Wachs is latest to challenge Walker
State representative, lawyer joins many other Democratic contenders
MADISON - State Rep. Dana Wachs will announce a challenge to Gov. Scott Walker on Monday, making the Eau Claire lawyer the most prominent Democrat so far to commit to a run against the GOP incumbent.
Wachs, who turns 60 this month, is billing himself as an outstate alternative to a party that has run three unsuccessful races against Walker with candidates from Milwaukee and Madison.
“The voices of regular folks just aren’t being heard,” Wachs said in an interview. “I don’t think Madison is listening.”
In announcing his run, Wachs joins Milwaukee businessman and entrepreneur Andy Gronik, who committed last month to a run as a Democrat.
Walker’s challengers have a big task ahead of them — the two-term governor is a proven fundraiser and the only governor in U.S. history to win a recall election.
Lawmakers are currently considering Walker’s proposal to offer environmental exemptions and up to $2.85 billion in cash to Foxconn Technology Group for a flat screen display plant that could employ up to 13,000 workers in Racine or Kenosha counties.
Foxconn has said that average wages at the plant would be $53,900 and starting wages would be $41,600 per year.
Wachs said he’s reviewing the environmental exemptions and the possibility of requiring $15 an hour minimum wage for plant workers — a modest increase over what would be required under the current state incentive offer.
“We need the jobs but at this point, I’m still investigating this thing,” Wachs said, declining to stake out a position on the proposal.
For his part, Walker campaign manager Joe Fadness said Walker had made Wisconsin a “top 10 state” for business.
“Families are seeing how Governor Walker’s record of reforming the system to put taxpayers in charge has our state headed in the right direction,” Fadness said.
State GOP spokesman Alec Zimmerman made clear that Republicans will target Wachs’ work as a trial and personal injury attorney, saying that Wachs had taken advantage of the system.
Other potential Democratic candidates for governor include Wisconsin schools Superintendent Tony Evers; Madison Mayor Paul Soglin; Milwaukee attorney and former state party chairman Matt Flynn; Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ; and campaign finance and ethics activist Mike McCabe. Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) told journalist Mike Gousha Friday that she would decide on a run in September, saying she was testing the waters but “the water is warm.”
The Journal Sentinel has previously reported that Wachs likely has the financial resources to fund part but not all of a run against Walker.
The law firm that Wachs formerly managed merged to form Gingras, Cates and Wachs. He’ll be taking a leave of absence to run his campaign — something that the merger has helped make possible, Wachs said.
Wachs is married with three adult children and hunts deer and grouse — a hobby that has prompted his interest in fighting the spread of chronic wasting disease and strengthening fence requirements at deer farms where the disease has been detected.
As governor, Wachs said he would work to invest more in the University of Wisconsin System, raise the minimum wage and strengthen collective bargaining. Under Walker, the state has repealed most union bargaining for most public employees and passed so-called “right-to-work legislation” prohibiting labor agreements that require private-sector workers to pay union fees.