Press Release
February 19, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
REDISTRICTING REFORM RECEIVES ANOTHER BIG ENDORSEMENT
REPUBLICAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE KATHY BERNIER
AND DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR DAVE HANSEN
TO ADDRESS CC/WI BOARD MEETING IN CAPITOL ON THURSDAY
On Sunday, the state's second largest newspaper, the
Wisconsin State Journal,
editorialized in support of redistricting reform -- specifically endorsing an approach supported by Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) in which our state would adopt a process similar to what our neighbor, Iowa, has had in place since 1981.
The new reform measure is expected to be unveiled and introduced soon.
This powerful editorial (in which CC/WI is cited) follows two other recent editorials supporting redistricting reform in the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the
Kenosha News. CC/WI will soon be releasing a list of legislators who support this reform -- a list we will be updating and releasing weekly so that citizens will know what members of the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly support this critical reform and those who continue to support the corrupt
status quo.
Legislation to reform Wisconsin's current, corrupted, extremely expensive (to Wisconsin taxpayers), secretive and hyper-partisan redistricting process is expected to be introduced soon.
This coming Thursday, the CC/WI State Governing Board will hear from State Representative Kathleen Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls), the new Chair of the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. She will address the Board and take questions on her plans and vision for the Committee and on political reform for the 2013-14 legislative session. She will be followed immediately by State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), a leading proponent of redistricting reform who will also make remarks followed by Q & A.
Representative Bernier will begin her address at 11:15 AM and finish up by 11:45 AM. Senator Hansen will follow shortly thereafter and will wrap up by 12:15 to 12:30 PM, depending on when he begins.
The media is invited to attend to cover both Representative Bernier and Senator Hansen. The meeting will be held in Assembly Hearing Room 328 - North West of the State Capitol Building in Madison. Common Cause members and supporters are invited to attend as well.
CC/WI requests that media and others call or email us before hand if you plan to attend. Our phone number is 256-2686; email is ccwisjwh@itis.com.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Redistricting Reform
Disclosure of Money in Politics
The Citizens United Decision
Public Financing of Elections
Voter Photo ID
"What Ever Happened to Good Government in Wisconsin?
And How Can We Fix It?"
Monday, March 18, 2013
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Beloit College - Science Center Atrium
801 Pleasant Street
Beloit, Wisconsin
** Event is Free... and so are the cookies! **
Panelists: State Senator Tim Cullen (D-Janesville)
Former State Senator Tim Weeden (R-Beloit)
Bill Barth, Editor of the Beloit Daily News
Political Science Professor Georgia Duerst-Lahti of Beloit College
and CC/WI Executive Director Jay Heck
Moderator:
Beatrice McKenzie - History Professor at Beloit College
Please come join in the discussion and learn more about:
- Redistricting/Gerrymandering reform in Wisconsin – how do we do it?
- Disclosure of interest-group “phony issue ads” and other “outside” spending – is this necessary or would it stifle “free speech”?
- How is the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Citizens United vs F.E.C affecting Wisconsin?
- Will the new Voter Photo ID suppress voter fraud or voters?
- Is Public Financing of our state elections needed?
- Should we Elect or Appoint Wisconsin's Supreme Court Justices?
Presented by Common Cause in Wisconsin (Underwritten by The Joyce Foundation)
Read More...
Intro only...
Press Release
February 12, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
UNLEASHING REDISTRICTING REFORM
Legislation Expected to be Unveiled Soon
Over the past several months, Common Cause in Wisconsin has been meeting and working with pro-reform legislators on legislation that would take the 2021 state legislative and congressional redistricting process out of the direct control of partisan legislative leaders and, instead, entrust the process to a demonstrably non-partisan entity such as the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB). For many years the LRB in Wisconsin did this work before legislative leaders outsourced it to partisan Madison lawyers who work in secrecy at great expense to the taxpayers of Wisconsin.
The new reform measure is expected to be unveiled and introduced soon.
The highly secretive, partisan 2011 redistricting process has already cost Wisconsin taxpayers almost $2 million, and the bills are still rolling in. It also resulted in even fewer competitive state legislative districts -- Wisconsin now officially has not a single competitive congressional district as a result of the redrawing of the lines two years ago.
An analysis by Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) of the election results this past November 6th reveals that only one of the 16 Wisconsin State Senate seats up for grabs was even remotely competitive. CC/WI defines "competitive" as an election in which the winning percentage of the vote was no larger than 55 and the losing percentage no less than 45. Only the 18th State Senate District met that criteria, in which Republican challenger Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac narrowly edged out incumbent Democratic State Senator Jessica King of Oshkosh by less than 600 votes. No other State Senate election was even remotely close. Republicans seized control of the State Senate 18 to 15 seats.
