Garthwaite Linked to Questionable Campaign Materials

Blogger Playground Politics posted an Assembly Democrat campaign document today that was reportedly discovered in the state capitol. As you can see the document entitled Agenda for Meeting with Speaker is clearly a campaign document and had no busisness being in the state capitol. This begs the question, were Assembly Democrats campaigning on state time and the taxpayers' dime, and was Rep. Garthwaite involved as this document seems to indicate?

I would certainly hope that the Republican Party of Wisconsin will soon file an open records request for the calendars of Speaker Mike Sheridan, Rep. Garthwaite, and the other Assemblyman mentioned in the document. If these meetings are taking place in the State Capitol then we have here a clear violation of the public trust and state law.

Newspaper: Democrat Leader Tom Nelson and his colleagues like Rep. Phil Garthwaite "are not telling the truth"

This is one of the best editorials I've read yet about Rep. Phil Garthwaite's "Big Sloppy Kiss" to his trial attorney campaign supporters. It was published by the Oshkosh Northwestern on October 29th.

Editorial: Insurance law bad for deal for state motorists

Imagine, for a moment, that you've made some long overdue improvements to your house. Your neighbor suggests that to protect the value of your investment you should consider additional home insurance. Good idea, you think.

Your neighbor says, "You might want to increase your insurance coverage from $150,000 to $200,000." You dial up your insurance agent for a price quote because you know that buying more insurance is going to cost more money. More coverage equals a higher premium and in the end you decide that more insurance is not worth the price. But your neighbor insists that you should not have to pay more for additional coverage. "Any premium increases are due to the business decisions of insurance providers …"

Knowing what you know about your insurance policies, do you believe him?

Yet that is what Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Tom Nelson and his Democrat cohorts in the state assembly want you to believe. In fact that is exactly Nelson's comment regarding legislature's edict in the state budget that increased the mandatory minimum amounts of liability coverage, increased the mandatory minimum amounts of uninsured-driver coverage and mandated coverage for underinsured drivers.

Nelson's attempt to duck responsibility for a forecasted statewide 40 percent increase in auto insurance ignores Economics 101. It is simple pricing rule, whether the product is a cup of coffee or an insurance policy. If you buy the larger size, it is going to cost more. Jim Guidry of the Office of the Commission of Insurance spelled it out when he told the Associated Press that premiums in general are expected to go up for consumers who purchased only the minimum limits because of the changes.

Nelson and his colleagues, including Rep. Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh, are not telling the truth by shifting the blame to the insurance companies. If, by some chance, they actually believe that forcing consumers to buy more insurance will not raise rates, there is a serious problem in Assembly.

First, it was wrong to stick the insurance mandate in the budget bill. A public policy initiative that significant deserves the benefit of a legislative hearing and debate. Second, it creates a mandate that many out-of-work motorists will not be able to afford. Third, it shows the Democrats as true hypocrites. Remember their press releases tout that the recently passed budget did not increase taxes on Wisconsin residents. OK, the insurance mandate is technically not a tax, but it will take money out of your pocket just the same as a tax would.

Fortunately there is still a modicum of common sense in the legislature. Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, is drafting legislation that will roll back those insurance mandates. In announcing his legislation — let's call it the 'Ellis Auto Insurance Sanity Act' — the veteran lawmaker said, "Under the new law, Wisconsin drivers will go from having among the lowest insurance rates in the nation to having among the highest."

Ellis is right and the Democrats are wrong and should be ashamed.

The Final Thought: Insurance mandate will lead to higher premiums and should be repealed.

Garthwaite's Ineffectiveness Noticed by Statewide Media Outlet

Over the weekend Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Mike Nichols penned a humorous story about Rep. Garthwaite's efforts to ban the term "swine flu." The columnist wasn't kind to the Rep. from the 49th:

Still, Garthwaite needs to do something with his time, I guess, so I will go out on a limb and say this is as fine an idea as Phil Garthwaite has ever had.

Indeed, as meaningless as Garthwaite's resolution banning "swine flu" is, it is one of the only things he has done with his last 10 months in office. So far, he has introduced only a small handful of bills and has not yet been able to get a single piece of legislation passed through the legislature. Perhaps more importantly he has been unarguably ineffective as the chairman of the Assembly Committee on Rural Economic Development.

The committee Garthwaite chairs is tasked with helping to bring jobs to rural Wisconsin - places like Grant County. Ask anyone in his district and they will tell you that the struggling economy and high unemployment are a huge concerns. Despite this, Garthwaite has not held a single hearing on legislation yet this year. Sure he had a brief informational hearing last winter but that is it. Garthwaite has tremendous power and influence that he could use to ease unemployment in Grant County and what is he doing with it? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. He has spent more time sitting on his bar stool at Kuepers Tavern in Dickeyville then he has in his chairman's seat in Madison. Rural Wisconsin suffers for it.

Last month, the Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald commented on Garthwaite's lack of work in Madison stating:

Wisconsin is suffering through record unemployment yet Rep. Garthwaite has refused to hold a public hearing in a committee tasked with bringing jobs to rural Wisconsin. The people of Wisconsin deserve more from their elected officials than a committee chairman who refuses to do his job. At a time when he should be focusing on bringing jobs to rural Wisconsin he has instead prioritized bills renaming the Swine Flu and creating a committee to study the industrial uses of marijuana.

Now Nichols is weighing in. If you haven't read the column yet, please click here and read it. It is both true and funny. Here's my favorite part:

I asked him (Garthwaite) if maybe, using his logic, there isn't also a problem with use of the term "chicken pox."

"Chicken pox, No. 1, has been engrained in people's heads since Christ was a corporal and, No. 2, does the price of chicken go down when junior gets the chicken pox?" asked Garthwaite.

I suppose not, but I have another question. What the heck does that phrase mean exactly anyway, "since Christ was a corporal"?

I say we all pass a resolution ordering Phil Garthwaite to just say, "a long time."

