Frederica Freyberg:

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” Zac Schultz reports on the Scott Walker years in advance of the Tony Evers’ inauguration. Then we’re joined by incoming Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes and McCoshen and Ross go on the record with political predictions for 2019. It’s “Here & Now” for January 4.

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Funding for “Here & Now” is provided in part by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.

Frederica Freyberg:

After two terms and three elections that included surviving a recall, the Scott Walker era will come to an end on Monday. Zac Schultz looks back on his politics and his policies.

Zac Schultz:

On January 3rd, 2011, Scott Walker was sworn into office.

Scott Walker:

I, Scott Walker

Shirley Abrahamson:

Do solemnly swear

Scott Walker:

Do solemnly swear

Zac Schultz:

His inaugural address provided some foreshadowing to his eight years in office.

Scott Walker:

As your governor, I make this pledge. Wisconsin is open for business.

[applause]

Zac Schultz:

Twelve minutes into his term as governor, he called for a special session of the legislature.

Scott Walker:

We will present a bold set of reforms.

Assembly Clerk:

Those in favorite will vote aye. All opposed will vote no. The court will open the roll.

People in the gallery:

Shame! Shame! Shame!

Zac Schultz:

Those bold reforms included the bill that would become Act 10, which would end most collective bargaining rights for most public employees in Wisconsin.

Lisa Flax:

And I always wanted to be a teacher from the get-go.

Zac Schultz:

In February of 2011, Lisa Flax was in her 34th year as a special education teacher in the Madison School District.

Scott Walker:

This is making changing in terms of the collective bargaining process.

Zac Schultz:

She heard about the bill the Friday it was announced.

Lisa Flax:

We quickly learned that anything that comes out on a Friday is really bad. And that it’s whatever we would hear, it would be the absolute opposite. There was nothing honest about it.

People in the rotunda:

Kill the bill! Kill the bill!

Zac Schultz:

We first met her at the capitol while she was protesting.

Lisa Flax:

This is not about money. This is about protection. It’s about safety. Its about working conditions.

Man:

If you need something —

Zac Schultz:

Governor Walker made the argument that teachers needed to pay more for health care and their pension.

Scott Walker:

These modest changes are reasonable.

Zac Schultz:

Flax says it was never about that.

Lisa Flax:

This wasn’t about a fiscal problem in Wisconsin. This was about getting rid of the unions.

Zac Schultz:

Her fears seem to be confirmed by comments Governor Walker made to a conservative billionaire about using a divide and conquer strategy to eliminate Wisconsin’s unions.

Woman:

What can we do to help you?

Scott Walker:

Were going to start in a couple of weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is we’re going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions.

Woman:

Right.

Scott Walker:

Use divide and conquer.

Zac Schultz:

At a time when most people were still suffering from the recession and job insecurity, Flax said Walker inflamed resentment of public employees and their union-negotiated benefits.

Lisa Flax:

And the whole divide and conquer tactics that the Walker Administration used was just brilliant. They did a masterful job at picking people apart and turning people against each other.

Zac Schultz:

Within a few months, Flax joined thousands of teachers and public employees in retiring early for fear Republicans would go after their pension fund next.

Lisa Flax:

If I retire now, will my pension be okay? If I wait, is my pension going to disappear? All of these questions. I really felt like I had to.

Greg Clement:

I kind of understood what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Zac Schultz:

On the other side of the state, Greg Clement wasn’t thinking about early retirement.

Greg Clement:

This is twice as fast as the other machines that we had before.

Zac Schultz:

He was trying to save his business.

Greg Clement:

We didn’t know what was going to happen and we were concerned about it and to invest, not to invest, to grow, to move, you know, what should we do?

Zac Schultz:

Clement owns Argon Industries in Milwaukee. By 2012, he had grown his business from four employees to 70. But he was trying to survive the recession and see if Governor Walker would survive the recall.

Greg Clement:

It was kind of stressful watching everything that was going on and then the recall, whether he was going to come back or not. We decided to expand once he won the recall.

Zac Schultz:

Clement says his business has thrived under Governor Walker’s policies, including a tax credit slipped into the first budget in 2011. We first met Clement while talking about the impact of the Manufacturing and Agriculture Credit, or MAC, which essentially wipes out all the state income tax liability for manufacturers and farmers.

Greg Clement:

This is a new fiber laser. This replaced the CO2 laser that we had. This is three times faster than the old laser.

Zac Schultz:

Hes used the tax credits to invest in new machinery, to help him compete internationally and double his work force in the last eight years.