In the State Assembly, CC/WI found that only 14 of the 99 Assembly elections in 2012 fell into the "competitive" category, with Republicans winning 11 of those contests and Democrats, three. Republicans now hold 59 (and soon, 60) seats and Democrats, 39. Only one incumbent Member of the Assembly (and who was not forced to run against another incumbent) lost -- Republican Roger Rivard of Rice Lake. And he had other serious issues that undermined his candidacy. Obviously, the 2011 redistricting process left little choice for most Wisconsinites when it came to choosing state legislators. Most districts were utterly uncompetitive.
There were no incumbent losses among Wisconsin's eight Members of Congress and no remotely close elections. Every congressional district can now be considered uncompetitive and "safe" for the incumbents. No real choices for Wisconsin voters. As recently as 1998, there were five competitive congressional districts. Today there are none. Members of Congress and of the Wisconsin Legislature choose their voters. Voters now have virtually no say as to who represents them in Madison and in Washington, D.C.
But there is support building both in the Wisconsin Legislature and by citizens to reform this disgraceful state of affairs. During the 2011-2012 legislative session, CC/WI led the effort for redistricting reform and was the only state reform organization to have political reform legislation actually written and introduced -- including a measure to reform the redistricting process. Very soon, there will be a new measure introduced.
Redistricting reform must pass and be enacted into law very soon for it to be in place for 2021. Why? The closer we draw nearer to 2021, the more incumbent legislators will view redistricting reform as a threat to their own re-election. Currently, we are still more than eight years away from the redrawing of state legislative and congressional district lines after the 2020 Census, and many of those currently serving in the Wisconsin Legislature will not be in office in 2021. But as we draw nearer to that year, the odds that the Legislature will reform itself, diminish. So time is of the essence.
Last week, Wisconsin's largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, issued this powerful editorial in support of this reform.
And the Center for Media and Democracy, also last week, released this stunning exposé of the corrupt Wisconsin redistricting process.
Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican President, was born 204 years ago today. He would support this. So should all Republicans and Democrats today.
Stay tuned for the new redistricting reform legislation announcement.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
Press Release
February 7, 2013
CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686
Paul Ryan Sets Record for Most Campaign Cash
Raised in a Wisconsin U.S. House Election
Pulls in Almost $5 Million in Winning Re-Election While Simultaneously
Losing Wisconsin in Quest for Vice President in 2012
U.S. Representative
Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) swept to re-election for an eighth term last November while losing the Vice Presidency, including in Wisconsin. But he raised more campaign money than any other candidate for the U.S. House in Wisconsin history in defeating Democrat
Rob Zerban by a 55% to 43% margin. It was Ryan’s smallest margin of victory since his initial election to Congress in 1998.
Ryan raised $4,994,668 over 2011-12 and Zerban pulled in $2,263,956. Their combined total of $7,258,624 in the First Congressional District is the most total candidate campaign cash raised in Wisconsin’s history, eclipsing the previous record of $6,052,405 in combined candidate fundraising set in 2006 when Democrat
Steve Kagen defeated Republican
John Gard for an open seat in the Eighth Congressional District.
The second highest combined candidate fundraising total ($3,917,371) in 2012 occurred in the Seventh Congressional District where Republican incumbent, U.S. Representative Sean Duffy of Ashland, held off Democratic challenger, former State Senator Pat Kreitlow of Chippewa Falls. Duffy raised $2,635,819 and Kreitlow not quite half that amount - $1,281,552. The Duffy-Kreitlow contest was overall, the most expensive U.S. House race in Wisconsin’s history with millions of dollars of spending by outside special interest groups in addition to the candidate spending. But in terms of candidate fundraising, this match-up lagged far behind the Ryan-Zerban contest.
In every Wisconsin U.S. House election (excluding the open election in the Second Congressional District), the incumbent raised significantly more money than his or her challenger and emerged victorious in every case.
As the contribution figures* clearly indicate, incumbents have a distinct advantage over their challengers. “Money flows to power” is almost always the rule rather than the exception when it comes to candidate fundraising in federal elections. According to this authoritative study, as many as 98% of incumbent US House members win re-election when they raise more money than their challengers.
*The contribution figures detail both the combined spending for all eight Wisconsin U.S House elections in 2012 as well as the breakdown of the contributions (individual and political action committee) to each candidate.
__________________________________________
Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686
Read More...
Intro only...
