MONROE - Sen. Dale Schultz took a whirlwind tour around the city Wednesday, Oct. 30, meeting with business and government leaders, as well as a few constituents, but he managed to dodge the question of whether he plans to seek re-election next year.
Schultz, R-Richland Center, said he is going to wait until after hunting season, maybe even January or February, to make his decision. Furthermore, Schultz didn't appear phased by one constituent's comment that he wouldn't get any campaign money from the GOP if he ran as an independent.
"I don't need any money from a party," Schultz said. "If I run, I know I'll win."
Rep. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, has already announced his bid to run for the 17th Senate Seat that Schultz has held since 1991. A Democrat, Ernie Wittwer, announced Tuesday, Oct. 29 that he also is running for the seat.
But instead of talking about elections at his noon listening session at City Hall, Schultz turned to emphasizing his desire for more non-partisan politics.
He met with Mayor Bill Ross for about an hour where, according to Schultz, their discussion focused heavily on economic development, including Monroe's new airport terminal, now under construction, and Amlat, a proposed baby formula factory.
Schultz said that while local leaders are working diligently to increase jobs and businesses, he and others elected officials in Madison would like to be "part of the team" and to "know what's going on" in communities.
"All we need is a source of information we agree on; get rid of the spin; and sit down and craft some solutions," he told the small group at his listening session.
Schultz said that although he stood beside Gov. Scott Walker to promise to create 250,000 new jobs in the state, "we haven't done what we set out to do. We haven't gotten there yet.
"I think one of the big reasons is that we have divided this state in a profound way. All our energy is going into fighting each other," he added.
Schultz said he is "bothered by the drift away" from the actions of such historical elected leader as Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Lincoln, Schultz said, had a goal of keeping people together and helping them. Roosevelt, he added, was the country's foremost conservationist.
"We don't dream big dreams anymore," he said.
Schultz laid out the consequences of the desires people have for better government services.
"If you want better roads, you're going to have to pay for them," he said. He noted state budgets in the past had diverted money from the highway trust fund, while the last budget had to transfer general funds back into the highways, leaving less for schools and municipalities.
But he quickly added that wasting taxpayers' money is not part of the solutions.
"Studies have been followed by no action," he said. "What are we going to do, wait until the whole world falls down?"
From Common Core curriculum in schools to environment versus mining, Schultz said, issues need to have solutions worked out, not just sheer criticism.
"It's not fair to have license to criticize and not do the hard work to better our schools," he said.
And, while Schultz stood on his efforts to protect the environment, he also said the state needs to "allow economic entities to operate."
Schultz, R-Richland Center, said he is going to wait until after hunting season, maybe even January or February, to make his decision. Furthermore, Schultz didn't appear phased by one constituent's comment that he wouldn't get any campaign money from the GOP if he ran as an independent.
"I don't need any money from a party," Schultz said. "If I run, I know I'll win."
Rep. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, has already announced his bid to run for the 17th Senate Seat that Schultz has held since 1991. A Democrat, Ernie Wittwer, announced Tuesday, Oct. 29 that he also is running for the seat.
But instead of talking about elections at his noon listening session at City Hall, Schultz turned to emphasizing his desire for more non-partisan politics.
He met with Mayor Bill Ross for about an hour where, according to Schultz, their discussion focused heavily on economic development, including Monroe's new airport terminal, now under construction, and Amlat, a proposed baby formula factory.
Schultz said that while local leaders are working diligently to increase jobs and businesses, he and others elected officials in Madison would like to be "part of the team" and to "know what's going on" in communities.
"All we need is a source of information we agree on; get rid of the spin; and sit down and craft some solutions," he told the small group at his listening session.
Schultz said that although he stood beside Gov. Scott Walker to promise to create 250,000 new jobs in the state, "we haven't done what we set out to do. We haven't gotten there yet.
"I think one of the big reasons is that we have divided this state in a profound way. All our energy is going into fighting each other," he added.
Schultz said he is "bothered by the drift away" from the actions of such historical elected leader as Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Lincoln, Schultz said, had a goal of keeping people together and helping them. Roosevelt, he added, was the country's foremost conservationist.
"We don't dream big dreams anymore," he said.
Schultz laid out the consequences of the desires people have for better government services.
"If you want better roads, you're going to have to pay for them," he said. He noted state budgets in the past had diverted money from the highway trust fund, while the last budget had to transfer general funds back into the highways, leaving less for schools and municipalities.
But he quickly added that wasting taxpayers' money is not part of the solutions.
"Studies have been followed by no action," he said. "What are we going to do, wait until the whole world falls down?"
From Common Core curriculum in schools to environment versus mining, Schultz said, issues need to have solutions worked out, not just sheer criticism.
"It's not fair to have license to criticize and not do the hard work to better our schools," he said.
And, while Schultz stood on his efforts to protect the environment, he also said the state needs to "allow economic entities to operate."