Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Tom Wolfgram and Scott Walker

Ozaukee County Judge Tom Wolfgram made a terrible decision in 2011.

He's up for reelection and his poor judgment is coming back to bite him.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Tom Wolfgram's bid for re-election in the April 2 spring election will rise or fall on the judgment of voters weighing the significance of his signature on a 2011 petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

Wolfgram, a 19-year veteran of the court in an overwhelmingly conservative county, acknowledges signing his name to a petition seeking to recall a sitting Republican governor.

The signature triggered a challenge to his hold on the job for the first time since he was appointed to the court in 1994 by then Gov. Tommy Thompson. County voters rehired Wolfgram without opposition in 1995, 2001 and 2007.

Joe Voiland, an attorney attempting to unseat Wolfgram, announced Monday that four Republican state legislators representing portions of Ozaukee County had endorsed the Voiland campaign: Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills, and Reps. Dan Knodl of Germantown, Jim Ott of Mequon and Duey Stroebel of the Town of Cedarburg.

...Wolfgram on Monday insisted he viewed the possibility of a recall campaign as simply providing time for himself and other citizens to gain more information on a few proposals in Walker's first-term agenda that prompted the recall effort. Among them were rescinding collective bargaining for most public employees and requiring public employees to pay more for medical and pension benefits.

Walker won the June 2012 recall election. Both initiatives became law a year earlier, several months before Wolfgram signed the petition.

When Voiland last month registered as a candidate and called Wolfgram out for signing the petition, the judge said his signature was "not a political statement" in opposition to the governor or his proposals.

...Forcing a costly recall election to provide more time to discuss legislation is bad public policy, Voiland said Monday.
There is no way I'd vote for a judge that signed the petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

"Not a political statement"?

Rubbish!

Wolfgram really made a fool of himself with that remark.

The notion that he actually believed a recall election would be a sensible way to simply provide "time for himself and other citizens to gain more information on a few proposals in Walker's first-term agenda" is ridiculous. That explanation is embarrassingly lame.

Wolfgram is obviously trying to slither out of the mess he made when he signed to recall Walker.

Actions have consequences. Wolfgram added his name to the petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker, a public document. He determined that was appropriate for a judge to do. Then, when confronted about his choice, Wolfgram was unable to provide a reasonable explanation for his decision.

Wolfgram needs to go.

Vote for Joe Voiland.



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