Here & Now

La Crosse Area State Senate Candidates On Wisconsin Issues

First tonight, the race for the Wisconsin state senate in District 32. It’s a re-match, pitting the current senate minority leader, Jennifer Shilling against the man she beat in a recall election in the wake of Act 10. A former Republican state senator, Dan Kapanke. And thanks to both of you for being here tonight.

Jennifer Shilling:

Good evening, welcome to La Crosse.

Freyberg:

Thank you, well, of course we are here to talk about your senate race, but the presidential election really hangs over a lot of down ballot races. Donald Trump won in this area. Both Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, obviously have had their controversies including just today, the FBI opening a probe involving some emails. So, first to you, Senator Shilling, how much does that election trickle down to this election?

Schilling:

Well, we certainly do because I’m traveling the district and talking to people. The top of the ticket and presidential tone and tenor is something that people do talk about and today, Secretary Clinton already acknowledged the investigation, saying that people deserve to know the full facts involved with this. So I think she has been open today, already acknowledging this investigation. But I think a lot of people are ready for the election to be done with, honestly. That happiness will be November in the rear view mirror. This has been an election season unlike any other. And so I think people, as I go door to door, people’s minds are made up and they’re looking forward to November 8th.

Freyberg:

Dan Kapanke, same question. How much does the top of the ticket election weigh on yours?

Dan Kapanke:

Well, from the beginning, I said that I had to blaze my own campaign trail and not worry about who was going to be the candidate at the top of the ticket. But now that we have Donald Trump, I’ve been out every day and I’ve seen, even today, my stops a lot of people are really behind Donald Trump in this part of the state. And so, I’m encouraged by that because I think a good top of the ticket will help all of us down below.

Freyberg:

I want to move along and get into some of the issues in your race. Staying with you, Senator Kapanke: Jennifer Shilling won the recall election 55% to your 44%, a double digit margin. Why will this rematch be different?

Kapanke:

Well, because we’ve had five years and I’ve been out five years, I’ve been running my two businesses and we’ve seen some of the effects of Act 10 which really took me out. And they’ve been positive. We’ve had a five billion-dollar saving for taxpayers. ACT scores in schools have been good. Property taxes for the average homeowner have been down. Income taxes for the average medium income family of four have been down. So we’ve had good results for the last five years from Act 10.

Freyberg:

So, Senator Shilling, do you feel like Act 10 is kind of in the rear view and it’s been positive?

Schilling:

Well, I think that I know my opponent likes to point to that and it really it may have been a success for one year. It was a solution for one year and are we really better off five years down the road? That we have seen deep cuts to our university system. We have seen deep cuts to our public education system. Our transportation system is in need of repair and a long term financial fix. So I really challenge the idea that we are better off five years later, that it doesn’t feel like that and voters don’t feel like that.

Freyberg:

I want to stay with you, Senator Shilling, we spoke with people on the street in La Crosse and many of them spoke about jobs and the economy of course. So do you feel as though the state has more to tackle in terms of jobs? Not withstanding the fact that apparently our unemployment rate is at its lowest since 2001.

Schilling:

I feel that there still is economic angst in this state, as I talk to people throughout Wisconsin. We have had 18 straight quarters of below average job growth in this state. So the things that the Governor Walker is doing really are not working.

Freyberg:

Dan Kapanke, what about you on jobs and the economy? What more?

Kapanke:

Well in the last six yeas, we’ve grown about 165,000 jobs and the previous six to that, we were losing jobs. And actually, right now, if you go into businesses, you will, many times, see a help-wanted sign on the door. We’re looking for a larger workforce here in Wisconsin right now. We have great opportunities for people that want to come to Wisconsin, for businesses that want to come to Wisconsin because we have job openings here.

Freyberg:

Senator Shilling, I don’t have to tell you that in the next state budget transportation funding is really gonna be tying people up in knots. What is your fix for the giant hole in transportation?

Schilling:

Well, when I became the leader two years ago for the senate Democrats, that was one issue I pointed to that we needed to have a bipartisan solution to. I like to say there’s a right lane and a left lane on our roads. We need to have the right and left of our political parties come together. And I think we need to diversify our funding sources as we go into this budget. That what the governor has put forward already is not a solution and we’re delaying projects and we just will simply limp our way to the next budget without a long-term sustainable fix.

Freyberg:

What does a diversified solution look like?