As someone who has long been perplexed by Garthwaite's colloquialisms from "I didn't just ride in here on a head of cabbage," to "I'll bet you beans to bacon," I appreciated Nichols poking fun. Perhaps if Rep. Garthwaite spent as much time working as he did thinking up these weird expressions, he could actually accomplish something.

On Illegal Immigrants - The Post that Demanded to be Written

During the last election a group called All Children Matter sent direct mail and purchased radio ads in the 49th Assembly District race. Many of these ads criticized Rep. Garthwaite for voting in favor of subsidizing tuition at the University of Wisconsin for illegal immigrants.

At first, Rep. Garthwaite denied this vote. Later he admitted it explaining that it was part of a budget bill that he had been forced to vote for and stated repeatedly that he did not support taxpayer funded benefits for illegal immigrants. On his blog, he addressed the question of whether he supported benefits for illegal immigrants by stating, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” This was a mantra Phil repeated over and over at debates, forums, and in newspaper columns over the course of the campaign.

Now, I have been struggling to write this post because I personally feel that the Republican Party would be best served by moving away from divisive issues like illegal immigration; however, I feel that I must comment on Phil’s votes on this subject because they demonstrate the depth to which he will sink to say one thing in Grant County and then do the total opposite in Madison.

Plain and simple, Phil Garthwaite supports taxpayer funded benefits for Illegal immigrants. He voted to provide them repeatedly and he was unarguably the deciding vote to include them in the budget. This is a fact. If Phil denies it, he is a liar.

The version of the budget that was voted on in the Assembly included two provisions to benefit illegal immigrants. The first would provide in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. The second would create a new program in the Department of Transportation to provide drivers cards to illegal immigrants.

During the budget debate Assembly Amendment 76 was introduced to remove the driver card provision from the bill. Phil Garthwaite was the deciding vote to kill the amendment.

Shortly thereafter, Assembly Amendment 78 was introduced to remove the in-state tuition provision from the bill. Phil Garthwaite was the deciding vote to kill that amendment as well.

He was then the deciding vote to pass the budget.

It’s fine to debate the merits of these two proposals. There are good arguments on both sides. What is undebatable, however, is that Phil Garthwaite supports taxpayer funded programs for illegal immigrants. I hope that from now on, he will openly admit this and defend his votes on these proposals based on their merits and demerits. If he tries to deny his votes or hide from the issue as he did during the last election then he is truly a Madison politician.

Scott Milfred takes the Democrat Legislature to Task for K-12 Budget

Scott Milfred's editorial in yesterday's State Journal is a must read. You can find it here.

He begins by pointing out that more than 90 school districts will see cuts larger than 15% despite promises from Democrat leaders to the contrary. He then goes on to squarely lay the blame at the feet of the Democrats who control all of state government:

No matter, I blame first and foremost our elected officials — starting with the Democrats who control the state Capitol — for being needlessly distracted.

They dedicated huge amounts of time and attention to a litany of controversial policy proposals stuffed into the state budget for expediency. This included mandates on car insurance, changes to liability law, drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and permission for local governments to form regional transit authorities, to cite just a few examples. Some of these items stayed in the budget. Some didn’t. But none of them belonged there.

Milwaukee Public Schools estimates property tax increase of less than 3%

Check out this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Looks like Milwaukee residents can only expect a 2.74% school property tax increase next year. Rep. Garthwaite sure did a great job protecting those property taxpayers. I wonder how much the tax bill is going to increase in Platteville or Boscobel? I bet it is a heck of a lot more than 2.74%.

Garthwaite Devastates Cassville Schools but Spares Milwaukee

DPI just released their School Aid Payment Estimates for the next year.

Rep. Garthwaite voted to cut Cassville’s schools by 15.6%. Conversely, he only voted to cut Milwaukee’s public schools by 0.84%. That is going to mean that the Cassville’s school board will have to raise property taxes by the maximum amount allowable under law. It also means that they will have to go to referendum to ask the voters to raise property taxes even more.

So next time you hear the Greater Wisconsin Committee on the radio thanking Garthwaite for “protecting schools,” just remember that they are talking about Milwaukee Schools. Rep. Garthwaite didn’t do a thing to protect Grant County’s schools or us property taxpayers.

...more to come on Rep. Garthwaite's assault on local K-12 education...

Cost to Attend UW Platteville up $497

According to the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald tuition and student fees at UW-Platteville are set to rise by $497.

Of course, students wouldn't be getting hit with such huge cost increases if Rep. Garthwaite hadn't voted against a reasonable tuition cap (AA 14 to AB 75) or if Rep. Garthwaite hadn't voted to cut the UW by $49.9 million over the next 2 years.

I'm sure that Rep. Garthwaite is explaining to students that times are tough and that there just wasn't money to maintain the UW's budget. Well, I have an idea for Phil - if you undo the $37 million in pork projects you voted for you'll be three quarters of the way there.

On Sex Offenders and Choosing Party over People

Of all the reprehensible votes Rep. Garthwaite took during the budget debate, his vote against the real-time GPS tracking of convicted child sex predators is probably the worst. Frankly, it’s hard for even me to believe that he would take this vote.

Here’s the back-story. In order to save a few bucks, Governor Doyle included a provision in his budget to roll back Jessica’s Law. Under Jessica’s law, which was enacted in Wisconsin just a couple years ago, sex predators who prey on children must be tracked in real time using a GPS devise once they are released from prison. This provision would gut the law, eliminating the requirement that these offenders be tracked with GPS in real time.

How did Rep. Garthwaite vote on this provision? He was the deciding vote to kill the amendment (AA 23 to AB 75) that would have maintained real-time tracking of child sex predators.

I’m not a statistician, but I’m guessing that about 95% of people in Grant County disagree with Phil’s vote. It goes to show you that when push comes to shove Rep. Garthwaite can’t be counted on to vote for the people of Southwest, Wisconsin when his Democrat Party leadership in Madison stands in the way.

