuring that all Wisconsinites have access to health care, repairing our roads, and creating much-needed political reform. 

“For seven years, the wages of Wisconsin families have stagnated. Governor Walker gutted public services so that the highest-income people get tax breaks,” Flynn said. “That record of backwards leadership is coming to an end. My administration will be focused on moving Wisconsin Forward again.”

Move Wisconsin Forward Again

More Jobs with Better Wages

Wages remain too low for too many Wisconsin workers. We are lagging behind the rest of the country. Too many are working several part-time jobs just to get by. Too many are struggling to provide for their families, living paycheck to paycheck, without opportunity for advancement.

To end Scott Walker’s record of stagnation, we will:

1. Increase the minimum wage to a $15 per hour livable wage.

1. Create a fairer, progressive tax structure.

1. End “Right-to-Work” and “Act 10” so that employees can bargain for better wages, hours, and working conditions again.

1. Restore prevailing wage.

Clean Water

Walker and the Republicans have seriously lowered Wisconsin’s environmental and water standards. Those standards were developed over decades by governors and legislators from both parties. High capacity wells and CAFOs are taking too much water out of our state and have contaminated wells in some areas. Some Wisconsinites drink bottled water because of the pollution.

Walker exempted Foxconn, a foreign company, from important Wisconsin laws protecting our clean water. But Wisconsin companies like Harley Davidson and Miller Brewing have to obey those laws. I do not want Chinese industrial water management anywhere in Wisconsin. If foreign companies come to our state, they will obey Wisconsin law.

To protect our clean water resources, we will:

1. Restore water quality standards to protect our families.

1. Restore a fully independent DNR with adequate resources and an adequate number of scientists.

1. Create a state fund to assist municipalities and residents in removing lead service lines.

1. Require all foreign companies to obey all American and Wisconsin laws.

Education

Wisconsin used to be known for having the best public education in the country. Then came Scott Walker. We will fully fund public education in this state. We will stop the Walker policy of slashing education after his election and then restoring a little funding before his re-election. The long-term impacts of his education policies are disastrous for Wisconsin’s economy.

This means we will fully fund our public schools, technical colleges, and the UW System. We particularly need to restore the University of Wisconsin’s status as a premier research institution. Walker has vandalized the University of Wisconsin, tried to change the mission statement, eliminated statutory tenure, and made deep cuts to funding.

To restore the excellence of public education in Wisconsin, we will:

1. Fully fund public education in this state, in both urban and rural districts, including transportation and broadband. This will require fixing the funding formulas so that no district is unfairly disadvantaged.

1. Fully fund the UW System campuses and WTCS.

1. Reaffirm the mission statement of the University of Wisconsin.

1. Restore statutory tenure.

1. Promote and advertise the excellence of the University of Wisconsin.

Health Care

Donald Trump is trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act. As Governor, I will support the Affordable Care Act and work to make health care more affordable.

Scott Walker turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid payments by the federal government. This was merely the return of our own federal taxes. I will lobby for and accept all federal funding to meet our health care obligations. I am not willing to put politics ahead of people’s lives.

To improve our health care system, we will:

1. Support BadgerCare for All. This sensible law will allow patients to buy an affordable health plan through BadgerCare Plus as Trump shrinks access to the private market.

1. Accept federal funding for Medicaid expansions.

Roads and Infrastructure

The plan of Walker and the Republicans for roads and infrastructure is neglect and debt. We have rural areas going back to gravel roads. Walker also turned down more than $800 million in train funds from the federal government which was simply a return of our federal taxes.

To restore our roads and state infrastructure, we will:

1. Lobby for and accept all federal funds for transportation and infrastructure projects.

1. Pay for necessary road and infrastructure projects through a combination of user fees on gas, registration, and trucks.

Clean government

Wisconsin has a long history of clean government reforms going back to the 19th Century. Scott Walker has progressively corrupted this state over the past seven years. He broke up one of the best government accountability agencies in the world and tried to gut the state’s open records law. He created and still oversees a giant slush fund in the form of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to benefit his donors.