Schilling:

Well, I think everything should be on the table and that is what leaders of the assembly are talking about. That we need to take a look at everything. I think it’s going to be a mix of a lot of areas that we are looking at.

Freyberg:

Dan Kapanke, would you support an increase in the gas tax?

Kapanke:

Well, ten years ago when the caucus wanted to remove the indexing, I was the only Republican senator who voted against it because I thought we were taking away a revenue stream that we weren’t replacing. So now, ten years later, we’ve got some issues. Also, we stole over a billion dollars out of that transportation fund up until before 2010, so that put us in the situation we are. The budget that’s come out produced by Secretary Gottlieb has shown an increase of local roads by 25%, a 35% increase in bridge maintenance, and also the lowest bonding in ten years. So I think it’s a step in the right direction. I think we need to look at everything, leave everything on the table, but I’m not here to say that we need to raise more money at this point.

Freyberg:

What about the delays in the projects? Are you okay with that?

Kapanke:

I’m okay with the delays in the projects if we’re maintaining the roads that we have now. I’ve said throughout this campaign, if I had an apartment building that had a leaky roof, I’d fix that roof before I’d build a new one.

Freyberg:

Now, staying with the budget. This Election Day, 69 school districts are going to referendum for extra money for their districts. So, in your mind, is this a good thing or a bad thing and what does it say about the adequacy of state funding for K12 schools?

Kapanke:

Well, I think the referendums that are going on, many of them are passing now. I think it’s healthy that the people within the respective school districts are getting involved and seeing the needs of the school and passing them. I think that’s very healthy for the electorate to be involved in that manner.

Freyberg:

Jennifer Shilling, you spoke earlier about K12 funding. What do you think ought to happen there in the next state budget?

Schilling:

As we’ve seen referendums across this state and many of them pass, I think it demonstrates that residents in this state believe in public education. They want to support public education and where the state has really fallen behind in our commitment to public education. We are at 2010 levels of per pupil class. We need to make sure that we are investing in our schools. And I hear it as I travel throughout the district that they want to make sure that they are preparing these students of today for the workforce of tomorrow. But they have continued challenges and these cuts in Western Wisconsin, the school districts that I represent have seen a 16.8 million dollar cut. They have looked for efficiencies, but right now it’s getting really difficult.

Freyberg:

What about that, Dan Kapanke?

Kapanke:

Well, I’ve attended school board meetings in the district in this campaign and I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with what I’ve heard. I didn’t hear anything about shortages. In fact, mill rates in several of the school districts are going down because they have enough money. There was one school that saved enough money, their insurance, they have a big HVAC project and they were able to pay for it with the savings from the insurance. So, and again, our ACT scores are good. Our graduation rates in Wisconsin are in the top five in the nation. Good things are happening in our schools. That doesn’t mean we can keep cutting forever.

Freyberg:

And on UW funding, I’ve read that you said that you’re not sure that they should actually get an increase.

Kapanke:

What I said there is if at the end of the day, in our budget, we have the revenue, and they can justify the 42 million dollar increase, and we can take a look at what they’re going to use it for, and if we have the money, and it’s for a good cause, then I would take a look at that.

Freyberg:

Senator Schilling, what do you say about UW system funding?

Schilling:

Well, higher education is an economic driver in the state. And over the last five years, we have seen the Republicans have put forward a billion dollar cut in higher education. 800 million to our university system. 200 million to our technical schools and now we’ve seen a 2 billion-dollar shortfall in building projects that the university has now identified. And so that impacts the communities that those universities are an economic impact. An economic driver in those communities around Wisconsin.

Freyberg:

I want to just ask you one last question each. Would you continue the tuition freeze?

Schilling:

I think the tuition freeze is short-sighted. It doesn’t really fix the problem and as we look at college affordability to allow students when they graduate to make sure that they can refinance their student loans like you can your home or mortgage. But it does nothing to help once you are past the bricks and mortar of college, you still have that large student debt to pay down.

Freyberg:

Dan Kapanke, what about continuing the tuition freeze?

Kapanke:

Well, the average student has saved $6,300 over the last four years with this freeze. And so I would be in favor of keeping it at least for another two, four years because it helps a student and if they can get through faster and save $6,300, I’m all for it.

Freyberg:

All right, Dan Kapanke, Jennifer Shilling, thank you very much.

Schilling:

Thank you.