In fact, the same night that Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote to gut Wisconsin’s toughest anti-sex offender law, he voted with his Madison leadership against a whole host of other amendments that would have benefited the people of SW WI.

- He voted against fully funding dam repairs (AA 70 to AB 75) to help prevent and minimize the type of floods that hit Bagely .

- He voted against funding urgently necessary bridge repairs in Grant County (AA 69 to AB 75) that would have been paid for by eliminating pork projects such as garbage bins for Wrightstown or $100,000 grant to repair a stone barn in Oconto.

- He voted against increasing scarcity aids for nearly all of our school districts in SW Wisconsin and instead voted to send the money to Milwaukee (AA 130 to AB 75).

In each of these cases and many more, Rep. Garthwaite had to make a choice between his constituents and his Madison leadership team. In every single case he chose his leadership over his district.

So much for that “60-40 Democrat-Republican voting record” you always brag about huh Phil?

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Weighs in on Rep. Garthwaite's "Sugar Daddies"

The left-leaning Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) issued an interesting report today, just as the public employee unions, trial attorneys, tribes and other leftist groups continue to lavish thousands of dollars worth of misleading radio ads on Rep. Garthwaite through their front group The Greater Wisconsin Committee. The WDC report lays out some interesting findings on the November 2008 election. For instance, the state's teachers union, WEAC spent more than $550,000 to defeat just one Republican candidate in just one seat. Garthwaite benefited from similar spending from The Greater Wisconsin Committee and other far-left groups.

As interesting as the findings in the WDC's report is the colorful language it uses. According to the WDC, the Greater Wisconsin Committee is Rep. Garthwaite's "Sugar Daddy."

My criticism of the Grant County GOP Chairman’s take on Phil Garthwaite’s Budget

Rep. Garthwaite was recently handed a free pass from Lancaster’s only media source to print anything he wanted to say about the budget. Although all of Grant County’s print media outlets are owned by the same company as the Lancaster paper, none of them ever seem to show Garthwaite the same unabashed love that the Grant County Herald Independent lavishes on our Rep. in Madison. Their “stories” about Garthwaite wouldn’t pass as editorials in a tabloid but I digress. Who am I to complain about ethics in journalism?

At any rate, here is a response to Rep. Garthwaite’s comments about the state budget as published in the Grant County Herald Independent. The following comments are written by Grant County GOP Chairman David Kuhle:

Governor Doyle is claiming that the 2009-11 budget was the first enacted on schedule since 1977. Both the 2003-05 and 2005-07 budgets were passed by the legislature before their July 1st start dates, but Governor Doyle delayed signing for a month in order to use his Frankenstein veto pen to strike out words, letters and whole pages to create new laws not intended by the legislature. Since then, Republicans were successful in amending the state constitution to prohibit the governor from making law with his veto pen.

Wisconsin has deficit spent to ‘balance’ the budget for years due to government officials creating more entitlements than we had money to pay for. Wisconsin law requires that budgets be balanced. Included in this budget is this disclaimer to avoid breaking the law:
“Specify that the current law requirements that revenues exceed expenditures in each fiscal year would not apply in 2010-11.”

This budget increases Wisconsin’s general obligation bonds from $5.9 billion to $8.8 billion and revenue bonds from $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion, making us the 15th most indebted state in the country.

Rep. Phil Garthwaite’s quote, “Fixing this record budget deficit wasn’t an easy task. We cut spending and waste from every level of government” is misleading. This budget was not fixed. Democrats compounded Wisconsin’s fiscal mess.

Refusing any fiscal amendments from Republicans, Democrats own this budget. Wisconsin spent $29 billion in 2008-09 and this budget will spend a two-year average of $31 billion, an increase in spending for this two-year budget of $4 billion, with tax and fee increases of $3.6 billion.

Garthwaite is quoted, “I kept transportation dollars flowing by mandating that the DOT repave highway 61 between Dickeyville and Lancaster.” Ridiculous. No representative can mandate the government do anything. The 61 project was originally scheduled to be completed already, then backed off several years, and now moved up to this budget.

Top-Ten bad things in the Democrat-only 2009-11 budget, quoting the non-political Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 1) Auto insurance will increase because liability minimums have doubled. 2) Capital gains taxes increase 75%. 3) $10 million for health insurance benefits for homosexual partners. 4) $30 million in pork projects including: $110,000 for Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, $400,000 for Native American Tourism of Wisconsin, $5 million for the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, and $37,900 for a chat room in the Child Advocacy Center in Green County. 5) Eliminated the 3.8% compensation minimum for teacher union members. 6) Doubled nursing home fees. 7) Requires private construction projects to pay union-equivalent wages if any government financing is involved. 8) Increase day care fees by 50 % per child. 9) Increase assisted living home fees by 27%. !0) Doubled garbage fees.
Contrary to Rep. Garthwaite, the Democrats did not ‘balance the books’. They borrowed our children’s future to reward their political friends.

Most of this commentary is accurate, however, I must point out some of the Chairman Kuhle’s mistakes:

1. Auto insurance premiums are also increasing because of “stacking,” “ghost car,” and other changes in the budget. Stacking and ghost car mean this: If you own two insured cars and one uninsured junker that sits in the yard, and your son takes the junker and crashes it into something, then the owner of that something can now sue you on your other TWO policies. Stacking by its self means that you can be sued for value of the policy of the truck you drive, the minivan your wife drives, and your two collector cars in your garage. That comes on top of the new mandates that Chairman Kuhle mentioned.

2. The Capital gains tax, when combined with the new income tax, is actually more than an 75% increase on many small businesses.

3. The cost of providing free state health care and retirement benefits for the boyfriends, girlfriends, roommate, gay partners, etc… of state employees is actually estimated at $15 million rather than $10 million.

