Voter Guide 2010 Fall Primary and General Election Tuesday, September 14, and Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund 122 State Street #201A, Madison, WI 53703; (608) 256-0827 www.lwvwi.org ; http://onyourballot2.vote411.org/ The LWVWI Education Fund is a proud member of Community Shares of Wisconsin. _______________________________________________________________________ Voter Guide 2010 Fall Primary and General Election Tuesday, September 14, and Tuesday, November 2, 2010 About this guide In an effort to fulfill our mission of encouraging active and informed participation in government, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund (LWVWIEF) has surveyed the candidates certified for the 2010 Wisconsin Partisan Fall Elections. This Voter Guide has been prepared in advance of the September Primary Election. This Voter Guide contains verbatim responses from candidates in statewide elections. Candidates and their responses are listed according to order by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Candidates were surveyed online and asked to adhere to character limits. “No response” is noted for candidates who did not respond to the League questionnaire, and “Refused to Answer” is noted for those candidates who state it is their policy not to respond to surveys. Please share this Voter Guide . Permission to copy and distribute this Guide is granted provided that no candidate's answers are altered in any way, that equal treatment in the duplication of the responses to any question is afforded all candidates in contest for a given office, and that the LWVWIEF is acknowledged. Please write to the LWVWIEF with any questions concerning this permission. No portion of this Voters' Guide may be duplicated for any campaign purposes. Party key: C=Constitution Party of Wisconsin; D=Democratic; Grn=Green; I=Independent; L=Libertarian; R=Republican; Rfm=Reform; WI-G=Wisconsin Green The elected offices covered in this Voter Guide: U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives Description: Comprised of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the U.S. Congress is responsible for making laws for the country. It has legislative power to spend and tax in order to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare of the citizenry. Members of both the House and Senate attend to constituents’ requests and problems with the government. Each state elects two senators who represent the whole state for 6-year terms; one Senate seat is up for election this year. The House of Representatives has 435 members who are elected to 2-year terms from districts within the states. Members of the House serve 2-year terms. Wisconsin has 8 House of Representatives districts. Wisconsin Governor Description: The Governor is the state’s chief executive, representing all the people and responsible for safeguarding the public interest. The governor has the authority to veto legislation and to direct state policy. Through the biennial budget, the Governor reviews and directs the activities of all administrative agencies. The Governor also appoints over 1,000 persons to various councils and boards, which advise and serve state government. The Governor serves as commander in chief of the Wisconsin National Guard when it is called into state service during emergencies. The Governor earns an annual salary of $137,092. Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Description: The Lieutenant Governor is the state’s second-ranking executive officer. If the incumbent Governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor for the rest of the term. The Lieutenant Governor may be designated to represent the Governor’s office on any statutory board, commission, or committee on which the Governor is entitled to membership. The Lieutenant Governor earns an annual salary of $72,394. Wisconsin Attorney General Description: The Attorney General protects the public interest in various legal actions at the Governor’s request. The Attorney General directs the Department of Justice, which provides legal advice and representation, criminal investigation, and various law enforcement services for the state. The Attorney General earns an annual salary of $133,033. Wisconsin Secretary of State Description: The Secretary of State oversees a variety of services for state government and Wisconsin municipalities, maintains the official acts of the legislature and Governor, and keeps the Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin and affixes it to all official acts of the Governor. The Secretary of State earns an annual salary of $65,079 per year. Wisconsin State Treasurer Description: The State Treasurer serves citizens and local government by providing for receipt, custody, oversight, and disbursement of state money, as well as unclaimed property reported to the state. The office also administers the state’s college savings program. The State Treasurer earns an annual salary of $65,079. Wisconsin State Senate and State Assembly Description: The Wisconsin Legislature is made up of a 33 member senate and the 99 member assembly, together with the service agencies created by the legislature and the staff employed by each house. Senators serve staggered four year terms and assembly members serve two year terms. The odd-numbered senate districts are up for election this year. The legislature’s main responsibility is to make policy by enacting state laws. The legislature can also override a governor’s veto of any legislation by a two-thirds vote in both houses of the legislature. Members earn a salary of $49,943 per year. Following are the candidates’ answers. _____________________________________________________________ 2 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund – September 2010 U.S. Senate US Senator (Wisconsin) The questions 1. Scientists are telling us that the observed impacts of climate change are unfolding much more quickly than climate models predicted. What specific reforms should the federal government enact to control global climate change? 2. How will you ensure that Midwest manufacturing remains competitive in a clean energy economy? 3. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important things that should be done to improve our nation’s economy? 4. Do you support requiring full disclosure of all political expenditures, as well as the sources of funding for election advertising? Why or why not? 5. Should Congress create a path to citizenship for the large number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States? Should this legislation be coupled with policies and regulations intended to limit the number of unauthorized immigrants in the future? 6. What are the most important steps toward assuring the short- and long-term security of Americans at home and abroad? How will you balance the continuing costs of military actions with the costs of domestic needs? 7. What, if anything, should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the very wealthy and other Americans? 8. What should the federal government do to create the world’s best educational system for all children in the United States? 9. Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues. Russ Feingold Party: D-INCUMBENT Address : P.O. Box 620062 Middleton, WI 53562 Campaign Phone : (608) 831-7877 Web Site : www.russfeingold.org Email : [email protected] City/Town : Middleton, WI Questions: 1. I support achieving the scientifically determined reductions necessary to avoid the major effects of global warming. I was a cosponsor of legislation in the 110th Congress to achieve these reductions. 2. Before our country’s economic collapse in 2008, I had already introduced my E4 Initiative to address Wisconsin’s economy, employment, energy and education needs. I have succeeded in acting some E4 provisions, including a measure in the Recovery act that will allow Wisconsin to use $58 million in tax credits to help deploy more energy efficiency technologies in homes and businesses. The Recovery Act also included $2.3 billion in 48C tax credits for advanced energy manufacturing projects--which I support extending to further strengthen clean energy manufacturing in Wisconsin; and over $800 million for a high-speed rail between Milwaukee and Madison that will create over 13,000 jobs. 3. I supported the Recovery Act, which the non-partisan CBO estimates has increased the number of people employed by between 1.2 million and 2.8 million. I helped pass the HIRE Act, which included a payroll tax break to help small businesses create jobs, and am working to pass a tax credit for companies to hire new employees, increase wages and provide part-time workers with a full-time jobs. I have also supported legislation that extends unemployment benefits for thousands of Wisconsinites who are currently out of work and struggling to find a job. I have opposed unfair trade agreements that have shipped our jobs overseas and support efforts to fix these agreements and improve future trade agreements so we keep jobs in the U.S. _____________________________________________________________ 3 League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Fund – September 2010 4. I support full disclosure of all political expenditures and have fought the special interests in Washington to enact meaningful campaign finance reform, including the bipartisan McCain-Feingold bill. Recently, the Supreme Court overturned years of precedent and ruled that corporations and unions may now spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertisements, a decision that is opposed by 8 in 10 Americans. In response to this decision, I helped craft the DISCLOSE Act, which would require corporations and unions to disclose the source of funds they spend on elections. In my own campaign, I go above and beyond the legal requirements in my campaign finance filings to provide greater disclosure for the public. 5. Yes. I was proud to work with members of both parties and President Bush to push for comprehensive immigration reform in 2006 and 2007. I will continue to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that protects our borders, cracks down on employer abusers and provides a pathway to earned citizenship provided that certain conditions are met.