By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
With the candidates the same as two years ago, the 63rd Assembly District debate had something of a familiar feel Oct. 5.
Both incumbent Robin Vos and challenger Andy Mitchell spoke along familiar lines last week at the debate, sponsored by the American Association of University Women of Racine and held at Racine Case High School.
Vos, a Republican seeking his seventh term in the assembly, is also the current Assembly Speaker. Mitchell, running as a Democrat, challenged Vos in 2014 as well.
The two each got a chance for an opening and closing statement, and responded to 12 questions that had been solicited by the AAUW before the debate. In addition, both candidates remained after the debate for a question and answer session and informal discussion.
Mitchell made it clear in his opening statement that those he has a lack trust in Vos. He said he would be a full-time legislator, unlike Vos, who runs a private business as well.
Vos fired back by saying the Democrats had sought opponents in the races this fall that would be negative, and vowed to be positive.
“I think it’s important for us to show that, yes, Wisconsin is working,” Vos said.
The questions then proposed to the candidates covered everything from the transportation budget shortfall to their future vision of education in the state.
Mitchell, a high-school special education teacher, said the state needs to restore funding to public education and stop using education as a piggy bank for other projects.
Many district, he said, are relying on operating referendums to function, and contends that state Republicans now want to limit referendums.
Vos countered by saying that declining enrollment is the biggest issue public education is facing, with two-thirds of districts in the state facing the challenge. He added that Act 10 – which limits collective bargaining for teachers – worked and was “a good decision.” He also said he fought to get $200 million back into the education budget this time around.
As for the transportation budget shortfall – projected to be as much as $1 billion – neither had simple answers. Mitchell proposed a tiered system for registration, charging more for more valuable vehicles, and opposed toll roads, saying they are “sold to foreign interests” and that Vos was a fan of them.
Vos agreed that he was a fan, simply because it would ask all drivers to pay toward the roads, and added that raising the cost of car registration would not be enough. He also went after former Gov. Jim Doyle for raiding the transportation fund in the past.
“We have to keep all options on the table,” Vos said.
Another contentious issue, voter ID, was raised – with a predictable response of Mitchell saying there was no proof of voter fraud and Vos saying there was 70 to 80 percent support for it in the district. The two also disagreed on whether the state makes free IDs easy to obtain.
The last question of the night drew many of the additional questions following the debate. Asked what the single most important challenge facing the district is, Vos spoke to having enough workers to fill open jobs and Mitchell said there were issues with water and water quality.
That drew many comments about high-capacity wells and questions on whether those wells are affecting groundwater.
The two were also asked about the re-districting of the state both during the debate and after. Vos said the districts were competitive but many were just voting Republican because of better candidates.
Mitchell said the state needed to find a better model for its districting, the “best system possible.”
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