4. There are more than $37 million in pork projects in the budget and more than $1 billion in earmarks.

5. The nursing home bed tax more than doubles from $75 per month, per nursing home bed to $170 per month, per bed.

So to recap, Chairman Kuhle is only wrong in his analysis of Garthwaite’s budget in that the budget is actually much worse and taxes much more than the Chairman initially thought.

There's a Garbage Tax?

Yes there is...

...and now it is rather large in our state.

Phil Garthwaite just voted to make Wisconsin the state with the highest garbage tax in the Union.

Garthwaite's garbage tax will cost most small townships a couple thousand bucks a year but this comes on top of an 11.2% average cut in state funding so it really hurts. It will cost large municipalities like Platteville tens of thousands of dollars.

How will municipalities pay for this unexpected garbage tax?

They will do one of three things:

1. Raise property taxes.
2. Increase or create a garbage fee. Often this will be added to a water/sewer bill.
3. Go to referendum.

This is just one of dozens of costs that Rep. Garthwaite voted to shift from state government to Grant County local governments.

Worse yet, this new tax will raise $70.2 million statewide for segregated funds like the recycling and environmental improvement funds. At the same time Rep. Garthwaite voted to raid more than $98 million from these funds to give cash to Gov. Doyle to spend on whatever he wants.

That's right. The entirety of the garbage tax increase plus some existing garbage tax revenues are being raided for Doyle's slush fund.

The vote on an amendment to kill this tax and the raid died 51-47 making Phil Garthwaite one of just two votes to allow the new tax and raid.

Phil Garthwaite supports early release for drunk drivers, date rape drug dealers, and even some sex offenders

A cornerstone of Rep. Garthwaite’s budget was the early release of so-called “non-violent” offenders from prison. Here are some of the offenders that Rep. Garthwaite voted to release after serving just a fraction of their sentence:

1. First-degree reckless homicide, where drugs are provided or administered ("Len Bias" Law) [940.02] That’s right, Garthwaite wants to let drug dealers that kill people out early, but I’m sure that doesn’t concern you too much. After all, you have to figure out how to pay another $316 in property taxes and are probably preoccupied with how you’re going to do that.

2. Homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, one or more previous convictions, suspension or revocation relating to certain operating under the influence offenses [940.09(1c)(b)] Yep, Phil thinks drunk drivers who murder people shouldn’t have to spend such a long time behind bars but on the plus side, they’ll have to pay the new $.75 a month tax on cell phones when they get out of jail just like everyone else.

3. Possession with intent to manufacture, distribute or delivery of flunitrazepam more than 50 grams [961.41(1m)(im)4.] In case you’re wondering what flunitrazepam is, it’s the date rape drug. In case you’re wondering how much 50 grams is, it’s a lot, a whole lot. So while you’re trying figure out how you’re going afford the $300 auto insurance increase Garthwaite supported in this budget, date rape drug wholesalers will be relishing the immediate and significant reduction in their jail sentences.

4. Failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements (excludes certain sex registrants convicted of sexually motivated misdemeanors, first violations) [301.45(6)(a)1.] Even sex offenders get a pass? Many of Rep. Garthwaite's votes have been ridiculous but letting sex offenders, even first time offenders, out of jail early is just plain nuts.

The list goes on and on and provides for the early release for hundreds of classes of felonies.

Shady Political Attack Group Back and Supporting Garthwaite

The Greater Wisconsin Committee, a group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign refers to as a Milwaukee based Phony issue ad group is running a phony issue ad on Grant County radio stations. The group's phony ad urges voters to thank Rep. Garthwaite for voting for a budget that protects the middle class. Now anyone who has read anything about this budget knows that it raises dozens of taxes and fees on the middle class and that the Greater Wisconsin Committee ad is well...phony. More interesting than the content of the issue ad, however, is the funding source for the ad and the possible reasons this group is running it in favor of Rep. Garthwaite.

The Greater Wisconsin Committee is funded in large part by the trial lawyers lobby. Now why would the trial lawyers want thousands of dollars to be spent helping Rep. Garthwaite? Could it be because he was a deciding vote to save their auto-insurance mandate in the budget, the mandate that will cost you an extra $300 in premiums and will make them millions in lawsuit payouts?

On Prevailing Wage

Bear with me because this issue is boring, difficult to explain, even more difficult to listen to someone explain it, and most of all…incredibly important to your community.

Included in the budget that Rep. Garthwaite supported was a provision to expand the state’s prevailing wage requirements. The prevailing wage law, first passed in 1931 mandates that workers on public projects with a certain cost be paid “prevailing wage rates.” These rates essentially equate to union-scale wages, which are very, very high.

When Governor Doyle drafted his budget, he proposed expanding the use of prevailing wage to many private projects which had never been covered before. Furthermore, he proposed dropping the minimum cost threshold from $48,000 to $2,000. The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee later amended this budget provision, improving it slightly but the basic gist remained. Most public construction projects will cost much more. That means property tax increases. Most private construction projects that are donated, sold, or transferred to a public unit of government will cost much more. Volunteer work on public projects would often be prohibited.

It goes without saying that this is a very, very bad idea, especially during these difficult economic times. Prevailing wage mandates increase the cost of construction. The Heartland Foundation found that prevailing wage laws in the US increase the cost of labor on the average project by 22% and the overall cost by 9.91%. Other studies have found that prevailing wage mandates can drive up costs by as much as 37%.

The current economic downturn has already led to a reduction in development. Expanding the scope of the prevailing wage would be a major deterrent to economic development and job growth. Furthermore, reducing the threshold for prevailing wage projects will cost municipalities tens of thousands of dollars if not more. That means some important projects in your neighborhood won’t get done while others will require increased property taxes to fund them.

It makes absolutely zero sense to increase the cost of construction at a time when that sector of our economy is bleeding employees. It makes even less sense to do so when it will increase costs on local governments that are strapped for cash. Unfortunately, Rep. Garthwaite did not see things that way and voted to maintain significant, job killing changes to Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law in the budget.

