Don't Touch That Dial

Hello Harry -

I saw these forums on Channel 14 yesterday evening (Wed. 8/27) but there was no sound coming through.  Just wondering if you/your staff were aware of this and I'm hoping it will be corrected in future re-broadcasts.

Thanks for recording these candidate forums and making them available via the MFPL for "the uniniformed" - :-D

I was actually at both candidate forums on 8/19 and 8/21.  I would like to share my thoughts as a concerned Germantown resident, taxpayer and Republican.

Charlene Brady came off as a completely unprepared and stumbled through her answers.  She is obviously not ready to move beyond the county board seat she holds (and won with only 329 votes).  She has no real plan to affect any changes in Wisconsin except for her 100% support for a statewide smoking ban.

Randy Melchert is an EXTREMIST - he is a professional speaker, but a LOUSY choice for any public office.  I find it awfully dishonest of him to keep identifying himself as the "owner" of a radio station - when he sold the station on June 18, 2008 for $680,000.  He is apparently using the profit from the sale of his radio station to buy this election.  I have received 4 mailers from his campaign in the past week.  He is obviously NOT a frugal candidate.  I think this shows how he will spend Wisconsin's tax dollars -- WASTEFULLY.

The other thing I find dubious about Mr. Melchert is that I did some research on the internet college that he received his supposed Masters Degree from.  Mr. Melchert graduated from high school at 18.  He is now 22 and supposedly has a Bachelors degree in "Biblical Studies" from Bob Jones (should take 4 years) then complete a Masters Degree (almost always takes 2 years).  How then does this recently turned 22 year old person have 6 years worth of degrees - answer - online degrees can be purchased without attending any real college courses!!

I think Torrey Lauer did a good job at both forums.  The one thing I came away with from both forums is that this is the candidate to beat.  I think he is really a fiscally conservative candidate for this district.  I listened to each answer carefully, have watched the forums again on ch. 14 and in my opinion Lauer will be the only candidate to actually make changes, reduce taxes and wasteful spending.  I think he is the only candidate that actually has a REAL plan for going to Madison; he has given straight forward answers and solutions to our problems here.

Dan Knodl is obviously out of touch with the fiscal problems in Wisconsin.  His plan is to keep things as they are and the only thing he will accomplish is to keep the beer tax low (benefits his bar business) and to vote along party lines.  Every answer he gave is pandering to the party line.  Dan Knodl has stated that he will not knock on any doors as he will let the young candidates do that - since he is the oldest candidate he thinks he should win the primary hands down.

Michael Moscicke is an eloquent speaker, but he brags about his experience in Madison – well folks, he was a tour guide at the state capital.  I think if he had better answers and could explain what he actually plans to do in Madison.  I could possibly support him.

Jason LaSage – What can I say – Listening to him brag about packing gymnasiums and all that he did for Germantown.  I know what he did for Germantown NOTHING!  Having worked with Jason for years, I can tell you that he has NO VISION beyond padding his own pockets with money.  I know we all voted for this cute little 18 year old high school senior running for the Germantown School Board.  It was a cute stunt back 10 years ago, but Wisconsin needs a real candidate with solutions.

I don't believe for one second that professional politicians like Knodl, LaSage and Brady will do anything to change the way government wastefully spends money.  They have already been part of the broken system.  They don't believe in term limits and are just looking for the Cadillac benefits that assembly persons receive.  One thing that makes me laugh is how LaSage, Knodl and Brady boast about the fact that they have been elected to public office – So what – you won local elections with under 400 votes each.  It takes a lot more than that to win an Assembly District.  Furthermore, I have spoken to each of the 6 candidates and again, I find the only one that is sincere and that has a true vision that can affect change in Madison is Torrey Lauer.

Another thing to point out - all the candidates agree that government needs to run like an effective business.  From what I understand Mr. Lauer is a successful business owner in national industry.  Knodl is a glorified bartender.  Brady is a homemaker.  Melchert, LaSage and Moscicke are all unemployed.  So it appears the only candidate with practical business experience is Lauer.

I am a lifelong district resident and lifelong republican - but I have to say ENOUGH is ENOUGH -  I am sick and tired of all the false promises about lower taxes from the GOP of Wisconsin.  After listening carefully to all the candidates - I am supporting and voting for Torrey Lauer.  I hope all voters in District 24 follow suit and vote to elect this superior candidate.

Good luck to all - I hope all voters make an informed decision and look beyond party lines. - DK

I must firmly disagree with Daniel’s assessment of this election.  His comments provide an extremely slanted view of the forums and the candidates that participated in them.  Before I address what Daniel has said about my participation I would like to set the record straight about the candidates I am running against, for whom I have a great deal of respect.  

Ms. Brady often did appear nervous during the forums, particularly the first one; however, this is simply due to the fact that she was asked to speak first.  Although public speaking is important to serving in the state assembly it is not the only thing that qualifies a person.  Most Assembly decisions are made in committees or during caucus meetings, with which Ms. Brady has a great deal of experience as a current county supervisor.  In speaking with her personally I have found her to be well informed on a wide range of issues.  Although I disagree with her on the enactment of an immediate statewide smoking ban, it is not her only issue in this election.  

