MONROE - About 30 people packed into a classroom at Blackhawk Technical College on Tuesday night to hear what candidates had to say on sexual assault and domestic violence in Green County.
Though five candidates were supposed to attend the event, only three took part. Current 51st State Assembly District Rep. Todd Novak was present, as was his challenger for the seat, Democrat Jeff Wright. Craig Nolen, the unopposed candidate for Green County District Attorney, took time to address the audience and answer questions as well. Democratic representative of the 45th State Assembly District Mark Spreitzer and Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District Peter Theron did not attend as planned.
Randy Booth, pastor at Monroe United Methodist Church, was moderator for the evening. Booth began the hour-long session with statistics. Child Protection Services in Green County dealt with 300 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2015. There were also 780 victims of sexual assault and 550 domestic abuse victims.
Wright and Novak agreed on a number of issues, including that the topics were non-partisan.
"I hope what we ask is how do our actions protect our most vulnerable," Wright said.
Wright, who is Sauk Prairie School District's assistant superintendent, pointed to curriculum recently instituted as a way to prevent social media misconduct and said healthy relationships in adults can leave a lasting impression on children.
Novak said through his work on domestic abuse and sexual assault prevention, which started in the early 1990s, he has seen "horrific situations" that have affected how he serves as a public official.
"Some of these children have lived through situations most adults wouldn't," Novak said. "Some of these wives have been through things most will never know."
Novak added that elder abuse has been an ongoing concern for him as well, and that he has formed committees to look at helping prevent it.
Both candidates took questions as well. Wright said there needs to be more results out of individual reports citing abuse, but that because of a lack of resources, it is a frustrating endeavor. He said like Novak, he would hope to look to the organizations which deal with problems on a daily basis, and to ensure the groups have the means to pursue evidence.
Another question pointed to the lack of willing volunteers in both emergency medical services and rural fire departments. Novak turned to his history in creating a task force to address the issue recently, and said he eagerly awaits the findings from the committee.
Nolen, a Monroe graduate, has worked with the city as a prosecutor for the last six years through and has spent time with the Child Advocacy Center within the city.
Nolen identified mental health as a primary concern.
"A significant amount of crime in this area is due to mental health, the lack of mental health services," Nolen said. "I'm looking forward to the implementation of (the drug court) program so we can provide treatment."
Nolen also took a number of questions. One asked whether he would be willing to be tougher on crime than his predecessor, Gary Luhman. Nolen said he while he would not discredit Luhman's career as the district attorney, he would hope to try cases differently and that law is decided on a case-by-case basis.
He was also asked to define victim blaming, which he said "has no place in the criminal justice system" and that, fortunately, laws have been passed to eliminate what some may see as behavior justifying assault from the courtroom. Victim-blaming includes questions like "what was she wearing" when referring to sexual assault, as if to indicate the person attacked was in some way to blame. However, Nolen was quick to add that public scrutiny and media depictions can be perpetuators of this phenomenon.
The second and final forum will take place at the Brodhead Memorial Public Library on Oct. 17 from 6 to 7 p.m.
Though five candidates were supposed to attend the event, only three took part. Current 51st State Assembly District Rep. Todd Novak was present, as was his challenger for the seat, Democrat Jeff Wright. Craig Nolen, the unopposed candidate for Green County District Attorney, took time to address the audience and answer questions as well. Democratic representative of the 45th State Assembly District Mark Spreitzer and Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District Peter Theron did not attend as planned.
Randy Booth, pastor at Monroe United Methodist Church, was moderator for the evening. Booth began the hour-long session with statistics. Child Protection Services in Green County dealt with 300 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2015. There were also 780 victims of sexual assault and 550 domestic abuse victims.
Wright and Novak agreed on a number of issues, including that the topics were non-partisan.
"I hope what we ask is how do our actions protect our most vulnerable," Wright said.
Wright, who is Sauk Prairie School District's assistant superintendent, pointed to curriculum recently instituted as a way to prevent social media misconduct and said healthy relationships in adults can leave a lasting impression on children.
Novak said through his work on domestic abuse and sexual assault prevention, which started in the early 1990s, he has seen "horrific situations" that have affected how he serves as a public official.
"Some of these children have lived through situations most adults wouldn't," Novak said. "Some of these wives have been through things most will never know."
Novak added that elder abuse has been an ongoing concern for him as well, and that he has formed committees to look at helping prevent it.
Both candidates took questions as well. Wright said there needs to be more results out of individual reports citing abuse, but that because of a lack of resources, it is a frustrating endeavor. He said like Novak, he would hope to look to the organizations which deal with problems on a daily basis, and to ensure the groups have the means to pursue evidence.
Another question pointed to the lack of willing volunteers in both emergency medical services and rural fire departments. Novak turned to his history in creating a task force to address the issue recently, and said he eagerly awaits the findings from the committee.
Nolen, a Monroe graduate, has worked with the city as a prosecutor for the last six years through and has spent time with the Child Advocacy Center within the city.
Nolen identified mental health as a primary concern.
"A significant amount of crime in this area is due to mental health, the lack of mental health services," Nolen said. "I'm looking forward to the implementation of (the drug court) program so we can provide treatment."
Nolen also took a number of questions. One asked whether he would be willing to be tougher on crime than his predecessor, Gary Luhman. Nolen said he while he would not discredit Luhman's career as the district attorney, he would hope to try cases differently and that law is decided on a case-by-case basis.
He was also asked to define victim blaming, which he said "has no place in the criminal justice system" and that, fortunately, laws have been passed to eliminate what some may see as behavior justifying assault from the courtroom. Victim-blaming includes questions like "what was she wearing" when referring to sexual assault, as if to indicate the person attacked was in some way to blame. However, Nolen was quick to add that public scrutiny and media depictions can be perpetuators of this phenomenon.
The second and final forum will take place at the Brodhead Memorial Public Library on Oct. 17 from 6 to 7 p.m.