The changes to the prevailing wage law are found in AB 75, the biennial budget bill. Here are the facts on how he voted:

Assembly Amendment 5 to AB 75 would have deleted all prevailing wage related provisions from the budget. This amendment failed by a vote of 51-47. Rep. Garthwaite voted against the amendment and in favor of the expanded prevailing wage mandate.

Assembly Amendment 6 to AB 75 would have exempted vacant industrial properties from the expanded prevailing wage law. This would have given governments a tool to rebuild shuttered factories like GM in Janesville. This amendment failed by a vote of 51-47. Rep. Garthwaite voted against the amendment and in favor of the expanded prevailing wage mandate.

Assembly Amendment 114 to AB 75 would have exempted company paid volunteers from the prevailing wage. This amendment would have allowed a construction company owner to pay his employees to volunteer for a day at a Habitat for Humanity site for example. This amendment failed by a vote of 51-47. Rep. Garthwaite voted against this amendment and thus voted against allowing a construction company to volunteer their workers for a charitable construction project.

Assembly Amendment 115 to AB 75 would have allowed the Department of Commerce to grant a waiver on some prevailing wage projects. For instance, a municipality could have applied for a waiver on a project that would create a significant number of jobs in the community. This amendment failed by a vote of 50-48. Rep. Garthwaite voted against the amendment and in favor of the expanded prevailing wage mandate.

Finally, Rep. Garthwaite voted in favor of the passage of AB 75. AB 75 passed by a vote of 50-48, making Rep. Garthwaite the deciding vote on passage of the expanded prevailing wage mandate.

These are the facts. Rep. Garthwaite can try to run from them all he wants but in the end he will fail. The prevailing wage mandate passed by one vote - Rep. Garthwaite's vote.

Side Note --- Since passing the Assembly, the prevailing wage mandate has been altered by Democrats in the State Senate. It is now much worse than what Governor Doyle originally drafted. The new mandate combines a low threshold and coverage of private projects with several new ideas. Under the Democrat budget as it is now written, your local town or municipality would no longer be allowed to contract with your county for many construction projects. The purpose of this change is to force local units of government to contract with expensive union contractors even when working with their county would save money and make sense. This means that your local road won’t be maintained as well or as often and that when it is, it will cost you more.

Rep. Garthwaite has not yet committed to opposing this change despite requests from local officials in the municipalities he represents.

What does the media have to say about Phil Garthwaite's budget?

Here are just a few of the stories and columns that have been written about the budget that Phil Garthwaite voted for over the past few months:

“Editorial: Democrats Forgot Why They Were Elected” – Appleton Post-Crescent – 06/07/09 – http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090607/APC06/906070538

“Your Auto Insurance May Go Up: Proposed State Budget Has Higher Min. Coverage Requirements” – Racine Journal Times – 06/07/09 – http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2009/06/07/local_news/doc4a2c54359273b168645547.txt

“Editorial: Serious Flaws in State Budget” – Beloit Daily News – 06/08/09 – http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2009/06/08/opinion/todays_opinion/edit801.txt

“Assembly Democrats to Hold Fund-Raiser During Budget Deliberations, Despite Ban” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – 06/06/09 – http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/47050637.html

“Editorial: Slice Sneaky Earmarks from Budget” – Wisconsin State Journal – 06/05/09 – http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/453747

“Editorial: Budget Dealings are Insult to Public” – Appleton Post Crescent – 05/31/09 – http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905310569

“Our View: Another Disappointing Budget Process” – La Crosse Tribune – 05/31/09 – http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/05/31/opinion/editorial/edit.txt

“Plan Would Make Wisconsin’s Garbage Fees Highest in Nation, Group Says” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – 05/31/09 – http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/46583132.html

“Budget Includes Millions in Earmarks: Democrats Tout Frugality; Republicans Decry ‘Pork’” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – 05/30/09 – http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/46455812.html

“Editorial: Madison Seems Way Out of Control” – Green Bay Press-Gazette – 03/22/09 – http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090322/GPG0602/903220702/1270

Rep. Garthwaite votes for millions in pork spending on every place but Southwest Wisconsin

Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote to keep dozens of pork projects in the budget.

During the final days before Rep. Garthwaite voted in favor of the budget, Democrat legislators met in secret behind closed doors for countless hours. In order to come up with the 50 votes necessary to pass the budget bill, Democrat leaders from Milwaukee and Madison had to shell out numerous earmarks to various Democrat legislators. The earmarks, more commonly known as pork, add up. According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the pork supported by Rep. Garthwaite totaled more than $37 million.

Here are some examples:

$6.6 million for a Yahara River project in Dane County; the county is represented mostly by Democrats, including the committee's co-chairmen, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) and Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona).

$5 million for the Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corp. in downtown Milwaukee; represented by Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Leon Young (D-Milwaukee).

$4 million for planning a joint museum for the State Historical Society and Department of Veterans Affairs; an area served by Pocan, Miller and other Dane County legislators would benefit.

Up to $1.25 million for Manitowoc Road in Bellevue; represented by Sen. Alan Lasee (R-De Pere) and Rep. Ted Zigmunt (D-Francis Creek).

$800,000 for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin; the center has locations throughout the state.

Up to $500,000 for Washington Street in Racine; Democrats Sen. John Lehman, a committee member, and Rep. Robert Turner represent the area.

$500,000 for an environmental center in a park that borders Madison and Monona; the two cities are represented by the committee's co-chairmen.

$500,000 for the Oshkosh Opera House; Republican Sen. Randy Hopper and Rep. Gordon Hintz, a Democrat, represent Oshkosh.

$500,000 for Eco Park in La Crosse; represented by Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and committee member Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse).

Up to $430,000 for Highway X in Chippewa County; represented by Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) and Rep. Kristen Dexter (D-Eau Claire).

Up to $400,000 for State St. in Racine; represented by Lehman and Turner.

