1st Assembly District Primary Candidate Questionnaire

Paul Feit

Age: 38

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, College of Agriculture, Laramie, Wyoming; Doctorate of Dental Surgery Degree, Creighton University Medical Center’s School of Dentistry, Omaha, Nebraska

Relevant experience or civic involvement: I am a small business owner and job creator. Since 2008, I have grown my small business from 4 employees to 25. Through my service record, I have shown that I care about the people in my community. My family and I attend the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church. As a Trustee there, I support and participate in our church’s community outreach such as Habitat for Humanity, Youth Programming and our mission trips to Honduras. At Ministry’s Dental Clinic in Sturgeon Bay, I treated hundreds of families from Door and Kewaunee Counties who could not otherwise afford dental treatment. Through my position as Trustee for the Wisconsin Dental Association, I have been working on legislation in Madison to advocate for better care for the underserved.

What separates you from the other Republican candidates in the primary election, and why do you want to represent the people of the 1st Assembly District?

All of the candidates are good republicans but I feel that I can win in November. I have knocked on over 3500 doors and have met voters from all over the district that understand my message of lower taxes and strengthening the economy. They understand that I have created local jobs in a very tough economy and I can use that experience to represent them in the State Capitol.

Do you see any way to level the playing field for the state’s equalization aid funding formula that pretty much exempts Door County school districts from state aid that most other districts in the state receive? (For example, the state average amount of aid for both rural and urban school districts is 54 percent; Sevastopol receives 3 percent of its budget from the state and Southern Door receives 19 percent.)

I will fight hard for the needs of the 1st Assembly District and make sure we get our fair share whether it is school aids or any other state resources.

We have seen increasing assaults on the environment and local control of environmental resources across the state in the name of doing business. How do we balance industry – such as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, in our region – with the environment?

The way to balance industry with the environment is through sound research when problems are encountered. Too often I have seen unfounded emotional attacks brought against job creating industries. We all need a clean environment, no one more so than our farmers who depend on the land and clean water to make a living.

Partisan bickering and legislative gridlock appears to be the political legacy of our times. If elected, would you vote strictly along party lines or would you assess each piece of legislation and what it could mean to your constituency, no matter which side of the aisle the legislation might have originated?

I am asking you to elect me as your representative, not your politician. Therefore, I would absolutely assess each piece of legislation. Good ideas are not found on only one side of the aisle.

What is your opinion about the increasing amount of out-of-state money going to Wisconsin politicians? (It was $4.11 million in 2013, a non-election year, and $17.2 million in 2012.) Have you accepted or would you accept money from an out-of-state contributor?

I think we have had a unique situation here in Wisconsin the last 4 years and that is why we are seeing such high numbers of out of state money. As for any candidate, I think we all have friends or family outside of the state of Wisconsin that want to see us do well.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for Wisconsin and how would you address it?

Keeping the economy moving in the right direction. This is the only real solution to increasing wages and providing real job opportunities. I would accomplish this by supporting a fiscally responsible budget that continues to reduce taxes.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the 1st Assembly District and how would you address it?

Same