Greg Clement:

I mean, unemployment’s slow. Wages have gone up. I mean, everyone’s benefitted. Taxes are down. And I don’t understand it to be honest, how he did not get re-elected.

Lisa Flax:

I think it’s just karma that an educator is telling Walker there’s the door.

Zac Schultz:

Lisa Flax is eight years into retirement, but she says the damage from Act 10 continues.

Lisa Flax:

Governor Walkers legacy, he’s had such a negative impact on the teaching career in Wisconsin. He blew up people’s professions and lives and they don’t care.

Zac Schultz:

Greg Clement agrees the impact of Governor Walker’s legacy will be felt for years but in a positive way.

Greg Clement:

I think Governor Walker, when you look back on what he’s done for the state, people will look at him as divisive and against certain people or certain groups but if you look back and you see what he’s done for the state, the amount of money that stayed in the state, the amount of enthusiasm that’s come to the state, I think you’ll look back ten years from now and go, wow. He did a great job.

Zac Schultz:

This is how some people will remember Governor Walker.

Scott Walker:

Wisconsin is open for business!

Zac Schultz:

For others, this is his legacy.

Scott Walker:

Divide and conquer.

Zac Schultz:

And you can hear hints of each phrase when he was asked about his legacy in December.

Scott Walker:

I think our legacy is going to be the fact that we took power out of the hands of the big special interest and put it firmly in the hands of the hardworking taxpayers. As long as it doesn’t compromise the ability to protect the hardworking taxpayers of the state, then our legacy’s intact.

Frederica Freyberg:

This week Governor Walker announced his post state Capitol plans. He’s headed to the speaker circuit he said, to spread conservative principles of tax reform and returning power to states. He added that he and his wife Tonette will work to re-elect President Donald Trump. Walker also says he’s interested in running for office again, possibly U.S. Senate or Governor in four years. Monday morning at 11:00, tune into live coverage of the inauguration of Governor Tony Evers. WPR’s Shawn Johnson and I will be at the state Capitol as the new administration is sworn in. A new administration that includes our state’s first African-American Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. And he joins us now. Thanks very much for being here.

Mandela Barnes:

Of course. Thank you for having me and Happy New Year.

Frederica Freyberg:

And to you, first let me say congratulations. We have not spoken to you since the election.

Mandela Barnes:

Thank you so much.

Frederica Freyberg:

How meaningful is it to be just the second African-American elected to statewide office in Wisconsin?

Mandela Barnes:

Well, like I’ve always said, there’s a certain weight to it. There’s a certain gravity. One that I do accept, especially in a state like Wisconsin that has some of the worst disparities in education and incarceration and income for people of color. This is how we change not just what’s possible but what should be expected across the entire state for everyone.

Frederica Freyberg:

How long has it been incoming that you would be, you know, just the second person of African-American descent to be elected?

Mandela Barnes:

Yeah. So for a while we didn’t know. We didn’t know which way things would go. I spoke to Vel Phillips a long time ago. She’s a friend of mine before she passed away. We’d speak quite frequently and I remember her telling me that when she ran for office 40 years ago, that people didn’t even know that she was black by and large across the state, unless you were in Milwaukee at the time. She was the first black woman to graduate from UW Law School. If you looked at her stats, some people wouldn’t have put it together.

Frederica Freyberg:

40 years.

Mandela Barnes:

40 years.

Frederica Freyberg:

So do you expect to be an example for others?

Mandela Barnes:

I do hope to be. For so many children, across the state, so many children, especially areas like the city of Milwaukee who deal with some very serious issues, very unique set of circumstances. May not have the best examples or may not have always been told what they can ultimately grow to be. Being the first in this position, I hope Im not the last and I want others to be able to go on far beyond anything that Im able to do during my time here.

Frederica Freyberg:

I read that you were named after Nelson Mandela, at a time that the future South African president was still in prison for his anti-apartheid work. How proudly do you bear his name?

Mandela Barnes:

Very proudly. It’s funny you mention that because my father who named me and his mother were at odds at the time when Nelson Mandela still being in prison. Ultimately he obviously won that one between the two of them but I do take it as an honor. Even when I was a member of the legislature, people were like Representative Barnes. Just call me Mandela. In my mind, it held more weight than representative.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, the state GOP accuses you of “catering to the far left while ignoring critical parts of this state.” What is your reaction to that?