$300,000 for the AIDS Network in Madison; represented by Pocan and Senate President Fred Risser (D-Madison).

$250,000 for a bridge on S. Reid Road in Rock County; Robson and Rep. Chuck Benedict (D-Beloit).

$250,000 for the Madison Children's Museum; represented by Pocan and Risser.

$125,000 to remodel an Eau Claire library; represented by Kreitlow and Dexter.

$100,000 for Huron Road in Bellevue; represented by Lasee and Zigmunt.

$100,000 for the Stone Barn historic site in Oconto County; represented by Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), who sits on the committee, and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette).

That is just the tip of the iceberg because that list does not include major construction projects. When one figures in the total amount of earmarks, including major construction projects, it becomes clear that there are only two real winners in this budget – Madison and Milwaukee.

According to the LFB, Dane County where Madison is located will receive more than $694 million in earmark spending. Milwaukee makes out even better with $740 million in earmark spending. This spending on Madison and Milwaukee should be particularly insulting folks from SW WI because it comes in the same budget that decimates state aids to rural local governments. The Town of Platteville for instance is taking a 15% cut in shared revenue, the state aid that goes to local governments to support police, fire, and other vital local services. Perversely, the City of Milwaukee is only going to take a 1.1% hit in shared revenue and will receive millions in earmarks that will more than make up for its meager cut.

Rep. Garthwaite’s vote to kill the amendment to remove pork from the budget can be found here. As you can see, he was the deciding vote to kill earmark reform. That is a fact that he cannot deny in good conscience.

Here is a link to another vote relating to pork. This amendment would have removed all pork projects from a large Democrat amendment to the budget. This time Rep. Garthwaite was one of two votes to keep pork in the budget.

Here is an article from the State Journal about Rep. Garthwaite’s pork filled budget:

Information about shared revenue cuts in the budget can be found in this LFB memo.

Phil Garthwaite Insults Job Creators...Again...

Rep. Garthwaite spent the afternoon today speaking with more than 50 local officials, economic development leaders, and employers in Platteville. As expected, he tried to deny having voted the way he did on several amendments to the state budget. That is a big reason that I am taking the time to research the state budget and to report honestly on how he voted.

Sources who attended the meeting are reporting to me that Rep. Garthwaite continued preaching his anti-employer, anti-job rhetoric. Although he didn’t tell employers to “get their ass back down south” as he did on the floor of the Assembly in April, he did level attacks on them, by claiming that the job creators of SW WI were on a “witch hunt,” for calling him out on his votes in favor of job killing policies and tax increases in the budget.

Rep. Garthwaite votes for $1.48 billion property tax increase

According to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), Rep. Garthwaite voted to increase property taxes by $1.48 billion over the next biennium. This translates to about a $300 increase on the average homeowner in SW Wisconsin

Despite the fact that homeowners will face declining home values over the next two years, Rep. Garthwaite’s property tax plan calls for increases of 3.1 and 4.5 percent, respectively over the next two years. The following table lays out the tax increase homeowners can expect to face under Rep. Garthwaite’s property tax plan.

Home Value ----- Tax Increase ----- Tax Bill

$175,000 ----------- $318 ----------- $3,138
$200,000 ----------- $366 ----------- $3,603
$225,000 ----------- $410 ----------- $4,068
$250,000 ----------- $459 ----------- $4,532
$275,000 ----------- $506 ----------- $4,997
$300,000 ----------- $549 ----------- $5,460

For more information on this tax increase please see this memo from the LFB.

In addition to these increases, Rep. Garthwaite’s budget also calls for the elimination of the Qualified Economic Offer or QEO. The QEO is one of the best tools the state has to keep property taxes for school districts in check. According to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB), repealing the QEO, “will compel boards to rely more heavily on referendums to pay for maintenance, technology and other critical costs that can no longer be afforded.” The long term affect of the QEO repeal will be more referendums and significant increases in property taxes.

When an amendment to maintain the QEO was introduced on the floor of the Assembly during the budget debate Rep. Garthwaite voted against the amendment, which failed 51-47.

For more information on the repeal of the QEO, please see this column from WASB or this editorial from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Budget Vote

The budget passed early Saturday morning on a vote of 50-48. Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote that allowed the budget to pass as written. Had he held out, the Madison leadership would have been forced to improve the budget to pass it. He was also the deciding vote on many 50-48 votes to refuse consideration of good amendments and the deciding vote on many amendments that failed on votes of 49-49. In the coming days I will write in detail about Rep. Garthwaite's more important amendment votes and about the budget in general.

Shady Third Party Comes to Phil's Rescue

I got a call from a friend today telling me to turn on the radio. When I turned it on, guess what I heard? I heard a shadowy third party group telling me to call Rep. Gathwaite and urge him to vote for the state budget. The group was none other than the most despicable of all the groups that have been hijacking our Democratic process – the Greater Wisconsin Committee.

According to the left-leaning Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the Greater Wisconsin Committee is:

A Milwaukee-based phony issue ad group that was organized in 2004 to support Democratic candidates for statewide office and the legislature. Like other phony issue ad groups, it has consistently refused to disclose how much it raises and spends to sponsor mostly negative mailings and broadcast advertising during an election. Much of its cash has come from labor unions and Democratic-leaning ideological groups that get most of their money from large corporations.

Madison insiders have reported in the past that the Greater Wisconsin Committee also gets much of its funding from two other sources: tribal casino interests, which seek political clout to protect their state sponsored casino monopoly and trial lawyers who seek laws that make it easier to sue you and I for big paydays.

Now why would a shady political attack unit that works for public employee unions, trial lawyers, and Indian tribes be spending cash to support Rep. Gathwaite and the Democrat budget? Nobody can be sure but here are a few guesses:

- $3 billion in state tax increases.
- $1.3 billion property tax hike.
- Payback for the trial lawyers that will make Wisconsin the worst state for lawsuits in the country.
- Far left policy such as $15 million worth of free state health care and benefits for the boyfriends and girlfriends of state employees.
- Far left policy such as a new drivers license program and instate tuition for illegal immigrants.

