Danou, Weix divided over best way to serve 92nd

Oct. 20--In the race for the 92nd Assembly District seat, the candidates agree what the issue are. But there isn't a lot of agreement on how to address them.

Neither incumbent Chris Danou nor challenger Isaac Weix believe the other has the best interests of the district's residents at heart. Each believes he has a background that better enables him to reach across the aisle. And they have different views on how to get past the gridlock in Madison.

"The primary reason I am running is because the last four years there has been a lot of rancor down in Madison," Weix said. "The current representative has dug in his heels and refused to work with the other side."

"It's about having vibrant communities where people want to raise their families," Danou said about running for a fourth term. "I want to continue to fight for my constituents."

Backgrounds in public service

Both candidates have a history of public service. Danou, 48, had a 10-year career in law enforcement in Onalaska. He was a patrolman, school resource officer and a member of the La Crosse County emergency response team.

The Trempealeau Democrat won his first term to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2008. He is the ranking member of the Environment and Forestry Committee and the Insurance Committee. He also serves on the Transportation Committee, the Agriculture Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

Danou attended University of Wisconsin system institutions for undergraduate and graduate studies. He met his wife Kate while studying for his master's in science in wildlife biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Chris and Kate have two sons, Orion and Rowan.

Republican challenger Weix, 39, grew up on a dairy farm near Elmwood, Wis., and joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school, serving at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Okinawa, Japan, and provided security for the U.S. embassies in Prague, the Czech Republic and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He also served during the conflict in Iraq in 2004, serving two tours in the country. Weix is currently a Company First Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve having served for over two decades.

Between deployments, Weix went back to school, attending the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he received his bachelor's degree in business administration. After returning from his latest tour in Iraq in 2008, he received his master's degree in business administration.

Weix and his brother run a small business in Elmwood, T&S Hardware, and, after his first tour in Iraq, Weix married his wife, Monika. They have two daughters, Nicole and Natalie.

Weix ran unsuccessfully in the 29th Assembly District race in 2006 and the 93rd assembly district race in 2010. He was a Republican protest candidate during the Senate and gubernatorial recall elections in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Education, infrastructure and mining

Both candidates have made rural education, the state's roads and infrastructure and the issue of frac sand mining priorities priorities in their campaigns. But the two candidates take different approaches to the issues.

Weix has stated opposition to the Common Core standards and said he is in favor of more local control. Instead of following the dictates of the state and federal governments, he said education priorities such as curriculum and student assessment should be in the hands of the districts and their communities.

Danou said he is opposed to heavy emphasis on student testing at a state level and is willing to work on improving the Common Core, but he said that to throw out years of work on the new content standards would be wasteful and counterproductive. And when it comes to school funding, he said a priority is fixing the funding formulas so that the state shares more of the burden for the cost of education instead of poorer, rural districts.

"The big issue is how we fund rural schools who don't have a lot of resources," Danou said. "A lot of them are at the point of sink or swim."

The issue of educational resources is also mentioned by Weix, but not in terms of school funding. The issue is whether education is attuned to the needs of business, and throwing more money at the problem is not a solution, he said.

"A lot of what is taught in college or at the university is not what is needed in the district," Weix said. "Tech schools are not providing the skills needed and businesses are having to train in-house."

The candidates agree more needs to be done in terms of funding is infrastructure. The district has a lot of rural roads, and both candidates are concerned about the deficit in the transportation budget. The state's current gas tax model isn't working, and both candidates have said they are open to a number of options to shore up funding.

For Weix, regardless of how transportation funding is shored up, those increases in revenue would have to result in cuts elsewhere as he is committed in holding the line on taxes. He said he wants to make sure property taxes and fees stay low for residents. Holding the line on taxes has resulted in good job growth in the state, he said.

For Danou, one option is increasing tonnage fees for frac sand mining operations as the boom in mining has had a significant impact on roads in the district. Mining is an issue for Danou, as he has concerns about the industry's effects on the environment and quality of life.

"We don't want to be a sacrifice zone," he said. "If you look at areas around the country that are heavily involved in mining, they are not that high in quality of life."

Weix argues that mining has long been a part of Wisconsin's history, the state has been doing a good job of monitoring mining, and the industry has brought in a number of high-paying jobs to communities in the district. A few bad apples have been caught, he said, but on the whole, the industry has been acting responsibly.

"Mining has been in Wisconsin for over 150 years," Weix said. "The only difference is we are doing more of it than before.

Working across the aisle

There is not much love lost between the two candidates. Weix has labeled Danou a partisan Democrat, who has dug his heels in and refuses to work with colleagues in the other party. In return, Danou has called Weix an ideologue, challenged whether his opponent truly lives in the district and whether Weix has the district's residents in mind.

"I put my district first," Danou said. "If he is elected, I think he would put his ideological agenda first."

The district is not getting good representation, Weix said, and argued that Danou has been ineffective. With his military and small business background, Weix said, he understands both public and private sector concerns and he can bring balance to the Legislature.

"I feel I can do better," Weix said. "I feel I can bridge the gap and better serve the district."

In response, Danou highlights instances in which he broke with his party and worked with Republican colleagues in the Assembly. Danou voted for Assembly rules changes last year, which he said upset his Democrat colleagues, and has worked with Republicans in the past on legislation that funded snowmobile trails and modified hunting regulations. Instead of party, Danou argues, his main focus is the future of his district and the state.

"I want this to be a great place to raise our kids," Danou said. "I want it to be that way for a long time."

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