Here & Now

cc >> But first, on his way to representing the 78th assembly district, Brett Hulsey worked as an environmental advocate, including 18 years as an educator for the Sierra Club. Representative Husley is also a former Dane County Board supervisor, and as of this week a candidate in the Democratic primary race for governor. Representative Hulsey joins us now. Thanks for doing so. >> Great to be here. >> So why are you jumping into the governor's race this way? >> I want to get Wisconsin working again. No one has fought Scott Walker harder in the last three years and tried to end his reign of error more than I have. So my get Wisconsin Working Again plan, and I put it on a check, the $2.1 billion we want to give back to our school children, restore money for our UW funding, job training in technical colleges, give public servants the health care and benefits that they gave up when we didn't have a budget crisis. Governor Walker's statements were a pants-on-fire lie that we were broke. We weren't. And get Wisconsin working again. >> What kind of support do you think you have? And who is your base? >> Well, a web poll taken the day that I announced here in Madison had me at 30-70 to Mary Burke, who's a millionaire and has millions of dollars. I'll take that as a good start. But I think my base is basically working families. I'm running against a millionaire who's outsourced jobs, and then a billionaire-backed Scott Walker, who's done things that hurt jobs in Wisconsin. And I'm kind of the regular guy in the race. >> As for Mary Burke, you have said this week that if she doesn't agree to debate you, that you will dress up in a chicken suit and go to her appearances. Are you serious? >> Actually, it wasn't me. But I think I'm going to reserve the chicken suit for Scott Walker. First of all, Mary Burke's not ready to debate me because she hasn't figured out her position on Governor Walker's unfair despair Act 10. First she likes some parts of it, then she wasn't sure she wanted to repeal it. And now she's finally decided she wanted to repeal it. If I'm elected governor, on day one I will call the legislature into special session, if I have the votes, to repeal it and restore bargaining rights for our public servants, health care and retirement that they bargained for since the '50s. And so-- But I think Scott Walker is going to be afraid to debate me. But, you know, Mary Burke, she's too shy really for the-- I use this a little bit on Mark Neumann when he was in congress. But we'll save it for Governor Walker. >> What kind of base of support do you have financially? >> I am-- One, the AP reporter called my budget a shoestring budget. I went and I told him, my shoes don't have strings. You know, they're slip-ons today. But, no, this is-- I've got my red convertible which I, you know, got for campaign purposes, that I'm using for campaign purposes. This week I'll be in Milwaukee. I'll be at the Brewers game tailgating and hope to come out and see a lot of folks there. Then I'll be in Oshkosh, Luxemburg, Appleton on Sunday. And people, when you go around, you say this is what it's about, this election is about getting the money back that Scott Walker stole from the people of Wisconsin. I'm getting a lot of support. >> Now, last summer you pleaded no contest to disorderly-- >> It was actually two summers ago. >> Two summers ago, no contest to flipping a little boy off an inner tube at the beach. Then your legislative aide quit your office saying she felt threatened by your behavior. So what can you tell potential voters? >> First of all, I'm not perfect. I'm mean, I've certainly made some mistakes in my life. But in those specific instances, I was going swimming at the beach and a young boy was bullying two little girls, and I asked him to not splash his sisters. He said, they weren't my sisters. I looked around for his parents. It turned out his dad-- It was 4th of July. He was in getting another beer, a drink almost 40 yards away, leaving his kids unattended. And I tried to, sort of, interrupt the situation. I'm a parent. I wouldn't want my kid alone being bullied at the beach like that. But then the interesting thing was, Politiscoop found, the kid's grandmother is Mayor Soglin's Chief of Staff, Sally Miley. Politiscoop found that Sally Miley, actually made false statements to her daughter and the police about me approved by Mayor Soglin. Then when I went to release the picture that had the kid in it, Mayor Soglin threatened the two credible sources to use the police to seize my computer and challenge the time stamp. So I'm, like-- I was doing what any parent would do in the situation. I got some bad advise to plead no contest from Mark --, who was one of the people. So I'm like-- You know, it was a bad situation. I probably didn't make some good choices. But, again, it comes back to who's the best person to get Wisconsin working again. I'm not perfect, but I got a plan. >> Do you feel as though you've lost some credibility or even friends? >> You know, I-- Harry Truman said, "If you want a friend in politics, get a dog." And my ex-staffer, frankly, she said she was politically-- To me, she was politically pressured to make those statements. The basic issue, a guy walks into my office looking for me with a box cutter and, you know, she was the only person there. And I said we need safety training in this office. We went to Chief Irwin, Governor Walker's police of chief, and he instructed her and other staffers to hit people. I said, the guy had a knife. We need real training. I asked Mary Spicuzza, actually, of the State Journal, to come and give instruction for women on how to protect themselves. >> Do you feel as though those kinds of issues are going to kind of cast a cloud over what you're trying to do here? >> Maybe, but, again, you know, I feel actually this is a good way to clear my name. This is the first time we've ever talked about this in a forum like this. And I'm like, I'm happy to talk about stuff. Again, you have Kramer, you know. You know, Kramer, Majority Leader Kramer, walking around the floor of the assembly with a loaded gun, bragging about it. He's obviously a guy who can't handle his gun very well. So this is the kind of crazy environment Governor Walker has created at the legislature. And, frankly, you know, I may be the person who can solve it. >> We need to leave it there. Brett Hulsey, thanks very much. >> Go to -- and find out more.