Door County Election News: Getting to Know the Candidates

In an effort to give readers a better look at the candidates competing for the right to represent the 1st Assembly District in the State Legislature in Madison, the Pulse will be asking incumbent Representative Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) and challenger Dick Skare (D-Fish Creek) to respond to a different question in each issue.

This issue’s question: What would be your top priority for the next legislative session if you are elected? Why are you qualified to address that issue, and what would you propose?

Garey Bies

Garey Bies

If elected, my top priority for next session would be to make sure our taxpayers keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible. With the condition of the economy, it is more important now than ever to keep government’s hand out of the pockets of taxpayers. Residents are facing higher prices for health care, groceries, gas, and with winter looming, heating costs. We must provide a government that taxpayers can afford. Now is not the time to turn to the taxpayers and ask for more money to support government.

I believe I am qualified to act to control government spending for many reasons. First, I am a small business owner in the First Assembly District where I must control costs else I would be forced out of business. I must balance the costs of supplies, wages and taxes with the price my customers are willing to pay. Second, I served in the Door County Sheriff’s Department for 30 years and 11 of those years as Chief Deputy where I handled tough budget decisions to make sure the public safety was protected and responsible to the taxpayers, I kept the department in budget for those years. Third, I have a history of holding the line of state government spending. This past session the budget I supported was a zero-tax-increase state budget. A budget that still provided the services the people wanted, including a $452 million increase to public K-12 education, but provided those services without asking for more money from taxpayers.

If elected I will again support a no-tax-increase state budget. Controlling government spending is critical given the tough economic challenges facing Wisconsin. Now is not the time to expand state government by $18 billion as proposed by the Madison tax-and-spenders this past session. The taxpayers simply don’t have the money to foot this kind of a bill.

Dick Skare

Dick Skare

In the next session we must begin to put our house in order by tackling issues which have been neglected and adversely impact our efforts at economic growth.

Health care reform is the highest priority. One in five people in District 1 are without insurance. Add in those who are underinsured (high deductibles) and we have a crisis. Allowing everyone to purchase insurance by forming a large, all-inclusive group without concern for pre-existing conditions, we can have affordable, accessible and transportable health care. Businesses, family farms, and those who work for them will then be able to concentrate on growth.

To have a strong economy we must have an educated and well-trained work force. The many problems we face with school funding have made this an increasingly difficult task. Adequate funding for all school districts is imperative. The arbitrary revenue caps now in place do not address the increasing demands the state and federal governments place on our schools. They must be removed. Local elected boards can make the decisions necessary to meet community needs.

Assembly District 1 includes Door County and parts of Brown and Kewaunee Counties.

In the next legislative session, initiatives to support our tourism economy, strengthen our industrial base and the jobs it provides, protect our natural resources, restore and protect the Great Lakes, promote alternative energy sources and encourage those businesses which develop them will need to be considered.

When my wife, Carol, and I moved to Fish Creek in 1977, we felt we had found a place we could build a business, raise our family, and be involved in our community. We have been blessed in all these areas.

My involvement in the community started with the Fish Creek Sanitary District in 1980, a necessary project and my first chance to learn about being involved in the community. The varied experiences I have had on the first Door Community Auditorium board, the YMCA board for 15 years while helping to plan and build new facilities, my recent tenure on the Sunshine House board during which we rebuilt and improved the facility, and my 11 years on the Gibraltar Town board as town chair and supervisor as we restructured our board, started Smart Growth, preserved park land and provided improved facilities for the township, has given me broad experience at working with diverse groups of people. I have learned to listen, to help develop a plan and to implement that plan.

I am prepared to take these experiences to Madison and use my skills on behalf of the people of District 1 and Wisconsin. It is time for a fresh look at old problems.