The fact is that the groups who fund and run the Greater Wisconsin Committee have just as much to gain from this budget passing as we citizens have to lose. The question is, when the budget comes up for a vote Wednesday, will Rep. Garthwaite stand with his constituents or with the shady group that runs his shadow campaign and is now running radio ads for him?

Will Phil Garthwaite vote for a 60 cent a gallon gas tax?

The Capital Times just published an article stating that gas prices are once again about to head over $3.00 a gallon.

The article blames the typical culprits – summer travel, China, OPEC, etc… but fails to mention one major contributor…Madison politicians.

Wisconsinites currently pay one of the highest gas taxes in the nation – just over 51 cents per gallon. The revenues from this tax are intended to pay for road maintenance and construction, however, for the past six years Governor Doyle has raided much of these funds to spend on other things, primarily for the benefit of special interest contributors such as the state teacher’s union WEAC.

The current budget, which Rep. Garthwaite is scheduled to vote on this Wednesday, will increase the taxes we pay on gas to more than $.60 a gallon making Wisconsin the highest taxing state on gas other than California and New York which apply a general sales tax to gasoline in addition to the excise tax that Wisconsin applies. To make matters worse, the Democrat written budget proposal raids hundreds of millions of gas tax revenues for general spending and for pork projects for their districts. The media has been astute to point out some of these pork projects. Please see the following articles:

State Journal Article on Democrat Budget Pork

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article on Democrat Budget Pork

Janesville Gazette Article on Democrat Budget Pork

If this budget passes Wednesday, it will be the 4th Democrat budget in a row to raid gas tax revenues for use on projects entirely unrelated to road building. It will also apply the new gas tax in such a way that farmers in Southwest Wisconsin are penalized for being members of a petroleum product supplying cooperative.

In case the link changes; here is a list of just some of the pork thrown in the budget by the Democrat controlled legislature. Some of this pork is paid for by a raid on the funds that the increased gas tax will supply. This list was posted on May 29th, 2009 on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s website.

• $44.5 million, mostly in bonds, for a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire education building; represented by Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) and Rep. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire).
• $13 million for the Wisconsin Rapids armory; represented by Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point), who is on the committee, and Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids).
• $28 million in bonds for a School of Nursing facility at the UW-Madison; Sen. Judy Robson (D-Beloit), a nurse who sits on the committee, has long backed her profession in the Legislature.
• $6.6 million for a Yahara River project in Dane County; the county is represented mostly by Democrats, including the committee's co-chairmen, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) and Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona).
• $5 million for the Bradley Center Sports and Entertainment Corp. in downtown Milwaukee; represented by Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Leon Young (D-Milwaukee).
• $4 million for planning a joint museum for the State Historical Society and Department of Veterans Affairs; an area served by Pocan, Miller and other Dane County legislators would benefit.
• Up to $1.25 million for Manitowoc Road in Bellevue; represented by Sen. Alan Lasee (R-De Pere) and Rep. Ted Zigmunt (D-Francis Creek).
• $800,000 for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin; the center has locations throughout the state.
• Up to $500,000 for Washington Street in Racine; Democrats Sen. John Lehman, a committee member, and Rep. Robert Turner represent the area.
• $500,000 for an environmental center in a park that borders Madison and Monona; the two cities are represented by the committee's co-chairmen.
• $500,000 for the Oshkosh Opera House; Republican Sen. Randy Hopper and Rep. Gordon Hintz, a Democrat, represent Oshkosh.
• $500,000 for Eco Park in La Crosse; represented by Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and committee member Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse).
• Up to $430,000 for Highway X in Chippewa County; represented by Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) and Rep. Kristen Dexter (D-Eau Claire).
• Up to $400,000 for State St. in Racine; represented by Lehman and Turner.
• $300,000 for the AIDS Network in Madison; represented by Pocan and Senate President Fred Risser (D-Madison).
• $250,000 for a bridge on S. Reid Road in Rock County; Robson and Rep. Chuck Benedict (D-Beloit).
• $250,000 for the Madison Children's Museum; represented by Pocan and Risser.
• $125,000 to remodel an Eau Claire library; represented by Kreitlow and Dexter.
• $100,000 for Huron Road in Bellevue; represented by Lasee and Zigmunt.
• $100,000 for the Stone Barn historic site in Oconto County; represented by Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), who sits on the committee, and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette).

The Smoking Ban

A few weeks ago Rep. Garthwaite voted against Senate Bill 181, which bans smoking in all Wisconsin businesses and public places. To his credit this vote was consistent with his stance during the last campaign, however, I cannot fully applaud Rep. Garthwaite for standing up for his beliefs. Here is why.

The smoking ban was driven by the leaders of the Democrat controlled legislature in Madison but was a bi-partisan bill. Many Republicans in the Assembly voted in favor of the bill. This meant that Rep. Garthwaite could vote against the bill without harming the wishes of his Democrat bosses in Madison. After all, his vote against the ban would be canceled out by a GOP vote in favor of the ban. When it came time for votes on amendments, however, things weren't so simple.

SB 181 contained an odd caveat that would make Wisconsin unique amongst states with smoking bans. It would prohibit smoking in 100% of all hotel rooms. Roughly half of the states in the US currently have some sort of statewide smoking prohibition in place, however, all of them either ignore hotels or allow for a certain percentage of rooms to have smoking. Most commonly, states allow for a hotel owner to keep up to 25% of his or her rooms smoking. Iowa does this as does Illinois. The Democrat drafted Wisconsin ban, however, prohibits Wisconsin innkeepers from allowing smoking in any rooms. It even makes it illegal for the Innkeeper to smoke in their own room or home if they happen to live on premises.

