31st Senate District hopefuls tout their experience

Oct. 17--Mel Pittman and Jeff Smith differ on what are the most important issues for 31st Senate District residents, but they do agree on one thing.

They both feel they have the proper experience to make them the best option for district voters on Nov. 6.

"I have had quite a bit of business experience," said Pittman, who owns and operates a dairy farm near Plum City.

Pittman said he also focused on budget issues while a member of the Pierce County Board and worked with people as a member of the state board of directors for Farm Technology Days and as chairman of his dairy cooperative's board of directors.

"I can relate to people," Pittman said. "I get things done. If it's possible to get it done, it gets done."

Smith, a former member of the state Assembly who lives in the Eau Claire County town of Brunswick, said "my experience is the most important piece I have going for me."

As a legislator, Smith said he worked with everyone. He said he made a strong effort to talk with Republican members of the Assembly as well as Democrats.

"I got their ideas too," Smith said of Republicans. "That's what we have to do to get things done. I know what it takes to get things done. I can be trusted. I stand up to the special interests for the better good."

Even after he lost his Assembly seat, Smith said, he stayed active in politics. "I never disappeared and went away," he said.

Pittman, a Republican, and Smith, a Democrat, are joined by Green Party candidate Aaron Camacho of Fountain City in competing to represent the 31st Senate District for a four-year term beginning in January.

The district consists of most of the city of Eau Claire and all or parts of Eau Claire, Pierce, Pepin, Buffalo, Trempealeau and Jackson counties.

Pittman identified education and school safety, infrastructure improvements, and welfare reform and job training apprenticeships as the top issues facing the district.

Pittman, whose oldest daughter is a teacher, said teachers are generally not adequately compensated and that needs to be addressed.

Students also need to feel secure in their schools, he said.

"Whatever it takes, we've got to get it figured out," Pittman said, adding that helping schools to install metal detectors and hiring resource officers could be options.

"It's important to allow school districts themselves to determine what is appropriate and necessary," he said. "Our children are our most precious assets."

Infrastructure improvements should include highways, bridges and broadband coverage, Pittman said.

As a former County Board member, he said he has seen the need for money to maintain roads and bridges.

"I understand the need to take care of things," he said. "We need to take care of these."

Money to deal with road and bridge improvements should focus on user fees rather than property taxes. Small increases in fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees could be options. General purpose revenue could also be considered, Pittman said.

Guaranteeing access to high-speed internet is also important for every resident of the state, including farmers, residents and business people in rural areas, he said.

"It's just as important as electricity was 100 years ago," Pittman said.

Welfare recipients also need incentives to transition to full-time employment without losing all of their benefits. Benefits should be scaled back at a pace that makes it beneficial to work full time, he said.

"That's good business for our communities. That's good business for our government," Pittman said.

Smith identified frustration with partisanship, access to affordable health care and school funding as the top issues he's hearing from 31st Senate District residents.

People are tired of the constant bickering between Democrats and Republicans in both the state Legislature and Congress, he said.

"Nothing gets done because we have such a partisan Legislature and Congress," Smith said. "That's clearly the No. 1 issue."

He said redistricting reforms are needed that takes that work out of the hands of legislators. An independent commission could be appointed to draw up the maps that could then just simply be adopted by the Legislature, he said.

Accessing affordable health care is also of utmost concern to district residents, Smith said.

"The No. 1 reason people go bankrupt is because of a health calamity," he said.

Smith said the health insurance industry needs to be reformed. Smith suggested a BadgerCare system for all residents, which would allow them to buy their insurance through the state, Smith said.

"That is one easy, early fix," he said.

The school funding formula for all school districts needs to be revamped, Smith said.

"Rural school districts are at great risk of disappearing," he said.

The current funding formula is based on property values, which doesn't work for rural school districts, Smith said.

"They're just not getting the support," he said of rural districts. "The formula is based on property values that just aren't a true measure of the wealth of the community. We've got to take the politics out of our school funding. No matter where you live, you should have the same educational opportunities."

As for the university system in the state, Wisconsin students and their families shouldn't be in the poor house after paying to go to college, Smith said.

"It certainly is a valuable tool for our economy, and we need to treat it that way," he said.

During a recent candidate forum in Eau Claire, Camacho identified improving access to government, protecting the environment and limiting impediments to voting as three of her top priorities.

Camacho said pushing for a livable wage and closing the wage gap, especially for minorities and women, are steps she would emphasize to help close the worker shortage plaguing many state businesses.

She also noted it would make an enormous difference in communuities across Wisconsin if the state, instead of promising $4.5 billion in incentives to Foxconn Technology Group, invested that money in small businesses.

"We keep hearing that Wisconsin is open for business, but at what cost?" Camacho asked.

Smith, Pittman and Camacho are running to replace incumbent Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, who didn't seek re-election because she ran for governor.

Contact: 715-833-9207, dan.holtz@ecpc.com

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