ELECTION 2014 | DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Democrat Mary Burke announces bid for governor

2013-10-08T05:45:00Z Democrat Mary Burke announces bid for governorMATTHEW DeFOUR | Wisconsin State Journal | mdefour@madison.com | 608-252-6144 madison.com

Madison School Board member Mary Burke will run for governor next year, seeking to contrast herself with Gov. Scott Walker and forcing a debate among fellow Democrats about the importance of a primary.

“The people of Wisconsin deserve better,” Burke told reporters before Monday night’s School Board meeting. “We deserve better leadership … Leadership that puts problem-solving ahead of politics.”

Burke, 54, a multimillionaire former state Commerce secretary, Trek Bicycle executive and Boys & Girls Club of Dane County board president, made the long-anticipated announcement via video early Monday on her website, www.burkeforwisconsin.com.

Walker, who survived a recall election last summer spurred by controversial changes to public employee collective bargaining, known as Act 10, has not officially announced he is running for re-election.

He has made moves suggesting he is considering a presidential run.

Walker did not comment directly on Burke’s candidacy during an appearance Monday in Eau Claire but said the 2014 election will be a choice between “moving forward or backward.”

“Whoever (the opponent) is will take us back to the failed policies of the last few years,” Walker told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, adding, “I think in the end voters are going to focus on the future.”

If Burke becomes the Democratic nominee, she would be the first woman to head a major party ticket for Wisconsin governor. State party chairman Mike Tate said this summer she would be the “instant frontrunner” if she got in the race.

“I think she’ll be a competitive candidate,” UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said. “Because she comes from the private sector and claims to be a job creator that’s going to be a central focus in distinguishing the two candidates.”

Burke could face a primary challenge from Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, who said Monday she is “seriously considering running.” Vinehout said Democratic Party operatives have tried to persuade her to stay out of the race, but many activists she has met around the state want a primary.

“What I hear is people want to be involved in making the decision,” Vinehout said, reaffirming she will make a decision early next year.

State Republicans have hammered Burke as an out-of-touch liberal millionaire from Madison, a message they’re promoting through a website they acquired, www.maryburke.com.

They specifically point out a snowboarding sabbatical she took in the mid-1990s and her unfavorable comparison of Milwaukee to bigger cities like New York in a 2011 Isthmus article.

“A vote for Mary Burke is a vote to take Wisconsin backward,” said Joe Fadness, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “Burke was part of the team that left Wisconsin with a $3.6 billion budget deficit, big tax hikes and massive job loss — a mess that was fixed by Governor Scott Walker.”

Burke responded to critics Monday evening, saying when she was Commerce secretary the state had 80,000 more jobs than it does now and a 4.8 percent unemployment rate, compared with 6.8 percent in August. She also said she supports public employee collective bargaining, but wouldn’t say whether she would repeal Act 10 nor how much she would spend of her personal wealth on the campaign.

“We have to build on the assets that Wisconsin has,” Burke said in response to a question about how she would create more jobs than Walker has. “We have great industries — agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and high tech. But we have to make sure we’re doing the types of investments that’s supporting growth in these industries, along with helping entrepreneurs get started and small businesses grow.”

One of Walker’s top initiatives upon taking office was eliminating the state Commerce Department and replacing it with the quasi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Questions about the efficiency and performance of both agencies will be an issue if Walker faces Burke in a general election.

Burke’s first run for public office was the 2012 Madison School Board race, in which she spent more than $128,000 of her own money.

Some on the far left have echoed GOP criticism about Burke’s wealth and inexperience.

But other Democrats see her vast personal wealth — she paid, on average, $103,000 in state taxes alone each of the past five years — as an advantage in a matchup with Walker, who has crisscrossed the country in recent months raising money and burnishing his status as a rising conservative star.

Democrats plan to emphasize Burke’s experience in the public and private sectors in contrast with Walker’s promise to create 250,000 jobs in his first term. Projections show he likely will not meet that goal.

“She went around the world selling the virtues of a Wisconsin-based company,” Democratic strategist Paul Maslin said. “He bears some responsibility for the fact that the state’s image has declined.”

Lisa Subeck, executive director of United Wisconsin, which led the unsuccessful recall effort against Walker last year, said Burke also will contrast with Walker on issues such as women’s health, abortion and school vouchers.

“She’s not only pro-choice, she’s a pro-choice woman,” Subeck said. “When it comes to making these decisions, who better than a woman?”

David Rolnick, a Vinehout supporter and retired state employee participating in the Capitol singalong Monday, said he would vote for any Democratic nominee, but would prefer a primary in which the candidates talk about the issues.

“The best thing to say in favor of Mary Burke is she’s not Walker,” Rolnick said.

Republican Governors Association executive director Phil

Cox called Burke a “sacrificial lamb.”

“His record says it all: Governor Walker is moving Wisconsin forward,” Cox said. “Mary Burke’s support for the failed policies of the past would only unravel that hard-earned progress.”

 

— The Associated Press

contributed to this report.

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