Wisconsin State Journal, Jan. 9
Split power will force compromise at statehouse
The knock on divided government is that it creates gridlock. Witness, for example, the tedious standoff between Republican President Donald Trump and the new Democratic House majority. Their dispute over money for a symbolic border wall has partially shut down the federal government.
But more often - especially here in Wisconsin - split power between the two political parties forces both sides to give and take, which leads to better, more pragmatic and lasting public policy decisions. Neither partisan side gets to push the state to extremes. Instead, shared responsibility for decisions creates a strong incentive to find reasonable agreement.
That’s what voters should expect and demand, now that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has ended eight years of Republican rule at the statehouse. The GOP still controls both houses of the Legislature, but any bill lawmakers approve must get past the governor’s powerful veto pen.
Evers set a positive tone during his inaugural address Monday, saying he’ll work to bridge the partisan divide by encouraging civility and cooperation.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, also had good things to say. Fitzgerald told fellow GOP lawmakers to prepare for a slower pace to governing.
A more deliberative and open process in the coming year will definitely be an improvement to the fast and sneaky deals Fitzgerald, the Senate and Assembly approved in little more than two days during a lame-duck session last month. Even some lawmakers acknowledged they didn’t know details of what they were voting on.
Fitzgerald warned his colleagues not to pursue legislation the Democratic governor is sure to veto, such as further restrictions on abortion. That’s wise advice. The less needless division and distraction state leaders create, the more likely they’ll be able to secure bipartisan deals.
Instead of one party shoving its agenda on the other, both sides will have to balance their priorities. That will be a refreshing change from the days when Republicans held a lock on power and were able to do whatever they wanted, including loosening gun regulations despite growing fear of mass shootings, and showering excessive tax breaks on a foreign manufacturer.
A great place to start with compromise is on roads, which have been neglected. Both sides seem open to a reasonable increase in user fees, which haven’t gone up in more than a decade.
Further agreement can be found in fighting homelessness, encouraging startup businesses, pursuing cost-effective clean energy, protecting waterways, and innovating in education.
That’s what our editorial board will be rooting for - smart, pragmatic steps to fixing the state’s problems in ways that liberals, conservatives and everyone in the sensible center of Wisconsin politics can accept.
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The Journal Times of Racine, Jan. 13
All sides deserve a say in discussion about driver’s licenses for those here illegally
As debate continues around the United States about what should or shouldn’t be done to protect the southern border, another debate is playing out locally- the proposal for Wisconsin driver’s licenses for people here illegally.
If the law changed to allow people here illegally to get driver’s licenses, an estimated 32,000 people in Wisconsin would be able to do so, according to a report by Kids Forward, a left-leaning research organization. That is a lot of people.
In recent weeks, the Racine Unified School Board and the city’s Affirmative Action and Human Rights Commission met to discuss resolutions supporting law changes that would allow driver’s licenses for people here illegally.
As this discussion has been taking place, there has been a glaring issue - a shortage of public notice.
On Dec. 3, when the Unified School Board resolution to support driver’s licenses for undocumented residents was first presented to board members, not all board members were prepared because the proposal wasn’t actually on the published agenda. In addition to board members not having time to digest the proposal, the public also wasn’t notified.
But three members of the public were there to speak in support of the resolution.
Does that mean everyone is in support? Or does that mean, for some reason, board members proposing the resolution told their supporters but didn’t let others know? The second seems more probable.
Our country and our county remain much divided. While Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, won the Nov. 6 election, here in Racine County incumbent Republican Scott Walker received 44,770 votes to Evers’ 40,498 votes. When discussing issues such as driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, both sides should be presented and discussed thoroughly.
One of the reasons cited for such driver’s licenses was to reduce absenteeism at school.
School Board Vice President Michael Frontier said at the Dec. 3 meeting: “Even The Journal Times encouraged us to move forward on addressing attendance issues.”
Yes, we published an editorial in November encouraging the district to deal with its absenteeism issues, but we’re not sold that driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants is the solution. Since this is a state and federal issue, the School Board should focus on what it has the power to do.
When the topic of driver’s licenses comes up at the state level - and it should, to address the number of suspended licenses - all aspects should be discussed, and all sides should be given a chance to speak.
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The Capital Times, Jan. 9
Renewal of Wisconsin democracy has begun
When Gov. Tony Evers selected state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, to serve as his secretary of Revenue, Evers embraced a tradition in Wisconsin politics. It is common for governors to appoint legislators to Cabinet posts. Legislators know the workings of government, they understand the agencies they are charged with leading, and they have the added benefit of having obtained approval from the voters of their districts. In the case of Barca, who for many years served as leader of the Democratic caucus in the state Assembly, Evers also gets a Cabinet member who has earned high marks for working across lines of ideological and partisan division.
The selection of Barca also gives Evers an opportunity to renew an essential practice of democracy in Wisconsin: scheduling immediate special elections to fill legislative vacancies.
Last year, former Gov. Scott Walker refused to call special elections to fill vacancies that were created by his appointment of a pair of legislators - state Sen. Frank Lasee, of De Pere, and former state Rep. Keith Ripp, of Lodi, a pair of Republicans who quit the Legislature in December 2017 to take posts with the governor’s administration. Walker signaled last January that he would leave the seats empty until the November 2018 election. That would have left roughly 225,000 Wisconsinites without representation for the better part of a year.
This was not Walker’s only assault on democracy. But it was particularly blatant. The governor was refusing to respect the clear intent of Wisconsin’s statutes, which declare: “Any vacancy in the office of state senator or representative to the Assembly occurring before the 2nd Tuesday in May in the year in which a regular election is held to fill that seat shall be filled as promptly as possible by special election.”
Walker’s tantrum stirred a political outcry. The Capital Times editorialized, watchdog groups objected, lawsuits were filed and the courts intervened. Walker and his Republican allies in the Legislature were so determined to prevent special elections because he feared his fellow Republicans would lose that they even entertained the notion of changing state statutes in order to retroactively undermine democracy.
Finally, the governor backed off and allowed the people to choose their representatives.
But the stain on Walker’s reputation was enduring. He had exposed himself - and not for the first time - as a ruthless political operator who would lie, cheat and steal in order to gain inappropriate and illicit advantages for his partisan allies.
This is one of the reasons why Walker was defeated for re-election on Nov. 6.
Evers knows that he was elected to set a different course. And he intends to do so. When The Capital Times asked him last week about how he would handle the Assembly vacancy, the new governor minced no words.
“No delays,” Evers replied when asked about the vacancy that will be created when Barca joins the Cabinet. “We’ll have that election as soon as we can.”
Evers is so serious about this issue that he even spoke- without prompting - about the challenges of scheduling the special vote in Kenosha to parallel spring elections. (It’s difficult because spring filing deadlines have already passed.)
There will be those who suggest that the calling of a special election is a small act in the overall scheme of things. But we disagree. After the battering that Wisconsin democracy took during the Walker years, we think that every step that is taken to renew and extend the role of voters in shaping the destiny of Wisconsin is worthy of note. And celebration.
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