Mr. Melchert is not an extremist.  He may be the most conservative candidate in this election, but that does not make him an extremist anymore than our current President is an extremist.  Simply because he is spending a great deal of his personal wealth on this election to get his message out does not mean that he will spend with such vigor when it comes to tax dollars.  I have great faith that Randy has an extremely strong belief in fiscal restraint, as do I, when it comes to spending the public’s money.  The attack on his education is also ill informed.  In speaking with him on numerous occasions he has communicated to me that he graduated from high school early.  It also does not surprise me that a young man of his intellect and determination could easily brush through college courses, whether online or not.  

Mr. Lauer is indeed an accomplished business owner and pledges to be fiscally conservative; however, his views simply echo those of the Republican’s running in this election.  The only significant difference between Mr. Lauer and us is that he feels Representative Jeskewitz did not adequately listen to her community and serve its needs.  I have no doubt that Torrey is a fiscally conservative Democrat; however, he has no government experience and the specifics of his plans to make government cuts differ in no significant way to those the Republican candidates provide.  

Mr. Knodl, who also has serves on the county board, does not simply support the status quo.  He has spoken often about cutting government spending, tax reduction and getting government out of people’s lives.  Although he is a strong proponent of Wisconsin taverns, this should not disqualify him to represent us in Madison.  Dan likes to tout his age as a strength, but I have never once heard him say that he is not going door to door to meet the voters, or that he simply deserves to win based on is age alone.  

Mr. LaSage is running a real campaign, which is much more than just a “cute stunt.”  Jason is well known within the community and has done a great deal of community service in it.  No one becomes rich from substitute teaching and no one should ever expect to become rich while serving in the state assembly.  Being a representative is often more than a full time job and Jason could easily earn more in the private sector with his prior work experience.  

It is true that all of the candidates believe government should be run like an effective business, but Mr. Lauer is not the only candidate with the experience or knowledge to enact such a policy.  Ms. Brady has worked as a civil engineer, served as a Germantown village trustee and the county board.  Mr. Knodl has run a successful business and served on the county board.  Jason has worked at a bank, at Strong Investments and has served on the Germantown school board.  I have worked for two of the state’s largest agencies, the Department of Health Services and the Department of Administration and I served on the UW-Colleges Faculty Senate, representing over 12,000 students statewide.  Jason and I are both supported by the Greater Milwaukee Realtors Association for our pro-business stances on the issues.  All of us, with the exception of Mr. Lauer, have dealt with multimillion-dollar budgets.  If this isn’t practical experience, I don’t know what is.  

It is true that I served as a tour guide in the state capitol, teaching students and visitors from around the world about what our state government does, but my state experience does not end there.  I have served as an office manager with the state Department of Health Services, where I dealt directly with the WIC program, the Cancer Prevention and Control Section, the Tobacco Prevention and Control program and many others.  I have also served on the Faculty Senate for the 13 statewide UW-Colleges, which have campuses in Waukesha and Washington Counties.  The single reason that I am currently unemployed is because it is illegal for a state employee to run for partisan office, and so I resigned.  

I am running for state assembly to bring experience to the field and to ensure that Representative Jeskewitz’s record of informed, common sense legislation continues.  As for specific plans, I have provided many during the forums, but I am happy to repeat them here.  If elected I immediately plan to ask Representative Jeskewitz current legislative aide, Diane Handrick to stay on board, so that the community will still have a seasoned veteran working for it.  On my first day I plan to write and circulate a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the positions of state Treasurer and Secretary of State, both of which are jobs that could be done by lower paid state employees.  Continuing on this trend I would propose legislation that would combine state agencies in order to reduce overhead costs.  We currently have 12 different Governor appointed Secretaries running state departments, each of which with their own staff and each making over $100,000 a year.  For the most part these Secretaries are political appointees that serve only as the Governor’s figure head.  

In the long run I support a budget process that begins from the ground up and analyzes every program the state provides, instead of simply continuing to fund programs just because they’ve existed in prior years.  I will propose legislation that will enact comprehensive tax reform that addresses more than just property taxes.  We need to reexamine whether or not we should be raising fees every year and then claiming that taxes are not going up.  

Beyond legislation, I believe it is the responsibility for all elected officials to encourage solutions outside of government.  Currently I am donating 10% of all my campaign contributions to the American Red Cross.  As an elected leader I plan to work with the Health Care industry to create non-Government solutions to our rising healthcare costs and inaccessibility to insurance.  

Mr. Lauer is a good candidate, but at the end of the day, he is still a Democrat.  If he does win the election, it will likely give control of the state Assembly to the Democratic Party, and if the current Republican leadership could not hold down taxes under Governor Doyle, I highly doubt that the Democrats will have any luck.  

Sincerely,

Michael Moscicke

Candidate – 24th Assembly District