Mandela Barnes:

Yeah. That whole rationale means that you’ve totally ignored issues–they have totally ignored issues that impact people. Of course I’m going to talk about raising the minimum wage because I’m around people or Ive represented people whose lives would drastically change if only they were paid what they were worth. If only their value was reflected in their paycheck, which it’s not. I talk about the need for health care expansion. I myself have a health care story. I was on a BadgerCare waiting list less than ten years ago at one point. So of course Im going to talk about these issues. But from that perspective, for saying that I will be catering to the far left means they’ve totally ignored a piece of the population that’s dealing with some real issues and have been for quite some time. People just want a chance to get ahead here in the state of Wisconsin. I talk about environmental issues because we have to make clean air, safe drinking water a priority and at the same time, we can create jobs and change the economy here in the state of Wisconsin that has not fared well for everyone who lives here.

Frederica Freyberg:

What will be your initiatives then as lieutenant governor?

Mandela Barnes:

Yep. So I’ve talked about working on equity and sustainability. That means that we work to make sure that there are no groups of people who are left behind in the state as they are now. We’re dealing with some very extreme income gaps, income equality. Here in the state of Wisconsin, it’s at its highest point since the Great Depression. People still have not even come back from the recession 11 years ago. That’s a real problem. We have to establish some equity first, racial, gender, generation equity because you look at the rate of teen unemployment which is also through the roof and that’s why you see so many young people get involved in things they shouldn’t be involved in. They have no other way. And the sustainability piece. Looking at Wisconsin for the next 10 years, 25 years, 50, 100. We have to take that long-term vision and like I said, investing in renewable energy. That is our key here in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

These issues are so intractable though in Wisconsin and as you say, we lead the nation in many of the inequities. How do you do that in your position?

Mandela Barnes:

Yeah. So obviously I know more than thinking it would be just me. You can look at this position as a convener of sorts. I’ve worked with a number of community organizations, a number of young professional organizations. People who want to work to attract and retain talent in the state of Wisconsin. So many people in my age group don’t see Wisconsin as a place to live, work, raise a family. So many people flee the state. We have to change that and I know that I can’t do that on my own but it means that we have real conversations and difficult conversations at times. It means that people have to learn one another. We can no longer go down the path of these regional divides that a lot of politicians have continued to push because it benefits them politically but it ultimately does a disservice for the residents. So we have to have open and honest dialogue to help begin to move us forward.

Frederica Freyberg:

More globally kind of, what can citizens in Wisconsin expect from the Evers-Barnes Administration?

Mandela Barnes:

People can expect an administration that listens. That’s why before we even took office, we did our budget listening tour to build the people’s budget. We went to all parts of the state, as many parts of the state as we could in the amount of time but that’s before we even took office because we want to know right away. We want to be prepared out of the gate to prepare a budget that benefits people. One that’s based on equity. One that actually has the input of every day citizens. Not just the most influential lobbyists or the highest donors and that’s the way we built a Wisconsin that works for everyone.

Frederica Freyberg:

What was most resonant when you were on that tour listening to people?

Mandela Barnes:

So there are a lot of different perspectives and Ill say the one thing that you hear everywhere is education. People want their schools to be funded because people understand that the more money we put in education, the less money we have to spend on incarceration. We have more people who are educated, that’s the real way we work to attract jobs, good paying jobs to the state. If we have an educated work force that’s ready to go, people want to move to Wisconsin. They’ll want to move their businesses here because we have the people ready to fill those gaps.

Frederica Freyberg:

As for Monday, who will be at your swearing in?

Mandela Barnes:

My parents will be at my swearing in, along with some family, some friends. We have — the list is still growing. I’ve probably gotten a few texts since Ive been speaking with you today but, you know, a lot of people, a number of community leaders will also be there on Monday for the swearing in.

Frederica Freyberg:

How proud are your parents?

Mandela Barnes:

My parents are over the moon. You just can’t — like my dad was at a restaurant with my mom. Somebody asked my dad how his day was going. He said, “My son just got elected lieutenant governor.” So he is not shy about this. Every time — we go to the same gym, so they don’t know me as lieutenant governor-elect. They know me as Jessies boy.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Well, again, congratulations and Mandela Barnes, thanks you very much.

Mandela Barnes:

Thank you. Happy to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

In tonights look ahead, we gaze into the political crystal ball with our clairvoyant political panelists. Bill McCoshen and Scot Ross, who we asked to bring their predictions for all things politic in 2019. Happy New Year to both of you

Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross:

Happy New Year.

Frederica Freyberg:

We will start with Bill’s first prediction and that is that the Republican Party of Wisconsin will replace Brad Courtney as chairman by April. Is this kind of like what happened to Mike McCarthy?

