This week the reality of the upcoming recall election hit taxpayers statewide. At least $9 million dollars of their tax dollars will be spent on the recall election of Governor Walker. Now that several Democratic candidates have announced their intentions to run for that post, that $9 million cost will likely double due to a primary election day. It is unfortunate and unnecessary cost for taxpayers and local governments. Historically nationwide recall elections of governors fail and I am confident that this one will fail, too.
The general electorate is already fatigued with the recall process especially in light of the GAB's initial announcement of allowing petition signatures of Mickey Mouse. In the taxpayer's best interest and in order to restore the integrity of this election process, I have made a simple request to the Government Accountability Board (GAB).
In this letter, I asked that the recall petitions be made public on a searchable website. For the sake of transparency in government, this public document should be displayed and searchable on the internet (To see the letter in pdf form, click on the picture to the left.)
My office has spoken to a representative at the GAB who has said that they would like to make it possible to make these documents searchable, but are still looking into the matter. I believe that every Wisconsin citizen should have an easy way to type in his/her name and address and see if someone forged their name on this document. I understand that the GAB staff have a major challenge ahead of them in verifying these signatures. I'm sure additional help from the citizens of Wisconsin would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for Visiting!
Rep. Vos visits with Dr. Ned Murphy of the Spring Dental Group in Racine and dental students from the Racine area. My best wishes go out to the students with their studies and their future careers!
In the News
Unemployment Rate Drops
The Wisconsin unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 percent. That's down from 7.3 percent in November. The latest figures illustrate 21,400 more residents are working now than a year ago. The Department of Workforce Development reports there have been record postings of 151,5000 on its job website called, JobCenterofWisconsin.com.
Lowest Increase in 15 Years!
Some great news to tell you about...property taxes statewide saw the smallest increase in 15 years. The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says these numbers are due to the decrease in the school levy, which is the largest part of a person's tax bill. It also clearly shows that our reforms are working. I'm optimistic that we'll continue to see this downward trend due our efforts to hold the line on your property taxes.