October 26, 2018 at 4:10 p.m.
34th Assembly candidates square off in radio forum
Forum to be broadcast Sunday on WXPR
34th Assembly candidates square off in radio forum
Challenger Chris Meier of Eagle River and incumbent Rob Swearingen, a Republican who was first elected in 2012 and re-elected twice, faced questions from a panel of local journalists including Richard Moore of The Lakeland Times, Eileen Persike of the Star-Journal, and Ben Meyer from Newswatch 12.
In his opening remarks, Meier said he is a Wisconsin native, husband, father and former classroom teacher. He currently works as a substance abuse counselor and is an Army veteran, he added.
"I'm also a candidate for state representative because I believe rural voices really matter," Meier said. "Folks don't believe their voices are being heard on a host of issues, from roads to jobs to health care to education and the environment. I stand with them on this. Our current representative was first elected in 2012 under some of the best economic conditions imaginable. Our national economy was finally coming up out of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. And our state economy benefited from this recovery."
Meier also noted that Swearingen's party has controlled all three branches of state government for his entire three terms in office.
"Yet, in the 34th Assembly District, we have some of the highest unemployment in the state, the lowest job growth in the state; our roads and school budgets are still filled with holes, our health insurance costs are one third to half more than our neighbors in Minnesota, and the out migration of our young people is increasing because we have failed to invest sufficiently in critical high-tech infrastructure they need to coordinate with the 21st Century economy. They are flocking to where this is happening," Meier said.
"Folks across the district have heard over and over, and I believe we'll hear more of it tonight, about how fine things are. That dog just won't hunt anymore," he said. "This simply has not been their real life experience. Are things better than they were 10 years ago? Of course they are; they're better everywhere since we made it through the Great Recession of 2007-08," he added.
No one is talking about going back to the way things were 10 years ago, he continued.
"The voters simply understand very clearly that things could - and should - be somehow be better in Wisconsin's 34th Assembly District, given the resources our current state representative had to work with during the past six years in office. Our folks want less public relations and salesmanship; they want and deserve more public service and leadership. That's exactly what they'll get from me; our campaign is all about local issues, not outside interests. Practical ones, it won't be politics as usual, but taking care of our folks right here at home. As state representative, I'll show up every day to get about the business of creating a more healthy, prosperous future for all our families and communities across the 34th Assembly District."
Swearingen described himself as a lifelong resident of Rhinelander, a 1981 graduate from Rhinelander High School, husband, father of two daughters and a small business owner in the community for 25 years.
"It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your state representative for the past six years, and it has been incredibly humbling to see the amount of support I have received throughout this campaign," Swearingen said. "As your state representative, I serve as the chairman of the assembly committee on state affairs, the vice chairman of the committee on tourism and I serve on the committee for small business development, environment and forestry and the joint committee on tax exemptions. In addition, I am a member of the state building commission and serve as the chair for the higher education subcommittee. I'm also a legislative member of the PSE Wisconsin Broadband Stakeholders Workgroup that focuses on expanding broadband to rural areas of the state."
Swearingen said Wisconsin is undoubtedly in better shape than when he was first elected in 2012.
"Our economy has come roaring back to life. We've now seen eight consecutive months with under 3-percent unemployment and we have the most people employed ever in our workforce," Swearingen said in his opening statement. "Since 2011, Wisconsin Republicans have cut taxes by more than $8 billion, resulting in the lowest overall tax burden in 50 years. We have invested millions of dollars in expanding broadband throughout the rural areas, and I'm very proud of the fact that the 34th Assembly District has received more broadband expansion grants than any other assembly district in the state of Wisconsin. The last budget cycle, we invested the most actual dollars ever to K-12 education. And something I'm especially proud of was the fact that our district also has the most Fab Labs in the state, ensuring our kids are graduating with real world, marketable skills to prepare them to enter the workforce."
"Common sense, conservative reforms have brought Wisconsin back, and unleashed the full potential of our people," he continued.
"The last thing we should do is to turn back to the tried and failed policies of the past. Working together, we can make sure that Wisconsin remains prosperous, and keep moving forward in the right direction," he said.
Persike asked Meier to expand on what he meant by rural voices matter and if he would raise those voices in Madison.
"The way I would approach this is the way that I have approached most things throughout my personal life and my professional life, and that is simply by being present with people and listening to their stories," Meier said. "In stories that I've heard since we began our campaign from Presque Isle in Vilas County to Spread Eagle in Florence County - and all points in between - folks really feel that they're just not being heard. So what I would do then is what I've been doing, which is engaging in that community dialogue and really listening to the issues that matter to them. And that is what our agenda is for the campaign; that's where our issues have come from for this campaign."
