Editor's note: The editorial board met with Jon Erpenbach and Kurt Schlicht, candidates for the 27th State Senate seat. The following is the majority view of the editorial board, which consists of General Manager Carl Hearing, Editor Mary Jane Grenzow and News Editor Gary Mays.
Kurt Schlicht is a giant of a man, literally and figuratively. As a Republican fighting to represent his district on the Democratically-controlled Dane County board, and as a small businessman running his bar in Cross Plains, there's no question he's got his big former University of Wisconsin lineman finger on the pulse of an angry electorate - fed up with what's going on these days in Washington and Madison.
Schlicht, running to unseat State Sen. Jon Erpenbach in the sprawling 27th district, is a straight shooter. And we believe him when he says he's worried about state spending, and how Wisconsin's $2.7 billion deficit - projected to reach $3.1 billion - will impact his children, and those of his fellow Wisconsin residents.
Yet Schlicht's prescription for what ails Wisconsin is perilously short on detail, and matches the national GOP battlecry throughout this election. It's one that emphasizes spending cuts at any cost and slams government during the worst economic calamity since The Great Depression.
"Wisconsin doesn't really have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem," Schlicht told The Monroe Times Editorial Board.
Yet the state's problems are bigger than that. And Mr. Schlicht, we do have a revenue problem - for any increases in revenue typically only occur when there is job growth.
To recover from this economic crisis, the state must look to long-term solutions, such as attracting green manufacturing jobs to replace manufacturing jobs lost in Monroe, Janesville and elsewhere. Green manufacturing is something Schlicht downplays.
"Farmers," Erpenbach, Schlicht's opponent, told us, "will be producing all of our energy in the future."
To solve these problems and harness new markets we will need steady, experienced leadership and that leadership should come from the incumbent, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach.
He gets The Monroe Times' endorsement.
Erpenbach has been a fierce advocate for the people of the 27th district, north and south. And while some may decry his desire to spend money we don't have on an expanded social safety net, Erpenbach also has been a fighter for things that matter to us, such as his proposed transparency in state spending law. Too often, and increasingly so since the landmark Citizens United court decision, outside, special-interest money has become inextricably entwined with the legislative process. We praise Erpenbach for leading the fight on transparency.
On school funding, Erpenbach has some good ideas, such as holding the line on property taxes while still increasing revenue by eliminating existing tax exemptions.
Finally, we like Erpenbach because, while he has been around the legislature a long time, he's also worked other jobs and stayed in touch with real working people. Unlike Mr. Schlicht's assessment, we don't consider him a "career politician."
Rather, Erpenbach has proven himself a tireless public servant, and we encourage him to keep up the good work.
Kurt Schlicht is a giant of a man, literally and figuratively. As a Republican fighting to represent his district on the Democratically-controlled Dane County board, and as a small businessman running his bar in Cross Plains, there's no question he's got his big former University of Wisconsin lineman finger on the pulse of an angry electorate - fed up with what's going on these days in Washington and Madison.
Schlicht, running to unseat State Sen. Jon Erpenbach in the sprawling 27th district, is a straight shooter. And we believe him when he says he's worried about state spending, and how Wisconsin's $2.7 billion deficit - projected to reach $3.1 billion - will impact his children, and those of his fellow Wisconsin residents.
Yet Schlicht's prescription for what ails Wisconsin is perilously short on detail, and matches the national GOP battlecry throughout this election. It's one that emphasizes spending cuts at any cost and slams government during the worst economic calamity since The Great Depression.
"Wisconsin doesn't really have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem," Schlicht told The Monroe Times Editorial Board.
Yet the state's problems are bigger than that. And Mr. Schlicht, we do have a revenue problem - for any increases in revenue typically only occur when there is job growth.
To recover from this economic crisis, the state must look to long-term solutions, such as attracting green manufacturing jobs to replace manufacturing jobs lost in Monroe, Janesville and elsewhere. Green manufacturing is something Schlicht downplays.
"Farmers," Erpenbach, Schlicht's opponent, told us, "will be producing all of our energy in the future."
To solve these problems and harness new markets we will need steady, experienced leadership and that leadership should come from the incumbent, State Sen. Jon Erpenbach.
He gets The Monroe Times' endorsement.
Erpenbach has been a fierce advocate for the people of the 27th district, north and south. And while some may decry his desire to spend money we don't have on an expanded social safety net, Erpenbach also has been a fighter for things that matter to us, such as his proposed transparency in state spending law. Too often, and increasingly so since the landmark Citizens United court decision, outside, special-interest money has become inextricably entwined with the legislative process. We praise Erpenbach for leading the fight on transparency.
On school funding, Erpenbach has some good ideas, such as holding the line on property taxes while still increasing revenue by eliminating existing tax exemptions.
Finally, we like Erpenbach because, while he has been around the legislature a long time, he's also worked other jobs and stayed in touch with real working people. Unlike Mr. Schlicht's assessment, we don't consider him a "career politician."
Rather, Erpenbach has proven himself a tireless public servant, and we encourage him to keep up the good work.
