Month: June 2014

78th Assembly District Candidate Forum

by Michelle Felber • June 25, 2014 • Comments Off

Kathy Cramer, Interim Director, Morgridge Center for Public Service

PROFS will host a public forum of candidates in the Democratic primary for the 78th Assembly District on Monday, July 21 at 7pm. The forum will be held in Room 1325 in the Health Sciences Learning Center. A map of the district, which includes much of the west side of Madison, is here.

Political Science professor Kathy Cramer, Interim Director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service, will moderate. Audience members will be able to contribute questions at the forum, but we encourage you to leave questions in the comments section below.

Madison alders Mark Clear and Lisa Subeck will be on the ballot on Tuesday, August 12. Clear has served on the Madison Common Council since 2007 and is currently executive director of Accelerate Madison, an association of digital technology busineses. Subeck has served on the Madison Common Council since 2011 and is executive director of NARAL-Pro Choice Wisconsin, a reproductive rights advocacy organization.

The winner of the primary will almost certainly win election in November since no other partisan candidates will be on the ballot.

The forum is free and open to the public.

University Boards and the New Normal

by Michelle Felber • June 10, 2014 • Comments Off

Jane Wellman, the executive director of the National Commission on College and University Board Governance, will visit UW-Madison tomorrow and participate in a discussion on changes to college and university boards.

University Boards and the New Normal, a conversation with Jane Wellman will be held at 4 pm on Wednesday, June 11 in Room 159 Education, 1000 Bascom Mall. It is free and open to the public.

The talk is sponsored by WISCAPE, the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education.

The continued defunding of public higher education has put enormous pressure on governance boards, and in some cases, resulted in changes to shared governance. Wellman will discuss these challenges and explore ways in which to improve the functionality of public-sector governing boards.

June Board of Regents Meeting

by Michelle Felber • June 5, 2014 • Comments Off

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is meeting at UW-Milwaukee today and tomorrow, June 5 and 6. The regents will meet in committee Thursday morning and in full Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Video and audio stream of the full meetings is available here.

Four new regents are participating in their first meeting — José Delgado, Eve Hall, UW-Madison student Nicolas Harsy, and UW-La Crosse student Anicka Purath.

The board will discuss the 2014-15 annual budget and begin discussion on the 2015-17 biennial budget process. UW System President Ray Cross told the Wisconsin State Journal he expects the current tuition freeze to continue into the 2015-17 biennium. Governor Scott Walker recently expressed support for a continued tuition freeze.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank has repeatedly said she would like to raise professional school tuition to levels similar to peer institutions, but Cross said the timing is not right for such an increase and tuition will be frozen for all undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of residency.

The board will also discuss plans to spend down financial reserves. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the current budget will spend down about 15 percent of the reserves, much of it coming from tuition reserves. UW System will carryover about $61 million in unspent tuition in 2014-15, down from $151 million one year ago.

Fall Election Update

by Michelle Felber • June 3, 2014 • Comments Off

Federal, statewide, and legislative candidates hoping to be on the ballot this fall were required to submit nomination papers to the Government Accountability Board by 5 pm yesterday, Monday, June 2. Nomination papers are subject to verification, and a full list of candidates is here.

There were few surprises, as most candidates had publicly announced their candidacy over the past several months. One exception is the surprise candidacy of former State Senator Gary George (D-Milwaukee). George served four years in federal prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the government in 2004. George filed papers to challenge longtime incumbent Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a Democrat from Milwaukee, saying public service is his calling.

Locally, Congressman Mark Pocan faces opposition from Republican Peter Theron of Madison. Theron holds a Ph.D in mathematics from UW-Madison and is a math instructor at Madison College. He ran against Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin in 2008, garnering 31 percent of the vote.

State Representative Brett Hulsey will appear on the Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot with Madison businesswoman Mary Burke. State Senator John Lehman will face Mary Jo Walters in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. The winners will face Governor Scott Walker and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in November.

The offices of Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and Attorney General all have crowded primaries:

Secretary of State: State Representative Gary Bies of Sister Bay will face Julian Bradley of La Crosse in the Republican Primary. The winner will challenge incumbent Doug La Follette, a Democrat.
State Treasurer: Democrats David Leeper and David Sartori face off in the Democratic primary, while Matt Adamczyk and Randall Melchert are on the Republican ballot.
Attorney General: Three Democrats are vying for the opportunity to face Republican Brad Schimel, Waukesha County District Attorney in November — Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, and State Representative Jon Richards.

Most incumbent legislators in Dane County face token or no opposition. However, first term Representative Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) will face Middleton Republican Brent Renteria in the 79th Assembly District.

Two Democrats are vying to represent Assembly District 78: Alders Mark Clear and Lisa Subeck. The primary election will almost certainly decide the November winner; the top vote-getter has no opponent on the general election ballot.