With the May 8 primary for the gubernatorial recall election approaching, four Democrats running in the contest against Gov. Scott Walker clashed over the best way to restore collective bargaining rights for public employee unions Wednesday night.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett; former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk; Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma; and Secretary of State Doug La Follette participated in the debate hosted by the Democratic Party of Dane County.
In what Vinehout called “the stickiest question of the night,” candidates were asked how they would restore collective bargaining if Democrats did not have complete control of the Legislature after the recalls in June.
Falk said no Assembly Republicans are facing recall elections and will still be in the Legislature, even if the Democrats can take back the governor’s office. She said the Legislature would not be able to pass a bill under a Republican-controlled Assembly and more than a special session would be needed. She promised to veto any budget that did not reinstate collective bargaining.
“We know a Republican Assembly won’t give a [collective bargaining] bill a hearing, let alone a vote,” Falk said. “The only way the bill will pass the Legislature is in the budget bill. Unless you put [the bill] upfront you won’t be able to get it done. We have to elect a governor willing to do that.”
Falk, who has already received endorsements from several of the state’s largest unions, picked up an endorsement Wednesday from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, which includes 1,000 affiliated unions representing 250,000 Wisconsin members.
While Barrett agreed over the importance of restoring collective bargaining, he said he would call a special session to restore collective bargaining but would not agree to veto any budget without it.
“Thinking about how the budget works is very important because it’s different than other states,” Barrett said. “The budget does not have to pass. If there is no budget to pass, we will have to pass the Scott Walker budget. It happened a few years ago. We can’t play into their hands.”
Barrett also announced the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, earlier Wednesday, according to a statement from Barrett’s campaign.
Vinehout also did not commit to either a special session or a veto to any budget that does not restore collective bargaining.
However, Vinehout said she had talked to legislators in the western part of the state who govern swing districts and said there may be votes to restore collective bargaining after the recall elections that were not present last session.
La Follette said full control of the Legislature would be needed to reinstate collective bargaining rights, and his main focus would be to help elect progressive Republicans and Democrats who would restore collective bargaining after the November elections.
Mahlon Mitchell, a candidate for lieutenant governor in the recall election, also spoke to the crowd before the debate and said he was running so the state would know what the lieutenant governor does.
“I think the lieutenant governor job can be so much more than ribbon cutting and waving at a rally or at a protest,” Mitchell said. “I know we can do more than that.”