He said the state of the state's road is a big issue he is hearing about from voters.
"When folks are driving around town here, you don't have to go too far and you're going to hit a pothole because we just keep kicking the can down the road. Same thing with health care, when I'm talking to folks, they say why is it that our health care premiums are a third to half more than they are in Minnesota? And they're really concerned about it," Meier said.
Meier said he would make the voices of the people in the district heard in Madison by showing up to work every day and making sure he voices their concerns to his downstate colleagues.
Swearingen said he has been vocal in Madison about the needs of the district.
"Two of the challenges you face in being state representative is certainly everybody in the district needs their voices heard," Swearingen said. "That's not a secret, and that's something I've been doing for the last six years, But a bigger challenge than that is actually educating your colleagues in Madison that there is life beyond Highway 64. So that is one of my challenges down there, I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat, we're here to represent the Northwoods. I'm your voice in the Northwoods. So I have to make sure my own colleagues on either side of the aisle realize some of the trials and tribulations that we have up here. Broadband is one of them for sure, job growth, job creation, economic development; all these things that come easier in the southern part of the state, is something I have to do on a daily basis.
Moore asked Swearingen how he would respond to critics who say the Foxconn incentive package, as well as a tax incentive package for Kimberly-Clark that has already passed the Assembly and is awaiting a vote in the Senate, takes economic development money from the Northwoods.
"Foxconn is promising 13,000 jobs in the southern half of the state. Clearly those jobs would be mostly around $53,000 each plus benefits. So that's a win for the southern half of the state," he said. "But keep in mind that Foxconn has already affected the Rhinelander area in terms of the Expera Paper Mill actually does business with Foxconn suppliers out of their DePere location. So we already have a shirt-tail relationship there, we know that there are manufacturers that have contracts as far north as Wausau. Hopefully they will continue to come further north."
He said it gets delicate when discussing corporate bailouts to companies like Kimberly-Clark, a fixture in the Fox River Valley for generations.
"There are 400, 500, 600 jobs at stake," Swearingen said. "And we take these things on a case-by-case basis."
Meier pointed out that Kimberly-Clark has a "pretty checkered record" in the state.
"They took headquarters out of Wisconsin several years ago after having been given these sweetheart deals from the state he seems to be in favor of," Meier said. "And you're talking about Foxconn, and all the money that is going into Racine County, you've got 72 counties in the state of Wisconsin, four of which are in the 34th Assembly District."
Meier said there are other choices that could have been made as to how best to use those funds to help the economies of more counties in the state.
Swearingen said there is full-scale construction going on at the site of the Foxconn campus, "so that is a reality."
Meyer asked both men where the state can get additional revenue to pay for needed road repairs.
"If Rep. Swearingen has all of a sudden come to the realization that everything is on the table, that is news because that's not where he's been in the last six years," Meier said, adding that there is already a long-term, comprehensive plan in place to get more state highway aid for Northwoods roads that came out in 2013 only to be shelved
"So we don't have to reinvent the wheel, we already have it," Meier said. "What we don't have is the political will to move forward."
Swearingen said his opponent "clearly doesn't understand" where he has stood on all options. He said raising the gas tax is one possible solution, but added that some highways could be turned into tollways rather easily. He also said Gov. Scott Walker has given some thought to shifting new car sales tax revenue to fund roadwork.
"I'm open to any suggestion on raising registration fees, license fees or what have you," he said. "Clearly it is an issue that needs to be addressed."
On the subject of a possible sulfide mine in the town of Lynne, Meier said mining is a part of the economic mix in the Northwoods.
"However, sulfide mining is a horse of a different color," he said. "And sulfide mining on county forestry land in a identified and designated wetland complicates things even further."
Meier said the referendum on the matter, while non-binding, is important because it gives the people a chance to tell the county board their feelings.
"I fully support the mine," Swearingen said in rebuttal, adding that he was glad some members of the county board recently toured a mine and saw how effective, clean and safe it was.
He said he had no problem with any matter being taken to the voters, but feels the county board needs to step up and make the hard decision themselves.
"I was a little disappointed that the Oneidas County Board didn't take this vote on their own," Swearingen said. "I think that is one of the reasons you elect officials, to make these decisions, recognizing it's always OK to go to the voters. But I think, at the end of the day, mining will be good for jobs and the prosperity of the Northwoods."
Both men said they support closing the Dark Store Loophole, but Swearingen said he didn't sign on to support a pending bill to do just that in the past session because it still needed work. Meier said he could vote for the pending bill as it stands now.
The debate will air on WXPR Sunday morning and will be available on the station's website.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at jamie@rivernews online.com.
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