Frederica Freyberg:
With just over six weeks left until election day, the race for governor is heating up on and off the campaign trail. This week’s Marquette University Law School poll shows Democrat Tony Evers up by five points over incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker. We have asked both candidates to join us for an in-depth interview. Tonight a conversation with Tony Evers. Evers is the current state school superintendent, first elected to that post in 2009. He was re-elected in 2013 and again in 2017. He’s a former classroom teacher and high school principal. Evers also the former Oakfield and Verona School District Administrator. Tony Evers joins us now. Thanks very much for being here.

Tony Evers:
Thank you. Good to be back.

Frederica Freyberg:
We wanted to ask you, right out of the chutes, your reaction to this week’s Marquette Law School Poll putting you up five points on Scott Walker.

Tony Evers:
Well, I think what it shows is Scott Walker’s baseless attacks on me haven’t worked. Unfortunately we expected it. Scott Walker is a typical politician and we expected him to try to divert attention from his record. So having the poll being ahead is great. Clearly we have a long way to go to election day, but it does give me some belief in the system. That people understand what is rhetoric and lies and what isn’t. So we feel good about that.

Frederica Freyberg:
Speaking of attack ads, they are wall to wall, scorching you for failing to fire a teacher who viewed porn in school. In retrospect, should you have done more?

Tony Evers:
I couldn’t have done more. That is the basic issue here, is that the law presented me from — there’s a loophole in the law — prevented me from revoking that license. I did not — as a result I worked with the legislature to change the law. And we have — I’ve revoked probably 1,000 licenses since I’ve been state superintendent. So this isn’t an area that I’m particularly unfamiliar with. But I am familiar with the law. The law prevented me from doing it. We didn’t do it. We worked with the legislature to change the law. And that’s the sum total of the issue.

Frederica Freyberg:
On another matter, Scott Walker, who championed truth in sentencing, is saying that you want to empty out the prisons of dangerous felons. Who would you like to release and why?

Tony Evers:
First of all, again, one lie after another. I’ve never said that. What my, what I — what we will do is keep violent criminals in prison. What I intend to do going forward is not what Scott Walker’s done. He’s clearly decided he’s not having any hands-on. There’s no buck stopping with him. In fact, the buck is stopping elsewhere. He refuses to go to correctional institutions. He says going forward it makes no sense for him to be going to the institutions. I have to — I will be a governor that actually listens to the people in the institutions. But most importantly, we as a state have to think about are there better ways for nonviolent offenders to be treated in lieu of incarceration: diversion programs, other ways, drug courts, ways to rehabilitate people, give them mental health services. I’m with Tommy Thompson on this issue. I’m sure you’ve seen that he’s talked about in retrospect of his time. He said one of his great regrets is not looking at rehabilitation more seriously. It’s cheaper and it’s more effective. That’s what I’ll be doing in addition to being a leader and going to these institutions.

Frederica Freyberg:
Moving on to other issues. First up, jobs and the economy, we continue to do reporting on attracting and retaining workers in Wisconsin. What would you do on that score?

Tony Evers:
Attracting and retaining? Well, first of all, we need to make sure we invest in Wisconsin companies. That is absolutely critical. Clearly the Foxconn issue has been a high-profile issue in the state. I’m sure every one of your viewers that are watching this program would suggest that they could have cut a better deal than Scott Walker did for Foxconn. We have to stop the “Hail Mary” passes. We have to invest in those young start-ups that are real important in this state. That not only keeps them in the state, but it also gives other young people hope that the state can play a positive role in helping them become productive workers and part of the Wisconsin society. Instead of moving out of state. We have to stop that out-flow. We have to make sure that we invest in Wisconsin, in Wisconsin entrepreneurs.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum publication, growth in Wisconsin’s economy has been uneven, especially in the northern part of the state, where they report that jobs declined between 2009 and 2017. What would you do to address this?

Tony Evers:
That’s the exact point. Economic development in the state of Wisconsin has to be a 72-county effort. It can’t be just one fell swoop, giving money to a foreign corporation to build something in southeast Wisconsin. It has to be — we have to give people all across the state of Wisconsin an opportunity to be productive, to be — own their businesses, grow their businesses. That’s what economic development is for and that’s what the governor should be doing. That’s what I’ll do as governor going forward.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because one of the things you’ve talked about is getting rid of the WEDC.

Tony Evers:
Absolutely. But we’re going to replace that with a state agency. The WEDC is this kind of hybrid public-private partnership when in actuality, it’s a public entity. I would develop — I would move that back into the Department of Commerce. We would work with local leaders and legislators to make that happen. At the end of the day, 72 counties deserve economic development attention by the state of Wisconsin and that’s what we’ll do.

Frederica Freyberg:
Your DPI budget calls for $1.4 billion more for K-12 in 2019-21. Why?

