🇺🇸 The room is filling up at tonight's Gubenatorial candidate forum in Madison! 🇺🇸
@VinehoutK
@Paulsoglin
@McDenimRebel
@MahlonMitchell
@keldahelenroys
@JoshPade
@ForwardWFlynn
@VinehoutK
@Paulsoglin
@McDenimRebel
@MahlonMitchell
@keldahelenroys
@JoshPade
@ForwardWFlynn
Let's hear from you! #DemGov2018
3 minute opening statements begin with @keldahelenroys Kelda Roys.
"I want to make our state the best place to raise a family and run a business."
"I went to the UW Law School and worked on the Innocence Project... Worked for years as the Director of @NARALWI...
"I want to make our state the best place to raise a family and run a business."
"I went to the UW Law School and worked on the Innocence Project... Worked for years as the Director of @NARALWI...
Expanded access to BadgerCare.
Opposed Act 10.
We need to invest in healthcare, increase wages, and help small businesses. Address climate change.
Opposed Act 10.
We need to invest in healthcare, increase wages, and help small businesses. Address climate change.
Next up is @ForwardWFlynn Matt Flynn. Wants to talk about the state of our party and the danger we are facing. Scott Walker has beaten us in multiple elections. The consequences of losing include the end of quality public education in Wisconsin. A constitutional convention is...
..alter the Constitution, crush Unions." The Choice you make on Nov 6 will shape the nature of our future. We are betting our future.
A stark vision of the stakes.
A stark vision of the stakes.
Next up. @McDenimRebel Mike McCabe. Wisconsin has lost our way. We need a new kind of politics and a different kind of leadership. We have to win outside of Madison. We need to listen to people like that. We can't beat Scott Walker with money, we need to beat him with people.
..I want Wisconsin to be a place where we eliminate the phrase "working poor" from our vocabulary. Want our state to be fully powered by renewable energy. We can have that Wisconsin if we challenge cronyism and corruption in our state.
.@JoshPade Josh Pade Good evening, I'm the underdog candidate for Governor. In homage to Russ Feingold @russfeingold for whom he worked. He's seen hard economic times with a single mom after the death of his father. Too many families working too hard for too little in Wisconsin.
Before and after law school, has worked for good causes. Found resolve in election night 2016.
Next @Paulsoglin Paul Soglin."There's a myth that a liberal from Dane County can't win statewide. Being from Dane County is not a factor. Positions on issues matter. Experience matters. In terms of experience, no one has been in the political battles I have been in. I learned.."
Building a sense of community. Working on affordable housing. Education, health, quality childcare, employment. That makes a community great and we can do it for the whole state. If I'm your candidate it will be done."
Now @VinehoutK Kathleen Vinehout. I'm running to put people first. A story of two pathways. We're on Foxxcon way today. A 3 billion dollar journey. How long is 3 billion dollars? End to end, as $100 bills, those dollars would take a trip around the nation. Now compare that to.."
A working mom, Rachel, who works hard. in Wisconsin she'd get less than a mile in her working lifetime on minimum wage. She needs us to do better for her and her children.
Now @MahlonMitchell Mahlon Mitchell I remember the number it takes to win. I'm a firefighter right her in town, at Station 1. State President of The Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin. Local President of Fire Fighters Local 311 in Madison.
Why am I running for Governor? Why am involved in my Union? They go together. Tells the story of a young man who, in an accident, was injured. The community came together. We worked together to provide him a home, healthcare, and community support. We need that.
The government can do that. Together we rise.
Now the questions begin. How can we increase economic opportunity for young people in Wisconsin? @ForwardWFlynn Matt Flynn
Repeal Act 10. Raise the minimum wage. Reinstate the prevailing wage. Stop the Foxconn deal. But that's not enough. We need high speed broadband.
Repeal Act 10. Raise the minimum wage. Reinstate the prevailing wage. Stop the Foxconn deal. But that's not enough. We need high speed broadband.
We need wages and jobs to retain young workers. We had honest government, clean water and high wages. Today, we have dishonest government under Walker, dirty water and low wages.
Next question @MahlonMitchell to Mahlon Mitchell: what would you do to improve or serve local transit? I do want high speed rail. I would set up regional transit authority so that people can get to the jobs they need to get to. Locally they know best how to move people around.
Comes back to drive home high speed rail, quality of life and hubs around rail.
@keldahelenroys Kelda Roys what would you do to protect our water quality in drinking water in Wisconsin? A: this is an issue that unites Wisconsinites. Local communities don't have the resources to finance huge infrastructure challenges. I'd set up support & funding.
Another problem is pollution getting into drinking water. We need to re-empower the DNR to protect our water, enforce pollution standards, test, uphold the law. We need to restore environmental law and order in this state and put science and health of families ahead of profits.