Every policy must start with clean government. I will clean up the corruption in Madison. In particular, I will reform the WEDC to a department that makes honest loans by honest standards, without regard to political contributions. I will restore a clean government accountability agency, and I’ll work with journalists, legislators, and citizens to make our state the most transparent in the country.

To restore clean, honest government, we will:

1. Reform the WEDC to a department that makes honest loans by honest standards, without regard to political contributions.

1. Reaffirm our commitment to open records and transparency in government.

1. Create automatic voter registration. Every American citizen living in Wisconsin who gets a license at the DMV will be automatically registered to vote. Licensees would be allowed to opt-out of voter registration if they choose.

1. Establish a neutral reapportionment commission to redistrict legislative districts every ten years to prevent partisan legislators from picking their voters, rather than voters picking their legislators.

Foxconn

Scott Walker got taken to the cleaners in the Foxconn deal. He does not have the skill or experience to negotiate a $3 billion deal. He gave away our state’s resources to a foreign corporation in exchange for a promise to create jobs near the Illinois border. But there are no guaranteed number of jobs and no guaranteed wage levels.

Part of the $3 billion could have been spent on our most important economic public assets, including the University of Wisconsin System and public education. Part of it could have been used to invest in start-ups and small businesses in all 72 counties of our state. Part of it could have been used to repair our roads. These three things would have created more jobs statewide and brought more money into all communities, including rural communities and urban communities, throughout Wisconsin.

As governor, I will hold Foxconn to their duty of good faith and fair dealing and other contractual obligations under Wisconsin law. If they violate those obligations, I will move to recoup the money paid to them.

###

Matt Flynn is a Navy veteran, attorney, and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For additional information, visit www.ForwardWithFlynn.com

LA CROSSE, WI - The La Crosse Chapter of Our Wisconsin Revolution is holding the first candidate forum open to the public on Monday, November 6th, 2017 from 6-8 pm at the Brick House (228 5th Ave S) in La Crosse, WI.

All declared candidates have been invited to attend. The forum allows for McCabe to further express his vision for the future of Wisconsin and the need to return to public service.

"The list of problems facing Wisconsin is long. No matter what problem is at the top of your list, I’m guessing you are frustrated by how our government is dealing with that problem. The root cause of that frustration is the poisoned political culture that dooms us to a government and economy that work great for the rich and powerful at everyone else’s expense. Concern for the common good has fallen out of fashion. Genuine public service has given way to a lot of back scratching, nest feathering and ladder climbing," McCabe cited as one of the reasons for his candidacy.

"Our state and our country are in trouble. This is no time for timid. This is no time for same old same old. There has to be clarity of vision. We can’t be bashful about standing for things like living wages for every worker, health care for all, debt-free education, high-speed Internet to every doorstep, and a clean energy economy. And we can’t bury our heads in the sand about how Wisconsin’s reputation for clean, open and honest government has been trashed. We all have to take responsibility for cleaning up the mess."

Mike has worked for decades as an independent watchdog exposing the legal bribery of elected officials. He called out both Democrats and Republicans whenever he saw wrongdoing or ethical misconduct. He challenged both Democrats and Republicans to change their ways. His life’s work has involved putting principle over party to try to get government working for all people and not just a privileged few. He is running for governor in the same way for the same reason.

For more information about the campaign visit: GovernorBlueJeans.com

Walker is increasingly vulnerable to a strong Democratic challenge. A recent Public Policy Poll showed Walker losing to a generic Democrat by 5 points, with a job approval rating of only 43 percent.

MADISON – Today, Governor Scott Walker will be in Waukesha announcing he’s running for his third term as Governor of Wisconsin. Waukesha is all too familiar with Wisconsin’s economic stagnation under Walker. Earlier this year, GE announced they would be closing their plant to move to Canada, laying off over 300 employees.

Tony Evers, State Superintendent and Democratic candidate for Governor released the following statement:

“Last year, Wisconsin saw nearly a 70 percent decrease in job creation. Wages are declining and too many Wisconsinites are having to work two or three jobs just to put food on the table or cover their medical bills. Meanwhile, Walker is making bad deals like the Foxconn mess, which hands over $3,000,000,000 of your hard-earned money to a foreign corporation. Everywhere I go, from Milwaukee to Marshfield, Reedsburg to Rice Lake, everyone keeps asking, “What about us? What about our schools, our roads and our jobs?”

