Assembly Candidates State Their Case

Dick Skare

When meeting people throughout the district, I am often asked why I would want to be in the Assembly at such a difficult time. The answer is that through my work in small business and in the community I’ve learned how to meet and overcome adversity…and how to lead.

Wisconsin is facing serious economic problems, so we need a strong, action-oriented leader to represent the concerns of the people of Northeastern Wisconsin.

Our productivity and jobs declined during years of Republican legislative control. Instead of tackling the mounting crisis they repeatedly increased spending and did nothing to grow the state’s economy and generate new jobs.

Now it will take strong leadership to get our financial house in order and get Wisconsin moving forward again. Our top priorities are affordable health care, a strong educational system, a nurturing small business climate and a fair tax system. These require a strong leader who listens to community input and moves forward.

I can provide the leadership Northeast Wisconsin needs. Over the past 33 years my wife Carol and I grew the Cookery Restaurant from a small café to a thriving business with 57 employees. Recently we survived a devastating fire but were determined to rebuild even in the face of a recession.

That’s the determination I’ve brought to numerous community projects, many of which were initially met with skepticism. In each project – a sanitary district, building two community facilities for kids, jobs for the disabled, and resources to grow our local economy – we worked together to develop a plan and move forward to a successful outcome. I was asked to serve and to provide leadership…and I did.

I can lead Wisconsin forward. I hope to earn your vote November 2.

Garey Bies

Having already addressed the topics of creating jobs, the economy, school funding, and the state’s fiscal condition, I want to highlight one more important subject: seniors.

This past session, I worked hard for our seniors. SeniorCare has helped hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin seniors pay for the life-saving prescription drugs they need. SeniorCare is a program created by Republicans in 2001 and remains a priority for us. This session I was a strong proponent of its extension.

In regards to senior taxes, I voted against the Nursing Home Bed Tax that was in the Democrats’ budget bill. The tax more than doubled and according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, less than a third of the anticipated revenue will be returned to nursing homes as increased reimbursements.

This session I also supported greatly expanding the retirement income tax exemption. In the state budget we tried to provide an important exemption but our efforts were blocked and seniors were left with a tiny exemption that few would qualify for. After the budget, I then supported legislation to make the exemption meaningful and open it up to many more qualifying seniors. This legislation unfortunately did not pass.

For years I have been fighting for our seniors and I will continue to do so. In closing, I should just point out that some have tried to misrepresent my position on seniors. SeniorCare was created and supported by Republicans and the Wisconsin State Legislature has no authority over social security, that is a federal program.