Question No. 1: Tony Palmeri Response

The 54th district is in the midst of what is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Thousands of good paying, good benefit providing manufacturing jobs have been lost. In my door to door campaign I have met a substantial number of unemployed and under-employed people near panic about what the future holds. Many of those fortunate enough to be employed are concerned about losing their jobs, wages not keeping pace with the cost of living, not being able to afford health care, and not being able to afford a college education for their children. Meanwhile Father Carr, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and other relief agencies are facing record demands for services.

With that as a backdrop, my legislative priorities will center on three broad areas:

1. Developing a job retention and creation strategy for the 54th District.
2. Protecting the Shared Revenue Program.
3. Government Reform (Restore Clean Government to Wisconsin)

1. Developing a job retention and creation strategy for the 54th District:
a. I will organize an Emergency Jobs Summit at which the presence of Governor Doyle, Speaker Gard, and the new Senate Majority leader will be requested. Labor and community activists along with local elected officials and the Chamber of Commerce will be asked to play leadership roles at the Summit. One goal of the Summit will be to create a voluntary Labor/Management Council charged with opening up clearer lines of communication between all key players involved in job creation and retention.
b. I will support raising the minimum wage.
c. I will co-sponsor already introduced legislation that would create a universal health care system for the state of Wisconsin not tied to employment. If we had such a system in place we probably would have been able to keep the Leach jobs here.
d. I will support reforms of the W-2 (“Wisconsin Works”) program. The current program is a financial and human disaster, costing the state $279 million per year more than the program it replaced and not making a dent in poverty. The program’s job training and educational opportunity components need serious upgrading.
e. Key to any jobs strategy is a fully functioning K-12 system. I will support Senator Mike Ellis’ plan to allocate a base amount of $8,100 per child regardless of in what district the child resides. The Ellis plan would provide more money to the Oshkosh Area School District while providing local property tax relief.
f. I will fight to make college more affordable for students who can make the grades. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education recently gave Wisconsin a grade of “D” in the category of affordability. This is disgraceful and needs to be reversed. I support former Regent Nino Amato’s call for a multi-year tuition freeze.

2. Protecting the Shared Revenue Program: I think it’s wrong that the city of Oshkosh has to raise fees and close down the Pollock Pool because the politicians in Madison recklessly cut our shared revenue funds. The Wisconsin Alliance of Cities is currently developing reforms of the shared revenue program that would provide incentives for regional cooperation. We need to take a serious look at the WAC proposals, and we also need to make sure that local elected officials are involved closely in any debate and policy formulation regarding shared revenue.

3. Government Reform (Restore Clean Government to Wisconsin): None of the legislative agenda mentioned above, and none of the agendas advocated by any other candidate, can be pursued actively as long the legislature remains broken. The corrupt system that produced indictments of top legislative leaders is still solidly in place, with the Democratic governor and Republican legislature together stifling any hope for real reform of our campaign finance system. Our budget woes and inability to afford real needs are in large part the result of the Democrats’ and Republicans’ inability to say NO to their favored interests. Until we get a complete overhaul of our financing system, eliminate the corrupt closed partisan caucus system, and overhaul the State Elections and Ethics Boards, we will forever be mired in legislative mediocrity and will not be able to meet the needs of our citizens.

We all know that the Democratic and Republican leadership in Madison, wallowing in campaign cash and safely tucked away in closed partisan caucuses, will not serve the citizens of the 54th district unless they are pushed to do so by a citizens' movement. When the voters of Oshkosh send a Green to Madison, it will send the politicians a loud signal that the citizens have awakened and want real reform.