Scott Walker
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Scott Walker, a Republican, is the current governor of Wisconsin. Prior to being elected governor in 2010, Walker served as Milwaukee County Executive. Walker was first elected as County Executive in 2002. He also served as a representative in the State Assembly. Walker is known to be fiscally conservative and against tax increases.
| Scott Walker | |
|---|---|
 Scott Walker delivers the 2011 State of the State Address | |
| Born |
November 2nd, 1967 Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Known for | 45th Governor of Wisconsin |
| Spouse(s) | Tonette |
| Children |
Matt Alex |
| Parents |
Llewellyn Patricia |
Contents |
Early life and career
Scott Walker was born November 2, 1967 to Llew and Pat Walker. His father was a local preacher. He was raised in Delavan, Wisconsin and graduated from Delavan-Darien High School in 1986. He attended Marquette University, however he left before graduating to pursue a career.
After attending Marquette University, Walker worked for IBM. He has been married his wife Tonette for 17 years. They have two sons, Matt and Alex.
Walker was first elected to the State Assembly in 1993 and was re-elected four times. In order to promote tourism in Milwaukee, Walker takes a motorcycle ride during the summer throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.
Milwaukee County Executive
2002 Election
On April 30, 2002, Walker was elected in a special recall election of former executive F. Thomas Amnet because of a county wide pension scandal. Walker won with 55 percent compared to his opponent James Ryan’s 45 percent. Walker ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility. After taking office, Walker voluntarily reduced his salary in order to save the financially struggling county over $360,000.
2004 Election
On April 6, 2004, Walker won reelection in 2004 against former state budget director David Riemer. Walker got 57 percent, while Riemer got 43 percent of the vote.
2008 Election
Walker announced he would run for reelection on December 2, 2007. Walker’s opponent was State Senator Lena Taylor. On April 1, 2008, Walker defeated Taylor with 59 percent of the vote, compared to Taylor’s 41 percent.
Gubernatorial Campaigns
2006 Election
On January 24, 2005 Walker announced his candidacy for governor against incumbent governor Jim Doyle. On March 24, 2006 Walker withdrew from the race and lent his support to U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis. Mark Green lost the election with 45 percent of the vote compared to Doyle's 53 percent.
2010 Election
Walker announced on April 26, 2009 that he would seek the Republican nomination for Wisconsin’s 2010 Gubernatorial race. Walker competition for the Republican nomination is Congressman Mark Neumann and businessman Mark Todd. Former governor Tommy Thompson has also said that he is considering pursuing the nomination.
Incumbent governor Jim Doyle chose not to seek re-election. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was the only major Democratic candidate in the running.
In an October 3, 2009, Republican Gubernatorial straw poll, Walker received the majority of votes. Walker’s platform advocates reducing the salaries of state workers and rolling back the 2009 tax increases in order to promote job growth.
Walker won the November 2, 2010, election by a margin of 52% to 47%, beating out Democratic candidate Tom Barrett.
Controversies
In 1999, while Walker was a State Assembly member he wrote the truth-in-sentencing law, which controversially abolished early release from prison on parole.
In November of 2009, Walker faced controversy regarding his campaigning events on University of Wisconsin campuses . Concerns were raised as to whether any of the contributions were given in state-owned buildings, which is illegal under campaign financing laws.
Walker faced controversy in January of 2009 after refusing to pursue stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
2011 Budget Repair Bill
On Friday, February 11, Governor Walker introduced a budget repair bill to help patch the state's $137 million budget shortfall. Part of the bill would limit the collective bargaining rights of certain state employees, including UW-Madison faculty and staff. Starting on February 14, 2011, thousands of protesters from around the state descended on the Capitol to protest Governor Walker's changes.[1]
Ultimately, the legislature's Joint Finance Committee, voted in favor of the proposal without any changes.
After 60 hours of debate, the legislation passed through the Republican controlled assembly.
On March 9, 2011, the Senate voted to pass the bill by a margin of 18-1. This only came after the fiscal componets were removed from the legislation. Prior to March 9, the Senate could not vote on the bill because of its fiscal nature. Wisconsin law requires that the Senate have a quorum of 20 members to vote on fiscal bills. The democratic senators left the state, leaving the Senate one member shy of a quorum. [2]
On Friday, March 18, a Dane County District Judge Maryann Sumi issued a ruling temporarily blocking the bill from taking effect after ruling that Republicans broke the state's open records law by not providing enough notice for a joint conference committee hearing that took place on March 9.
According to state law, government meetings can only be held after 24 hour notice is given. Republicans gave just under two hour notice prior to the joint conference committee meeting.
Wisconsin Justice Department officials will seek permission to challenge the ruling. [3]
External Links
Notable Links
- Walker campaign
- Walker and Barrett speak at WMC event
- Early polls
- Challenger for Doyle
- Walker receives endorsement
- Neumann plugs platform
- Republican gubernatorial candidates
- Walker pulls out
- Walker announces candidacy
Other Resources
- Scott Walker website
- Milwaukee County 2002 election
- Milwaukee County 2004 election
- Milwaukee County 2008 election
