The Badger Herald and Brava Magazine last week had the chance to interview Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke over the phone on women’s issues and her plans for the future.
Brava Magazine: How significant would it be for the state and maybe even farther for you to be the first woman governor of Wisconsin? Should we even still be talking about gender, does gender still matter?
Mary Burke: Great questions. I’m going to take the second one first because it frames the way I think about the first, and that is that it shouldn’t matter and in running for governor it has not been the way that I have presented myself and it’s not the way that I approach it or think about it. I’m running for governor to be governor of the entire state, for everyone. I want to make sure that every person believes and has a fair shot at getting ahead if they put in the hard work. So that’s my perspective on whether it should or should not matter, my feeling is it shouldn’t, but in terms of the first question, there have been so many women who have gone before me and blazed the trail so that I can do this and don’t feel that gender is a huge issue, so I would be honored to continue to blaze that trail because we still have a ways to go, unfortunately.
Women are not represented in equal amounts at the highest levels, whether we’re talking about government or whether we’re talking about business. It’s important because it sends a message to every young woman or girl or parents of women who say “you can do anything.” I was brought up to believe I could do anything as long as I was prepared to do the hard work. That’s what frames my thinking but unfortunately that’s not always the case and the governor has the most visible position in the entire state, so it really has an impact in conveying the message that you can do anything regardless gender.
The Badger Herald: As I’m sure you’re aware, recent polls have shown there’s a huge gender gap in this race. Why do you think this exists? Has your campaign been focusing more and more on getting women to turn out to the polls?
MB: I think there’s a couple of things going on. One is that I think Gov. Walker has enacted laws that really hurt women. You can start with the repeal of the Equal Pay Protection Act, this was a state law that he chose to repeal. What it provided was that women, but not only women, veterans, seniors, people who are being discriminated again in terms of pay, so who are being paid less for equal work that there would be real consequences to employers who are paying less. And he repealed that and that does hurt women.
There’s no reason that women shouldn’t be making equal pay for equal work and that companies or organizations that are violating that shouldn’t face consequences. Certainly we’ve had eight different policies enacted that restrict women’s freedom to make choices. I think women should be able to make choices regarding their own bodies and not have that messed around with by politicians. The other effects of those laws are that they closed five clinics throughout the state providing really necessary services like cancer screenings, access to birth control and family planning, and many of these clinics were the best options for women living in rural communities. So that hurts women.
We have seen the last three-and-a-half years a number of policies that Gov. Walker has enacted that have hurt women. So that’s one of the reasons that women who are aware of what’s going on there are aware that we need a change. Because it’s not fair. And then I would say on the other side, in terms of why women are supporting me as a candidate, I think that they believe I have the approach and the qualifications for the job and women will get equal treatment under me.
BM: If you are elected governor, what will be your first order of business? What’s the first thing on your agenda to tackle for the state?
MB: First is starting the work to find a common vision and get common ground to work with Independents, Republicans and Democrats because the divisiveness we have seen over the last three years isn’t how we’re going to move Wisconsin forward. I have laid out in my Invest for Success Jobs Plan how I will move the state forward and make sure we have a thriving economy. So from day one that’s not just a plan I’m running on, that’s a plan I’m going to implement. On day one I want to sit down with Republican leadership. It’s about setting the tone of working together and finding that common ground and it’ll be important one day to do that.
BM: Just a quick follow up, there’s been some criticism of Gov. Walker’s opponents to provide 250,000 jobs in a certain period of time and then that didn’t happen, do you have a target? Or something you’d like to achieve in that regard?
MB: I want to make sure Wisconsin is a Top 10 thriving economy across the state. And I want to be a leader in the Midwest and right now we are dead last in the Midwest. Regardless of the promise, if you take the period of time he has been in office and you look at the job growth, we’re dead last in the Midwest. And I know Wisconsin has everything it takes to be a thriving, leading economy. But it is going to take hard work and being more aggressive, it’s going to be about good ideas and smart policies. And Gov. Walker seems to think giving tax breaks to those at top and special interests creates jobs—and I’m a business person—and that’s not how jobs get created. You have to make smart investments in the areas that are going to grow the economy.
BH: I’ve seen that Walker’s been running ads lately addressing abortion and domestic violence. What’s your response to those ads?
MB: Well what he puts in those ads and what he goes on record as saying are two entirely different things. And he should be called out on it because it’s misleading to voters. He’s clearly on record as saying he’s opposed to abortion even in the cases of rape and incest. In his ads he seems to be implying that the choice is left up to women and the laws he has put in place are about our safety. Well the fact is, if they were really about our safety, the medical community would be behind him and the fact is that the medical community does not at all endorse the laws that were put into place. And we have seen five clinics close across the state that provide lifesaving cancer screenings or family planning, access to birth control, along with a number of other services, these are things that are important to women’s health and safety and yet because of what he has done it’s less safe; along with that, I have to mention, mandating intrusive ultrasounds, a medical procedure against women’s wishes.
BM: If Gov. Walker does win the election, what will your next step be? Also, what’s your advice to women in Wisconsin on if they should pursue their civic duty and public service?
MB: I would definitely encourage women to get involved, and it has really been more recently that I really got involved in terms of politics. With my experience I feel that women need to do a lot more. We have to realize we have an important voice and for that voice to be heard we have to engage and we have to get involved. I will encourage women to do that and feel that they have the confidence and the support to be able to do it and be successful doing it. I want to continue what I have been doing. For the last six years I’ve worked on education and to close the achievement gap. For the last 10 years I’ve worked on public service and doing what I can to make sure that everyone has a fair shot at getting ahead if they’re willing to do the hard work. Whether I’ve worked in education or in government, I feel very passionately about that and certainly want to do that as governor but will continue to do that regardless.