A year out from the election, Walker is increasingly vulnerable to a strong Democratic challenge. A recent Public Policy Poll showed Walker losing to a generic Democrat by 5 points, with a job approval rating of only 43 percent.

“Wisconsinites are sick and tired of Walker’s broken promises, divisive politics and unquestioning support of Donald Trump’s agenda. I’m running for Governor to put an end to Trump and Walker’s relentless attacks on our families and values. I will take on the Madison politicians and restore the respect, trust and confidence we need to get our government working again. It’s what I’ve done throughout my career as a teacher, principal and school administrator, and it’s what I’ve done as state superintendent, responsible for educating 860,000 kids. I’m the only candidate for governor with the experience necessary to clean up Walker’s mess, end the assault on our values and bring Democrats and Republicans together to solve our problems.”

Tony Evers has been elected three times to serve as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, winning 70 of 72 counties in his last election, with 70 percent of the vote statewide. Evers has spent his entire career educating our kids, previously working as a science teacher, a high school principal and as school district superintendent. As State Superintendent, Evers runs one of the largest agencies in the state, with responsibility over 70,000 educators and 860,000 students. Evers is the father of 3 children and 6 grandchildren, raising his family in communities throughout Wisconsin, including Plymouth, Baraboo, Tomah, Oakfield, Omro, Oshkosh and Verona.

Flynn calls Walker’s failed economic record a period of “vast stagnation” in wages.

MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn today made the following statement criticizing Scott Walker for his failed economic policies, as Walker prepares to announce his campaign for re-election tomorrow.

“Scott Walker’s time is up. Average wages, when adjusted for inflation, are lower today than they were under Jim Doyle. For the first time in decades, Wisconsin has fallen behind the rest of the country in terms of economic growth.

“Walker depressed Wisconsin wages by passing Act 10, Right To Work, and the repeal of the prevailing wage. Everybody is working for less, union or non-union, public sector or private sector. Less money in workers’ pockets means less consumer spending, and less economic growth.

“Walker also refused to accept the very tax dollars Wisconsinites sent to the federal government, including upwards of $500 million for BadgerCare and over $800 million for trains. Instead, he is making taxpayers invest $3 billion in a Chinese company, said they didn’t need to follow the same environmental laws Miller Brewing and Harley Davidson follow, and is pushing it through his corrupt Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation without the public ever seeing the contract.

“When Walker says Wisconsin is ‘open for business’ it means his integrity and campaign coffers are open for business. And while it’s been very good for his fundraising operations, his record has been a nonstop disaster for Wisconsin families. For the right-wing views of his party, he has sacrificed our state.

“The most important issue in this race is improving wages for Wisconsin workers. Scott Walker has been governor for nearly eight years now, and he’s looking to extend it to twelve. We all know he’s just sitting there as he makes plans for his own future. Instead, it’s time to elect a governor who will focus on what really matters, creating economic activity that drives wages up again.”

###

Matt Flynn is a Navy veteran, attorney, and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For additional information, visit www.ForwardWithFlynn.com.

Principle over Party campaign continues to make its way around the state, in Rice Lake, Minong, Ashland, and Superior.

RICE LAKE, NOVEMBER 2, 2017 - Mike McCabe's Principle over Party campaign continues to make its way around the state, this time focusing on Northern Wisconsin. The events will be a mix of Meet & Greets and Town Hall style forums with plenty of Q&A time from audiences.

Mike's goal is to inspire and engage people from all over the state to get back into the driver's seat. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Mike's message continues to explain and educate why this campaign must be People Powered and Crowd Funded if it is to succeed.

Stops include:
November 2nd – Supporter Home – Meet & Greet (Potluck)     2181 18 3/8 Ave. (Meadow Creek Lane)| Rice Lake | WI |54868     5 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.
November 3rd - Long Branch Saloon – Meet & Greet (Food & Music!)     301 5th Ave. E. | Minong | WI | 54859     5:30 P. M. to 7:30 P.M
November 4th - The Bohemian Hall – Meet & Greet (Coffee & Donuts)     317 11th Ave. E. | Ashland | WI |54806     10:00 A.M. to Noon
November 4th -  Thirsty Pagan Brewing        1623 Broadway St. | Superior | WI |54880         4:00 P.M. to 5:30 P. M.

