On Sept. 10 Wisconsin voters will be asked to decide which of the three Democratic candidates gets to go head-to-head against Gov. Scott McCallum in November. Personally, I would like to see McCallum’s challenger be someone who has experience, integrity and the vision to move Wisconsin further into the 21st Century. The candidate for governor who best exemplifies this standard is Kathleen Falk.
Falk is the only alternative to McCallum who brings executive-level experience to the Democratic gubernatorial ticket. She successfully served as the county executive for Dane County since 1997. Before that she was an environmental lawyer and the state’s public intervenor for 12 years, during which she was a watchdog for conservation issues.
When Dane County underwent a budget crunch from statewide shared revenue cuts, Falk cut her own salary and vetoed a pay raise for herself and her staff. Meanwhile, our current governor seems unable to handle a state budget, despite serving as lieutenant governor for 13 years.
Falk’s agenda for Wisconsin includes an increase in state funding for training and technology at K-12 schools, universities and technical colleges. She proposes reducing our crowded prisons by exploring alternative supervised penalties for nonviolent offenders. Falk also wants to establish a State Consumer Advocate office to prevent the disclosure of citizens’ personal information, such as social security numbers, financial records and credit reports, from being traded to banks and telemarketers.
Falk plans to extend BadgerCare to 50,000 additional low-income families, including farmers and small-business owners. Her plan for long-term health care prioritizes working toward eliminating waiting lists so senior citizens and people with disabilities can have immediate access to health care providers. In Dane County, Falk implemented a living wage for long-term care workers, and increased funds for adult community services.
In addition, Falk is an avid hunter, and has a plan to implement standards for detecting Chronic Wasting Disease in deer. Along with CWD research, Falk believes in establishing testing centers for venison to ensure that hunters won’t bring home contaminated meat. She strongly supports a state Constitutional amendment to preserve the right to hunt, fish and trap.
Falk will establish a conservation fund for maintaining Wisconsin’s wetlands, creeks, fisheries and freshwater lakes. She vowed to impose tougher standards against the accumulation of groundwater pollution. As Dane County’s top executive, she imposed a storm water ordinance to protect cold water trout fisheries. Falk will ensure clean drinking water by banning mercury thermometers to prevent mercury runoff and toxic emissions from contaminating our state’s freshwater supply. Her call for equitable dairy prices and crop diversity incentives will stimulate our economy. Then her proposals can be implemented without increasing taxes.
Those who support Falk are encouraged by her comprehensive plans to attain quality health care, conserve the environment and assure budgetary prudence. Although I am a moderate Independent, Falk is the first candidate from either major party who has me excited about voting. She is a forward-thinking visionary who can inspire people of our generation, and rally voters to chart a positive new course for our state. Falk is experienced, qualified and in tune with the needs of Wisconsin’s citizens. I encourage students to give her their votes on Sept. 10.