Bill McCoshen:

Well, he’s had a good run. Let’s put it that way. I think the party, grassroots faithful are looking for a new direction. Senator Ron Johnson is now the titular head of the party and has asked Reince Priebus, the former chairman, both of Wisconsins party and the RNC to do an autopsy on where things went wrong with the Walker campaign and the Vukmir campaign. Obviously they had success at the legislative level but I think there will be a price to pay for the losses at the top of the ticket and that will fall to Brad Courtney.

Frederica Freyberg:

What do you think went wrong?

Scot Ross:

They went 0-6 in the statewide races and hey, you know, Paul Ryan and Scott Walker both need jobs.

Frederica Freyberg:

Hes going on the speaker circuit which is interesting.

Bill McCoshen:

He is going on the speaker circuit. I think part of it is Courtney has done a nice job. I mean he was around in ’12 for the recall and ’14 and ’16 so there’s a lot of credit to be had and I think most folks are grateful for the time he spent with the party. But they’re also looking for a new direction and moving forward.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Let’s look ahead to your number one prediction. Governor Evers will deliver on his promises to improve education, health care and transportation but how tough does that become if majority Republicans won’t work off the Evers’ budget but draft their own?

Scot Ross:

I think the big challenge here for the Republicans is the fact that the will of the people was that they wanted change and they elected Tony Evers to be the next governor of the state of Wisconsin. And he has said he is going to prioritize education. He’s going to invest in kids and schools. He’s going to bring respect back to teachers. On health care, he’s going to improve access. We’re going to take the Medicaid money which we should have been taking a long time. And he’s going to focus on infrastructure and doing the responsible, adult, common sense Wisconsin values thing of not putting spending on a credit card. Coming up with real solutions, bringing people together and solving problems.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do you believe that Tony Evers will be able to deliver on those promises?

Bill McCoshen:

No. Tony Evers ran on those things. He won on those things. He’s going to struggle with the Republican legislature. I think they’ll find an agreement on education. It won’t be at $4.1 billion. It will be significantly less but it will be a nice increase, nonetheless. He’ll find an agreement with Vos on transportation and potentially Fitzgerald on health care but they’ll be at disalignment.

Frederica Freyberg:

We get to some of that later on in some of your predictions. Number two for you, Bill, was Governor Evers could become the first governor in modern history to veto an entire state budget. Then what happens?

Bill McCoshen:

Well, we could be here a long time. The latest a budget’s gone, you’d have to go all the way back to the Pat Lucy era where it went into November.

Frederica Freyberg:

Oh my gosh.

Bill McCoshen:

I think it’s important for Speaker Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald to find alignment on all the major issues and to pass a budget together rather than fighting amongst themselves which they’ve done recently. But if they ignore the executive, Tony Evers in this case, he could easily veto the whole thing. That’s the governor’s single greatest power in the state of Wisconsin and he may use it in this particular situation.

Scot Ross:

Yeah, I think we remember that boss Vos and Fitzgerald couldn’t pass a budget last time when they controlled all of state government with Governor Walker. Let’s not forget, Vos was burned by them. He got held out at the last second by that asylum they call the Republican Senate Caucus and they’ve even gotten more wacky with Senator Jacque now. So I think they have much bigger problems than Governor Evers has when it comes to passing a budget.

Frederica Freyberg:

Lets go along to your prediction number two. Republicans will regret putting up another extremist, Scott Walker crony for the Supreme Court race. Why will they regret that?

Scot Ross:

You know, the last time that they did that, the voters soundly rejected Scott Walker’s lawyer and now they put up somebody in Brian Hagedorn who is more extreme, more controversial, more beholden and more political. They want — you know, people of Wisconsin plainly want somebody who’s independent, who respects the law and who has experience. That’s what they get with Lisa Neubauer. That’s not what they get with Brian Hagedorn.

Bill McCoshen:

There was a last minute effort to find another candidate to get into that race at the end of December. That was unsuccessful. Hagedorn has been in the race essentially nine months. I’m concerned about that race moving forward. Republicans are going to have to rally the troops in order to win that in April.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thats kind of an honest prediction on your part, Bill.

Scot Ross:

Are you saying mine aren’t?

Bill McCoshen:

I could say that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Moving along to national politics, Bill, you say that Donald Trump will get another Supreme Court nominee confirmed in 2019. What will that mean if that’s true for cases like the Obamacare case and redistricting, the one out of Wisconsin?

Bill McCoshen:

Theres already a conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court. I don’t know whether it will be Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who’s 85 with significant health issues. Or Stephen Breyer, who’s 80. Both would be in the liberal camp on the United States Supreme Court but I think one of them will leave the court in 2019 and Donald Trump will not use the old rule during the Obama era and wait for the next presidential election. He and Mitch McConnell will jam a Supreme Court nominee through the United States Senate.