Tony Evers:
It’s a long time coming. Scott Walker in his first budget took hundreds of millions of dollars out of our K-12 system and we have never recovered from that. So we have extraordinary needs. I hear about it all across the state. Frankly, people of Wisconsin know it, too. Scott Walker can claim he’s this low tax guy, but over a million people in the state of Wisconsin have voted to increase taxes on themselves for their public schools because the state’s not doing their fair share. That’s what this budget is about. It’s responding to those people, saying we have to have a state commitment here. So our budget is robust, but it does not even get us back to where we were when Scott Walker was inaugurated.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, Governor Walker blames you as Superintendent of Public Instruction for Wisconsin’s worst in the nation achievement gaps between black and white students. Why shouldn’t he blame you?

Tony Evers:
Because he has done nothing. My budgets, consistently over time, have put money in the budget for things that are really important such as students with disabilities. The achievement gap in Wisconsin is about a number of issues where kids need an extra lift. And he has consistently not funded those projects, whether it’s students with disabilities, English learners, kids with poverty. Those things have been in my budget since the day I’ve been state superintendent. He’s ignored it. Essentially he’s being the typical politician again, pointing fingers when the finger should be pointed at him.

Frederica Freyberg:
On healthcare, the Walker Administration supports a lawsuit, as you know, that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act. What’s your reaction to that?

Tony Evers:
Hypocritical. We have the governor saying, “Oh my gosh, I’m concerned about making sure that pre-existing conditions don’t prevent people from getting good health care.” That’s important to me. I’m a cancer survivor. So I get that issue. So he’s making that claim at the same time he’s in federal court with a bunch of other Republican governors saying, “My gosh, we have to get rid of this whole thing.” So I have asked him, point-blank, if you believe in making sure that pre-existing conditions aren’t an issue, drop that lawsuit. That’s what you should be doing. And the response has been crickets, frankly. We have heard nothing from him on that.

Frederica Freyberg:
Well in fact, his campaign asked you to denounce an ad on your behalf that goes after him for threatening pre-existing coverage.

Tony Evers:
I’ve never — there’s no way that I would ever say that pre-existing coverage should not be part and parcel of the health insurance industry in Wisconsin. That is a basic right. We have lots of people in Wisconsin that are in the same predicament I am. We have to make sure that they aren’t prevented. And we won’t. We’ll take the Medicaid money. He refused to take it right off the bat.

Frederica Freyberg:
How do you take the Medicaid money though, if they are successful in their lawsuit and the ACA is repealed?

Tony Evers:
We are going to work — yeah, that’s a conundrum, isn’t it? But that is Scott Walker’s typical politician answer. We’re going to — over here pretend that you don’t see this. That we’re actually trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. At the same time over here, he’s saying, “Yes, we’re really concerned about this issue.” That is hypocritical. We believe that the Congress will retain the ACA. The people of this country believe that also.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, the Walker Administrator won a federal waiver to stabilize the individual market by leveraging $200 million in federal dollars to reduce costs to insurers and cut premiums. Do you support that?

Tony Evers:
Well, it’s — first of all, it’s not been implemented. We still are in a position where people in Minnesota are paying a lot less for their health insurance and the same coverage here in Wisconsin. He’s late to the game. This is all about campaign promises that he hasn’t kept and really have hurt the people of Wisconsin. Health care is a basic right that we have to advance and embrace, not play shell games with people.

Frederica Freyberg:
On transportation, debt service on Wisconsin’s transportation fund revenues is projected at nearly 21% in 2018-19 and highway funding it deemed insufficient by some. An ad against you airing now says that you would raise the gas tax by $1 a gallon. Would you?

Tony Evers:
That is ridiculous. I’ve never said that. The governor knows I’ve not said it. He’s responding because people across the state — he’s diverting himself from the issues that he’s created. There’s a reason why our roads are in such poor condition related to other states. There’s a reason why 21% is going to debt service. Because he has not led on this issue. He has lied about many of these issues where he’s promised one thing and then another. Couple weeks ago he said to the people in Appleton, we’re going to expand highway 41. I think within a week he was saying, “Oh my gosh, we’re not going to do that anymore.” This is not a political issue. This is about a safety issue for the state of Wisconsin. We need to bring people together. Frankly I’m hopeful that this will be one of the first political wins, bipartisan wins we have. Every possible revenue source or cut in budget is on the table, period.

Frederica Freyberg:
You say that about revenue sources being on the table. Name them.

Tony Evers:
Well, clearly a poll ta — er, a poll tax, a toll system is one. Clearly a gas tax is one. Clearly possibly other cuts in the budgets. They’re all in the budgets of the state agencies. All those things are on the table. We can’t go in with a preconditioned solution because we need to bring people together on this. We can. Republicans and Democrats want this change. In northern Wisconsin, a lot of those places where they’re stripping off the asphalt for roads are Republican areas. Those Representatives need the courage or having the courage to make sure they change their tune on this. This is important for the state of Wisconsin, whether it’s our bridges. Whether it’s our roads. Infrastructure in the state. There’s a reason they have outdoor signage in Wisconsin that says, “Potholes are Scott-holes.” They’ve renamed them now “Scott-holes.” Governor Walker owns this issue. He’s failed at it. And we’ll change it.

Frederica Freyberg:
We need to leave it there. Tony Evers, thanks very much.

Tony Evers:
Thanks a lot.