Mike is a proud independent who spent decades at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign tracking the large political donations (legal bribes) that Wisconsin candidates receive, and advocating for policies to remove the corrupting influence of big money from our elections.

Mike understands that both major political parties have forgotten the people and bend to the interests of the rich donors. But, like Bernie Sanders, he is running in the Democratic primary because he recognizes that our political system is rigged against us. It's time to return the party, the government, and the system to the people.

Now, at this crucial moment for American democracy, Mike McCabe has decided to run for governor so he can directly implement the changes that Wisconsin so badly needs.

For more information on the campaign visit:  GovernorBlueJeans.com .

Independent candidate for Governor Mike McCabe's campaign says Democratic Party of Wisconsin denies access to voter data system sold to other candidates, making the same mistake DNC made in 2016.

MADISON, WI  - The Democratic Party of Wisconsin first ignored and later refused requests from governor candidate Mike McCabe’s campaign for access to the party’s member list and statewide voter list, acting in a manner reminiscent of how the Democratic National Committee worked behind the scenes to favor the party’s eventual 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and disadvantage fellow candidate Bernie Sanders.

To facilitate contact between voters and the party’s candidates, McCabe believes the state party should provide all candidates running in the primary with the lists at no charge, which the DPW refuses to do. McCabe’s campaign sought to purchase the lists and was turned down. He is the only candidate entered to run in the Democratic primary to be denied access to the lists.

Having worked for decades as an independent government watchdog and reform advocate, McCabe has not belonged to any political party. But he has registered to run for governor as a Democrat.

DPW officials have repeatedly said the party wants a fair and open primary and would not play favorites in the race, McCabe’s campaign manager Christine Welcher said.

“Privately, party leaders clearly are playing favorites. By denying help to one that is given to the others, they are putting their thumb on the scale, which is exactly what they promised not to do. DPW is making the same mistake the DNC made in 2016. They apparently haven’t learned a thing from what just happened last year,” Welcher said, adding that the state party has granted access to its voter list, known as the Voter Activation Network (VAN), to nonprofit advocacy groups not affiliated with the party while denying access to McCabe’s campaign.

“We will find other ways to reach voters. Getting the party lists wouldn’t make our campaign, and being denied the lists won’t break our campaign,” Welcher said.

Flynn says he would be the best candidate to unseat Walker.

MADISON - Public Policy Polling released the results of a recent statewide poll showing a Democrat defeating Governor Scott Walker in 2018 with 48% of the vote to Walker’s projected 43%. 

Said leading candidate Matt Flynn, "I would be the best candidate to unseat Walker."

The poll, conducted October 17-18, also showed Wisconsin voters in lock step with a number of issues on which Flynn has taken a firm stand. 

Flynn has repeatedly called the disastrous Foxconn deal a scam, and 49% of those polled said it was nothing more than a political stunt to help Walker win next November. Only 38% thought Walker had Wisconsin's best interests at heart. 

Remarked Flynn, "I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Foxconn deal is corrupt capitalism. It's corporate welfare at its worst. It will degrade our local water quality, up to half the jobs created will be from Illinois, and the $3 billion price tag mostly benefits the corporation's foreign owners. We should call it what it is, the Foxconn Con."

"As Wisconsin's next Governor I will work to bring good jobs with high wages to all 72 counties of this state, without taxpayer-funded boondoggles for foreign executives," stated Flynn, when asked what he would do as governor. "It's time we had a leader in Madison who put the people of Wisconsin first -- not his own political ambitions."

In a poll conducted in Milwaukee and reported in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in August, two months before Flynn had announced his candidacy, Flynn led the field with 17% of the projected vote in a Democratic primary. Paul Soglin, who has not announced he is running, received 16% support and Tony Evers received 14%. The rest were too low to mention. Since his announcement, Flynn has received increasingly strong support around the state.

The primary election for governor is on August 14, 2018.

###

Matt Flynn is a Navy veteran, attorney, and former Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For additional information, visit www.ForwardWithFlynn.com. 