The affect that this total prohibition will have in Wisconsin is two-fold. Smokers who choose or are forced to stay in Wisconsin hotels will simply smoke in non-smoking rooms. What is to stop them? This means that non-smokers like myself will have to suffer the terrible stench that is a smoky hotel room.

The second affect of this provision will be to reduce business to Wisconsin’s hotels, especially in border areas like Grant County. Why would a smoker stop at the Governor Dodge Hotel and Convention Center in Platteville when they can drive another 35 minutes and get a smoking room at the Holiday Inn in Dubuque?

To correct this problem, Assembly Republicans introduced an amendment to let hotels allow smoking in a small percentage of their rooms. When this amendment was brought to the floor of the Assembly, the Democrat leadership in Madison motioned to kill it but enough Democrats from Rural areas sided with Republicans to keep the amendment alive. Unfortunately, the Madison liberal elite then called for the Assembly to go informal, a pause in debate where leadership can speak with their members. The Democrat leadership from Madison used this time to browbeat their rural members into voting to kill the amendment. A few minutes later the amendment died by a vote of 50-48.

Phil Garthwaite was the deciding vote to create a major disadvantage for Grant County inn keepers and a huge advantage for the hotels and motels in nearby Illinois and Iowa. If you don’t believe me, please see the vote. The facts speak for themselves. It’s available for all the public to view on the legislature’s webpage. You can see the history of the smoking ban bill here and the vote on this amendment here

Rep. Garthwaite then voted to allow smoking in Indian Casinos in Wisconsin, thus giving the Tribes a monopoly on smoking customers. It must be noted that Indian Tribes such as the Ho Chunk Nation were major contributors to third party groups that ran issue ads in favor of Rep. Garthwaite during the last election. Rep. Garthwaite also voted against allowing Veterans to smoke in their private clubs such as American Legion and VFW posts. Here is the vote to prove it.

At the end of the day, what does this mean? It means that Rep. Garthwaite can be trusted to stick to his word when he votes on issues that are supported by a majority of Reps. in Madison. Unfortunately for the voters of Southwest Wisconsin, it also means that Rep. Garthwaite cannot be counted on to vote in the interest of his constituents when the liberal Madison elite who control the Assembly need his vote. To reiterate, if Rep Garthwaite had stood for SW Wisconsin, hotels in the area would not have been put at a disadvantage in comparison to their counterparts in nearby Iowa or Illinois. His vote was the deciding vote to kill an amendment that would have helped his district.


Just the Facts:

Rep. Garthwaite voted against SB 181 – a bill to ban smoking.

If you support banning smoking in public places such as restaurants and taverns then Rep. Garthwaite voted against your interests.

If you oppose banning smoking in public places such as restaurants and taverns then Rep. Garthwaite voted in your interests.

If you own or work in a hotel in SW Wisconsin then Rep. Garthwaite voted against your job and livelihood.

If you think that it is unfair that Indian Tribes are given a monopoly on smoking in taverns in Wisconsin then Rep. Garthwaite voted against your beliefs.

If you are a Veteran or believe that Veterans have earned the right to smoke in their private clubs then Rep. Garthwaite voted against you.

What does SB 20 do?

In the previous post, I linked to Garthwaite’s speech in favor of SB 20, a bill he voted in favor of on April 29, 2009. Click here for a link to the actual roll call vote on the bill.

Here I will explain, in brief, what SB 20 will do after Governor Doyle signs it into law.

Under current law, if the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) finds an employer has discriminated against an employee, DWD will order the employer to reinstate the employee, provide back pay for no more than two years before the filing of the complaint, and pay court costs and attorney fees. Workers can receive back pay and reinstatement. Currently, about two-thirds of claims are rejected for lack of probable cause.

In other words 66% of discrimination lawsuits in Wisconsin are filed by bad actors looking for an easy payday. They are rightfully rejected. Real cases of workplace discrimination are properly dealt with and the discriminating employer is correctly punished.

If enacted, SB 20 would dramatically change this law to favor these bad actors and the trial lawyers who represent them, allowing for additional damage claims - including compensatory and punitive damages up to $300,000. The $300,000 cap would be the highest in the nation. Only one other state, Minnesota, allows for punitive damages for these types of claims, but that state caps these damages at $25,000.

The net affect of this change will be two-fold:

1. Higher insurance premiums for all Wisconsin employers.
2. Increased litigation against many Wisconsin businesses.

It is also important to note that SB 20 will allow workplace discrimination claims to be filed by convicted felons. That’s right. If you are a small business owner and receive a job application from a convicted felon, you better consult an attorney before rejecting it or you could be facing a lawsuit with a $300,000 bill for hurting the felon’s feelings.

Common sense dictates that making it easier to file questionable lawsuits against decent, hardworking small businesses harms Wisconsin’s job climate. Guaranteeing a big payday for trial lawyers makes things even worse.

Rep. Phil Garthwaite voted to do those two things, but much worse, he told businesses who don’t like it to, “Get your ass back down south.”

To see who supported and opposed this bill, click here to visit the Government Accountability Board

As you can see, this bill was opposed by dozens of small business groups, employers, and job creators and supported only by the trial lawyers, a few public employee unions, and the Counties Association who is not affected because this bill exempts government for these lawsuits. Yep, you read that right. According to Rep. Garthwaite’s logic, it is wrong for small business to turn down hiring a convicted felon, but A-ok for government to discriminate against that same felon.

Don’t take my word for it. Read what some legislators had to say about SB 20:

For:

Speaker Sheridan, Rep. Sinicki


Against:

Rep. Nass

Rep. Fitzgerald

Sen. Kedzie

Phil Garthwaite – Standing Up for Your Local Trial Lawyer

"Get your ass back down South. I do not want you here."

- Phil Garthwaite speaking to small businesses who disagree with his support for SB 20, a bill to make it easier for trial lawyers to sue Wisconsin's employers.

Note: Phil Garthwaite gave this embarrassing speech on the floor of the State Assembly on April 29, 2009.