Frederica Freyberg:

And what do you think?

Scot Ross:

When I heard about that prediction, I thought you were saying that Kavanaugh would leave in disgrace but I don’t see that happening. I think that — you know, the best thing I see on the internet is the prediction that somebody who is going to be 100 — live to be 150 years old has already been born and let’s all hope that’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thats what all of that ilk hope for. Number three, from you, Scott, the new Democratic House majority will stop Trump in his tracks and hold him accountable in ways in which the Republicans utterly refused. But right about now, we’re seeing this standoff, right, over the government shutdown and it doesnt seem like the Democratic House is forcing the president’s hand.

Scot Ross:

I would say this. If they did a vote, you know, they did a vote the other night, right off the bat to try to reopen the government. I mean, I could not be more proud of seeing all the photos of the diversity of the Democratic House Caucus and the fact that so many of those people are going to have a real voice that has to be listened to because they are in the majority. I think it’s going to be excellent. I also love the fact that Donald Trump is going to be held accountable six ways to Sunday by the committees that are now headed by Democrats.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about the six ways to Sunday being held accountable?

Bill McCoshen:

Democrats will overreach and it’ll ultimately cost them in 2020. I think if Pelosi is smart about this, if Trump is smart about this, they can find a way to work together both on immigration, on health care potentially and on infrastructure. Those are things that Trump wants to get done that he struggled with on the far right, both in the United States Senate and in the House and he may have an ally in Nancy Pelosi. There are areas where they could work together.

Scot Ross:

Trump has never shown he’s willing to work with Democrats. He is–

Bill McCoshen:

The art of the deal.

Scot Ross:

Absolutely, absolutely unwilling to do it and the Democrats are going to benefit from that. Probably win the Senate back in 2020.

Frederica Freyberg:

Wow, theres a prediction. Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross. Thanks very much and Happy New Year again.

Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross:

Great to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now we take a look at contaminated well water in southwest Wisconsin. A recent analysis shows over 40% of private wells in the region failed to meet drinking water standards. New rules implemented last summer attempt to curb ground water contamination in other parts of the state. Marisa Wojcik now has more on this.

Marisa Wojcik:

42% of wells contain contaminated drinking water in southwest Wisconsin. This is according to a new survey testing for bacteria and nitrates from private ground water wells. Statewide, 40% of residents rely on private wells for their main source of water. But private wells are not monitored or regulated by government oversight. So it’s up to the owner to maintain the well and test its water. The survey was conducted in southwest Wisconsin because it contains bedrock, similar to that found in the 15 counties on the eastern side of the state. The bedrock is shallow and fractured which means it allows more contaminants from agricultural and residential sources to seep into the ground water. These 15 counties are now subject to new rules from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding how farmers can spread manure. Because more topsoil means more filtration of contaminants, land with less than two feet of topsoil are prohibited from spreading manure. The rules also limit how close to wells manure can be spread. The new standards took effect July 1st and were applied to this region largely in response to increasing reports of water contamination in Kewaunee County. The Wisconsin Dairy Business Association cautions that rules applied to eastern Wisconsin counties shouldn’t be blanketly applied to the entire state. And although there are some similarities between the two regions, variances in things like how the land is used and shaped means that the rules need to be individually tailored to each area. But Clean Wisconsin has called the results of this survey alarming and should be a wakeup call for leaders at all levels of government. Private well owners in Wisconsin can voluntarily test their water but the conclusions in this survey relied on county funds to gather and analyze more comprehensive results. For these and other Fast Facts, visit wpt.org.

Frederica Freyberg:

That was Marisa Wojcik reporting. On Thursday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced the creation of a water quality task force to address the problems the southwest study raised. Now to election news, Wednesday was the last day to get on the ballot for Wisconsin’s spring elections. Here’s a preview of who is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Two candidates are on the ballot for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election this year. Brian Hagedorn is an appeals court judge first appointed in 2015. He serves on the judicial commission which handles judicial misconduct in the state. Before the bench, he served as Governor Scott Walker’s chief legal counsel. Lisa Neubauer is the states chief appeals court judge, first elected in 2008. Previously she was a partner at the Foley and Lardner law firm. Because there are only two candidates on the ballot, the two will face off in the April 2nd general election.

Finally tonight, a look ahead to Monday when I will join WPRs Shawn Johnson at the state Capitol for the inauguration of Governor Tony Evers. Live coverage begins at 11:00 a.m. and will be carried by Wisconsin Public Television and Radio. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a great weekend.

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Funding for “Here & Now” is provided in part by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.