Now @VinehoutK What would you do to protect Wisconsin women's right to abortion? A: First, we need to start with re-funding @PPAWI which was cut by 94% by Walker. We also need to restore the ability of providers to care for women.
Women will die without safe, local access to healthcare, it's as simple as that. We need to repeal the laws like the hideous ultrasound bill, the bill that makes it difficult to train women's health at UW. Shouldn't be a partisan issue.
Next for @McDenimRebel Mike McCabe You're the only candidate who has declined to agree to endorse the eventual nominee. Which of the other candidates on this stage would you not endorse? A: I decline to respond. Outside of Madison, they hear that party is most important.
To get a new Governor, we have to be able to win in places where I'm from. That has got to be our sole message.
Now for @Paulsoglin Q: What would you do to help the opioid epidemic. A: Soglin comes back to the endorsement of the eventual winner. This is NOT a party pledge. I know these candidates. Now, the opioid epidemic. This is not a law enforcement issue. We allow treatment.
We need to expand MARI and expand access to Narcan. And change public perception about addiction and who is addicted. These our our friends and neighbors.
For @McDenimRebel Mike McCabe in what ways do you think racial discrimination impacts Americans? A: We have to face the reality that our nation was founded by people who upheld slavery. Which became Jim Crow. And now systemic racism, police militarization, voter suppression.
Until we cut the legs out from new Jim Crow. Wisconsin spends more on prisons than on our State Universities. This is one of the reasons why I support full decriminalization of marijuana.
For @keldahelenroys Kelda Roys how would you prioritize if @GOP retains the majority in the legislature? I know how to work across the aisle. I helped WI lead on banning BPA. As head of @NARALWI we passed the first pro-choice law in 30 years through a GOP legislature.
I have the courage of my convictions and I will use the power of the Governor to advance our values. These are life and death matters. We must provide healthcare, lower the cost of drugs, fight for education. We must use the power that we have to advance our values.
For @ForwardWFlynn Matt Flynn homelessness is truly a statewide problem in Wisconsin. Many served in shelters. The majority of homeless served in shelters are outside Milwaukee, Dane and Racine counties. What would you do to reduce the homeless problem?
A: This is a real problem. We see homeless children. The government needs to do something. I agree with @Paulsoglin that one of the 5 pillars of a civilized society is housing. The fact is this requires more funding from the state. Show me your budget, I'll tell you your values.
This means working with community organizations doing good work, and we need to put the money in. I'd do that.
For @JoshPade Josh Pade You've been a proponent for Universal Basic Income how would you fund that? We need to understand the changing economy. We need to bring back and study wages and use tax credits as a partial UBI. We need to be gradual but we need to start now. We need to
..rethink how to combat childhood poverty. We can bring people together to think about how to do this, and I believe in reforming taxes and tax refunds.
For @VinehoutK Criminal Justice Reform. A: 75% of inmates suffer from addiction, and 80% of women from mental health issues. Our prison system is racist and terribly unfair. We need to start by reconsidering alternatives to incarceration. In the alternative budget I wrote, I ...
showed how to fund this. We need to show the people of our state what is happening in the prisons of our state. I've been to our facilities. People don't understand what is happening and how unfair our system is. We need to change the system and deal with poverty.
For @Paulsoglin Trump's policies are harming our dairy industry. A: Over half of the workers on WI dairy farms are immigrants. When there's an ICE raid on a WI dairy farm, there's no way to pick up the pieces, because cows will within days. I have admiration for mayor of Oakland
She warned her community. Here in Madison, we had a women arrested for drunk driving. She was not put in to any data system. She was cited and released. That is the type of policy we will have. Our administration will stand with the people.
For @MahlonMitchell Mahlon Mitchell your platform calls for 50% renewable. But Democratic Party of WI recently proposed a more aggressive plan. How would you bridge the gap. We need to protect our environment, and we need to help WI believe in science again. A strong DNR again
Our plan is to create great, clean energy jobs and keep our young people here. Voters understand that this shouldn't be a partisan issue, and that @wisgop has sold our environment to the highest bidder. We can do better.
Lightening round!
For @VinehoutK What's the biggest unaddressed issue in urban WI? A: Poverty! Income inequality. Let's start with housing. People can't obtain public housing because they have a history of being evicted. People need a shot at getting a job. We need economic...
For @VinehoutK What's the biggest unaddressed issue in urban WI? A: Poverty! Income inequality. Let's start with housing. People can't obtain public housing because they have a history of being evicted. People need a shot at getting a job. We need economic...
..development. We need to stop giving tax money to very wealthy corporations, and start giving it to small entrepreneurs. We need to fight poverty in schools. There are good ideas, we need to support them.
Now for @keldahelenroys Kelda Roys what faces rural communities? A: very similar to urban challenges - poverty. Lack of economic opportunity. Young people are moving out of Wisconsin because there are not opportunities. We need to support local communities, and 21st century infra
access to transit and transportation, good roads all needed by rural communities. And persistent racial disparities in our state are our greatest shame. We see that and need to address that.
