Quest for the Capitol
Gubernatorial candidates visit Point
 

By Paul Chronis

The voting public needs to find a way to get special interest money out of the politics of environmental protection, according to the five gubernatorial candidates who spoke at a forum in Stevens Point Friday night.

The forum opened the annual two-day convention of the Wisconsin Stewardship Network, a coalition of environmental, hunting, fishing and conservation groups. The conference is being held at the University Center of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Candidates included U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, state Sen. Gary George and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, all Democrats; Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson, a Libertarian; and Jim Young, Green Party. Republican Gov. Scott McCallum and Attorney General James Doyle, a Democrat, did not attend.

All of the candidates bemoaned what they see as lax enforcement of state environmental laws, and they blamed money or politics for the decline.

"It doesn't pay to have a law if it isn't enforced," said Falk, a former attorney in the Public Intervenor's Office.

Young concurred, expressing disgust with the present enforcement levels.

"We need to make sure we have budgets that have items that won't degrade our environment," he said. Young vowed to restore the state Department of Natural Resources' constitutional mandate to protect the state's air and water quality.

The attendees also called for reinstatement of the state Public Intervenor's Office, which was eliminated by former governor Tommy Thompson, and for returning the process of selecting the DNR secretary to a citizen-elected Natural Resources Board - a process also changed by Thompson during his 14 years in office.

They cited the debate over development of the Crandon Mine as the prime example of the politics of money in the fight for the environment. Barrett claimed a politicized DNR is the reason that administrative rules that would govern the mining moratorium passed by the Legislature have not been published. He claimed the mine's owners can't guarantee the safety of the Wolf River anyway.

"The burden is on those who would benefit from the project, and they have not met that burden," Barrett added.

George touted his budget reform proposals as a means to get the special interest money out of environmental politics. The proposal calls for a moratorium on campaign fund raising during the budget approval process, a mandatory 60-day time limit on passing the budget bill, and the elimination of policy items from the budget. This, he said, would make it harder for special interests to get their way in the Legislature, which sneaks too many provisions into the budget in the dark of night.

"What worries me is the secrecy that's been a part of the process," George said. "It's the openness that's missing with the Crandon Mine."

Thompson also took shots at Gov. McCallum's plan to phase out shared revenues to counties and municipalities, which he announced as part of his budget reform bill this week. He called McCallum's proposal "incredibly stupid," and "criminal."

"Shared revenue is nearly 25 percent of Tomah's budget," he said. "Then, they say we can't cut police, we can't cut fire, we can't cut sanitation - there ain't a hell of a lot left to Tomah after that," he shouted, bringing laughter to the hall.

Young also called for reducing the Department of Transportation's road construction budget; making people pay vehicle registration fees based on vehicle weight; and for engine inspections for cars, trucks and motorboats. And all five candidates expressed support for alternative fuels as a way to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

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