Here & Now

Walker’s Legacy as Governor

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.