NEWS
Superintendent race heats up as April 5 election approaches
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Also by Ann Babe:
- Legislators introduce Jessica's Law (October 20, 2005)
- Parisi seeks prison releases (October 21, 2005)
- Study: attorney general race to be close (April 13, 2006)
- Senate override succeeds (January 27, 2006)
- Republicans criticize election reform (April 6, 2005)
Related Stories:
- DPI candidates square off (February 18, 2005)
- Favorites win state superintendent race (February 16, 2005)
- Citizens vote Burmaster to keep school superintendent job (April 6, 2005)
- Superintendent race commences (February 10, 2005)
- Board allows Underhim to run (January 19, 2005)
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by Ann Babe
Thursday, March 31, 2005
As the April 5 election for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction draws near, candidates are racing to reach undecided voters by airing television ads, holding press conferences and engaging in the traditional political pastime of an embittered game of he-said-she-said.
The incumbent is former teacher and principal Libby Burmaster and the challenger is state Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh.
While Burmaster promises in her television ad to “continue to fight for state and federal funding for our schools … to ease the burden on local property taxpayers,” Underheim counters in a response to the ad with, “[Burmaster] packs more wildly disingenuous claims into 26 words than most politicians offer up in a year.”
“We think her campaign is rather misleading,” Underheim spokesperson Jessika Erickson said.
According to Erickson, Burmaster is only “giving political lip service to keeping down property taxes” while contradictorily supporting the Wisconsin Education Association Council’s agenda, which calls for “getting rid of existing caps such as the QEC, allowing teachers’ salaries to get out of control.”
“We can have great schools without asking for money from taxpayers year in and year out. It is possible to save money and also improve the quality of education,” she said.
In response, Burmaster spokesperson Jessica Erickson said she stands by Burmaster’s ad and that “Mr. Underheim needs to get his facts straight.”
“Burmaster supports the proposal that has been put forward by Gov. Doyle in his budget, in which two-thirds funding is returned to local schools. It’s a plan that provides property-tax relief and protects public schools,” Burmaster’s spokesperson said. “What she doesn’t support is the property-tax freeze Underheim is in favor of that would cut public-school funding by $716 million.”
However, Underheim’s spokesperson argued that Doyle’s budget is just shifting taxes and does nothing to lower them.
Standing behind the incumbent are 13 labor groups from which she has endorsement, particularly the state’s largest teachers’ union, WEAC.
WEAC has also begun its own ad campaign supporting Burmaster, running a series of ads that criticize Underheim’s record as a state representative.
According to the Underheim campaign, these ads are misrepresentative of the politician and his objectives.
WEAC plans to invest nearly $350,000 in election advertisements, a figure which Underheim’s spokesperson says will make it difficult to compete against because it is “more money than either of the candidates themselves are spending combined.”
“It makes it very hard for her to claim to be an independent voice of education when there is so much voice from the teachers’ union,” Underheim’s spokesperson said.
Underheim, along with state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, held a press conference Wednesday to address WEAC’s ads and to discuss the candidate’s campaign.
In response, both WEAC and the Burmaster campaign are reminding the public that WEAC is a completely independent organization that is not coordinating with the incumbent.
“The WEAC [political-action committee] is doing this to communicate to voters about this very crucial election and to protect the future of public education in Wisconsin,” WEAC spokesperson Dustin Beilke said. “Basically, we see this as an election between a very qualified candidate and a very unqualified candidate.”
Burmaster’s spokesperson also said the superintendent’s record is impressive because she is a “tireless advocate at the federal level who has worked closely with [experienced] congressional delegates.”
The Underheim campaign, however, questions the incumbent’s loyalties by pointing to WEAC’s overwhelming support.
However, Burmaster’s spokesperson said, “As a third-generation Wisconsin teacher, Burmaster is proud to have the support of teachers. It’s hard to imagine a state superintendent not having the support of those on the front lines.”
Both candidates feel hopeful about the upcoming election.
“We feel we are in a strong position in this final, and we’ll continue to work hard to get the message out and get our voters to the polls,” Burmaster’s spokesperson said.
Underheim’s spokesperson was equally as optimistic.
“I think Gregg’s message is resonating with people, and that’s going to make a difference.”
