Two Political Reforms That All Recall Candidates for Governor and State Senate Can and Should Support

---

Press Release

April 16, 2012

CONTACT:

Jay Heck – 608/256-2686

END GERRYMANDERING AND DISCLOSE OUTSIDE MONEY IN WISCONSIN ELECTIONS -- NEEDED REFORMS ALL RECALL CANDIDATES CAN AND SHOULD SUPPORT

The incumbent Governor of Wisconsin, all of his opponents, incumbent State Senators and all of their opponents -- both legitimate and illegitimate, real, fake and imagined -- who are on the ballot for the upcoming Recall Primary election on May 8th (and then the winners of that election) on the Recall General election on June 5th -- can, and should embrace, declare their support for, and pledge to work for the enactment of -- if they are elected -- two political reforms that have no cost whatsoever to the taxpayers of Wisconsin and, would if they became law, actually save millions of tax dollars and do much to restore the greatly tarnished and diminished pride and faith that Wisconsinites of all political persuasions once had in their state government.

Both of these political reforms were introduced in the just-adjourned legislative session, have bipartisan support -- so supporting them would not provide political advantage to Republicans or to Democrats -- and would be of enormous benefit to all of the citizens of Wisconsin, regardless of their ideological disposition.

Yet neither of these measures received so much as a public hearing in either the State Senate or the Assembly.

Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) urges Wisconsin citizens to pose these two questions to all of the candidates for Governor in the upcoming recall Primary and General elections as well as all of the candidates for State Senate in the upcoming recall Primary and General elections in the 13th, 21st, 23rd, and 29th State Senate Districts:

1. Do you support ending Wisconsin's current practice of expensive, secretive, partisan, uncompetitive gerrymandering of Wisconsin state legislative and congressional districts and instead, putting into place a system similar to how Iowa accomplishes redistricting by having a non-partisan state agency draw the new legislative boundaries every ten years after the completion of the Census as detailed in 2011-2012 Assembly Bill 198? If no -- why not?

For more background on this reform, go here.

2. Do you support requiring all special interest groups of all ideological stripes to report who the donors are to the mass and widely-disseminated campaign communications (broadcast, print and mail) that masquerade as "issue advocacy" but which are clearly intended (with no other reasonable interpretation other than) to influence the outcome of the election and are run in the period 60 days prior to a Primary or General Election as detailed in 2011-2012 Senate Bill 446? If no -- who and/or what are you trying to hide?

For more background on this reform, go here.

CC/WI urges citizens to ask these questions of the candidates for Governor and the State Senate during the two months ahead. That is how these issues will get on their "radar screens." If you do not ask, these issues could be ignored. It is as simple as that.

When you ask candidates these two questions about redistricting reform and disclosure of outside special interest group campaign ads posing as issue advocacy, please report your answers to us and we will publish and disseminate those answers -- or lack thereof.

Ending partisan gerrymandering and requiring the disclosure of the donors to the zillions of dollars that outside special interest groups can now spend to buy Wisconsin elections will be huge steps forward in our quest to restore good government to Wisconsin.

And then we will build on that.

Both reforms cost nothing and require only the political will of the people in power who can make them happen. And we can make those people make them happen.

__________________________________________

Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686