Now for @ForwardWFlynn Matt Flynn what is the biggest issue facing urban communities? A: One of them is racial segregation. Part of this is enforcing non-discrimination laws. Part of it is getting our money back, Milwaukee sends more $ to Madison than it gets back.
Now for @MahlonMitchell Mahlon Mitchell Aside: he always get laughs from the audience. Twitter can't do this justice. Q: What are the rural challenges. A: I grew up in a rural community. We need to do everything we can to make sure we stay WI dairyland. But I agree - urban and
rural problems are shared in common. Poverty. Lack of opportunity. We need all hands working. We need to bring people together. We don't need politics of division and resentment.
Now for @McDenimRebel Mike McCabe what are the challenges facing urban communities? A: I've lived in both. When I grew up on a farm, we didn't have healthcare. We should take federal expansion money. We should set up our own ACA exchange. We should make BadgerCare a public option
BadgerCare should be there for all Badgers. Whether we're talking about farm families or small business we can free up people to do so much more if we make healthcare a right and bring it to everyone in our state.
Now for @Paulsoglin What's the biggest challenge facing rural communities. A: HealthCARE. Not health insurance. Health Care. That's the issue. We set up a community health center. We built it to serve a community within walking distance. Within a year, we served 8 counties.
We saw black infant mortality drop. The secret it to set uo community based, affordable healthcare to every person in this state. It needs to be accessible.
Now @JoshPade Josh Pade what is facing rural communities? A: I thought you'd save suburban for me (laughs from audience). Retail is tough in Wisconsin. Decades income inequality. People losing wages. Student loan debt. We need to restore our middle class. Our priorities are wrong
Too much of our money is going to corporate welfare. We need to restore entrepreneurship. To be first rather than last in the nation.
Now 3 minute closing statements.
@MahlonMitchell Mahlon Mitchell we have one enemy - the division Scott Walker has created in this state. We have a low wage economy. WI citizens with no healthcare. People working 2-3 jobs just to afford food. Education should not be partisan -we need to take care of our children
We have the highest African American male incarceration rate in the nation. We talk about that in every community, because it's a statewide issue. I believe we can win. Because we need to win. We're bringing people out to vote. That's how we win.
We need bring a coalition and bring something new to Scott Walker. It's time to surprise and amaze the state of Wisconsin. I can do that.
Now @VinehoutK. There's a big difference between slogans and policy. Until you get to the details that's what really makes the policy work. I've been in the Senate. I've written the bill for a Universal Healthcare plan in 2007. It passed. I've written the bill for WI exchange...
..to bring down costs. To change how we pay for schools. I've lived through what the governor has done in these years. I know where he spent the money, and where he should have spent the money, and where the money is squirreled away. This job is the budget.
The budget is the only bill the Governor submits. It's due 45 days after inauguration. I've written alternative budgets. I've won. Where we have to win. Where Trump won. Where I won. I ask for your vote.
Now @Paulsoglin I will have a Republican in my cabinet because we should bring the parties together. And I can ensure you that if I am elected, all these folks will be in the governors office. Coming back to healthcare. Nutrition. Hungry children at school. Public schools matter
We are a state leading in the exodus of young people, almost every county. We must make a commitment to public education so that communities can retain young people. We must retain teachers and support them. Athletics. Arts. It's ridiculous they are absent.
We must build on education to create a better, stronger Wisconsin.
Now @JoshPade Josh Pade Profile in Courage Award for @russfeingold for campaign finance reform - was a lantern on a ship. Today, the light of our democracy has dimmed. But it hasn't gone out. We need to fight together and raise that light again. We have a lot to fix.
Imagine WI in 10-20 years. We can have great schools, safe roads, clean water, and broadband. We need to be courageous. I'm running to empower citizens across the state of Wisconsin. We need to build consensus on the policies we want to build for the future.
@McDenimRebel and @ForwardWFlynn closing as well. Flynn brings up the betrayal of our nation by Trump, and betrayal of Wisconsin by Walker to his donors.
Now @keldahelenroys every single one of us has a role to play in making Wisconsin what it can be. 1. We need someone who shares our values. 2 Someone with experience and ready to govern. And 3. Someone who can win. We need and deserve a candidate who can win. That's what I can do
The forum has concluded. Stay tuned for the results of the straw poll. At our next membership meeting, we welcome @JoshKaulWI our next Attorney General.
Thanks to our hard-working moderators, @RepHesselbein Dianne Hesselbein and @YogeshChawlaWI Yogesh Chawla. 🇺🇸
Winner of the straw poll is Kelda Roys @keldahelenroys
Member straw poll vote tallies. @keldahelenroys with a strong lead. @WISuptTonyEvers with 9 votes although unable to attend tonight.
