GOVERNOR DOYLE WINS SECOND TERM

Becoming the first Democratic governor to be reelected in more than 30 years, Jim Doyle defeated Republican Congressman Mark Green with nearly 53% of the total votes cast. The WPPA endorsed Governor Doyle to recognize his support for public safety and the labor rights afforded the dedicated men and women who serve to provide it. In particular, the WPPA Political Action Committee (PAC) decided that Governor Doyle’s commitments to maintain shared revenue funding and oppose legislative efforts to diminish collective bargaining in Wisconsin best served the interests of the membership.

Gov. Jim Doyle, WPPA representatives, and officers from north central Wisconsin appearing recently in Wausau to announce the WPPA’s endorsement of Doyle in his bid for reelection.

J.B. VAN HOLLEN ELECTED ATTORNEY GENERAL Republican J.B. Van Hollen defeated Kathleen Falk by less than half of a percent to become Wisconsin’s next attorney general. The WPPA endorsed Van Hollen on the basis that his prosecutorial experience as a district attorney and U.S. attorney was more applicable to the duties required as the head of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Van Hollen was the only statewide Republican winner amid a sweep of significant Democratic gains, and his victory marked the first time a Republican has held the attorney general’s post since 1986.

DEMOCRATS TAKE CONTROL OF STATE SENATE AND MAKE GAINS IN THE ASSEMBLY

Winning four seats previously held by Republicans, the Senate Democrats will take an 18-15 majority into the 2007 legislative session. WPPA-endorsed candidates John Lehman and Jim Sullivan were among them. In the State Assembly, the Democrats won two open seats and defeated five incumbent Republicans. The Republicans will continue to control that house, albeit with a narrower 53-46 majority.

With nearly 11,000 members from more than 375 local associations, the WPPA’s political support is invaluable. In making its endorsements for the state legislature, the PAC evaluated the input of its local members, the candidates’ responses to a questionnaire, and where applicable, the candidates’ legislative report cards.