Any earlier version of this press release mistakenly stated that Soglin announced he was not running for Governor. He has not made an announcement that he is running or not running.

MADISON - The League educates voters on need for judicial recusal rules and fair voting maps.

Judicial Recusal
The League co-sponsored a series of three public hearings organized by our friends at Common Cause in Wisconsin to explore the need for objective rules requiring a judge to recuse her/himself if a party in a case has been a major campaign supporter. The state Supreme Court earlier this year refused to hold a hearing for a proposal put forth by a group of 56 retired judges to create such rules. Common Cause held the hearings in Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison to give people a chance to learn about the proposal. The League co-sponsored the forums, in part, because we proposed similar rules in 2009. Wisconsin is one of three states that do not have such rules. Click here to view the Madison hearing, in which the League's Andrea Kaminski was a panelist.

Fair Voting Maps
Almost every local League in the state has held a public forum in the past two years to educate voters about the need for a nonpartisan redistricting process designed to create fair voting maps for Wisconsin. Here is great news coverage of forums held just this week in Janesville and La Crosse:

• Janesville Gazette: Former state senators explain their support of new legislative district map
• WMTV-NBC15 Janesville - Gerrymandering community forum
• WKBT News8 La Crosse - Voting rights advocates host gerrymandering forum
• WXOW News19 La Crosse - League of Women Voters host bipartisan Fair Voter Maps Forum

Congratulations and thanks go to LWV Greater Green Bay and Citizen Action Northeast Wisconsin for their advocacy leading to a resolution by the Brown County Board of Supervisors calling on the state legislature to pass nonpartisan redistricting reform. Brown is the 31st county to pass the resolution!

Legislative Floor Session Coming Up
Stay tuned. The state legislature will hold floor sessions October 31-November 9. The League will be watching for bills we have taken a position on, and we'll let you know when your call or email to your legislators will be needed!

GOP ideological attack on the UW and women’s health care may hurt most in rural areas where there are already few OB-GYNs. Anti-choice extremist U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir is a sponsor.

MADISON -- The Wisconsin Senate Health and Human Services Committee is voting today on SB 154/AB 206, a bill that would do even further damage to women’s health care in Wisconsin by worsening the already troubling shortage of OB-GYNs. In Wisconsin, a shocking 20 counties do not have an OB-GYN, according to the American Medical Society.

With this bill, Republicans have shown their dangerous willingness to damage not only women’s health, but also Wisconsin’s strong and proud tradition of higher education and a UW System that is a key economic engine and contributor to our state’s economy, job creation and world-class reputation.

“Republicans, in an effort to promote themselves, are willing to ignore that their actions will cause real-life harm to Wisconsin women who need health care, including prenatal care, annual preventative physicals, cancer screenings and other vital health care provided by OB-GYNs,” said Martha Laning, Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair. “Damaging women’s health, particularly in areas already underserved across our state, goes against our Wisconsin values.” 

Republican opportunism surrounding this bill is embodied by the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, far-right state Sen. Leah Vukmir, who is using this extremist, anti-choice legislation to advance her political career and boost her national profile, even as it limits and weakens Wisconsin women's access to reproductive health care.

Current law already prohibits the use of state and federal funds for abortions, but Republicans' latest far-right proposal takes things an extreme step further, preventing University of Wisconsin System physicians from providing or assisting in abortion services -- even at privately funded facilities and on their own time. Vukmir is a well-established anti-choice extremist who has previously backed a zero-exception abortion ban and even right-wing "personhood" measures that stand to ban common forms of birth control.

In practice, the dangerous legislation would "destroy" the UW School of Medicine's ob-gyn program, according to UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden, who predicts the bill could harm the medical school’s ability to provide “well-trained ob-gyns just when our state needs them the most to save the lives of women.”

Testifying earlier this summer on behalf of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, retired Dr. Calvin Bruce, summed up harm that will be done to Wisconsin women by AB 206 this way: "Our academy is neither pro-choice nor pro-life. We have members who have strongly held beliefs on both sides of that issue. We are strongly pro-patient. And we strongly oppose AB206 on workforce, medical and academic grounds."