George vs. Moore, 2 in GOP face off in primary
For the third time in six years, former Wisconsin Sen. Gary George is making a long-shot bid to unseat 4th District U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, this time with a promise to draft legislation calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“His leadership and that of the Republicans in Washington has created a crisis of significant proportion,” George said. “And Gwen has done nothing but talk.”
George, who lost his seat in a kickback scandal more than a decade ago, is challenging Moore on the Democratic ballot in the Aug. 14 primary.
Two relative unknowns — longtime Milwaukee resident Tim Rogers and recent transplant Cynthia Werner — will face off on the Republican ballot.
Moore, 67, who touts her accomplishments on her website, gwenmoore
.house.gov, appears unconcerned. And if money translates to votes, she can afford to be.
The seven-term congresswoman has amassed more than $500,000 in campaign donations, according to her most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.
(Her opponents show no filings.) And Moore’s campaign ignored repeated requests for an interview because, according to a staffer, she was too busy and doesn’t see George as a legitimate challenger.
George served in the state Senate for more than two decades before being recalled in October 2003.
A month later, he was indicted on two counts: defrauding the government and accepting kickbacks.
He was convicted in 2004 of one felony count of conspiring to defraud the government.
He served about three years in prison and lost his license to practice law, but it has since been reinstated.
George, 64, said he was targeted for recall because of his opposition to the Potawatomi Casino. And he continues to assert his innocence on the fraud charge.
As in past elections, he characterizes Moore as a “corporate Democrat” who
travels the country amassing donations from special interests, spends little time writing legislation or communicating with constituents in her district, and uses her campaign coffers to employ family members.
He said her January call for a federal investigation into Milwaukee’s lead water problems is too little too late.
“Since she was elected, she has introduced 13 bills as lead author. And she’s missed more than 500 votes. She gave her sister over $100,000. And most of her money is spent on dinners, travel, Uber and Lyft and hotels,” he said.
If elected, George said he would draft legislation calling for federal authorities — the FBI, Homeland Security and others — to assist Milwaukee police during times of crisis, such as the Sherman Park unrest of 2016. And he vowed to call for Trump’s impeachment.
GOP primary
On the Republican ballot, Rogers and Werner share some similarities. Both support Trump, in particular his call for border security.
Both oppose abortion, though Rogers said he could support exceptions for rape and incest. And both say they believe Republican policies would increase prosperity for African-American and poor residents in the 4th District.
“I see prosperity in other districts, but it’s not carrying over into the 4th Congressional District,” said Werner, 59, who moved to Milwaukee from the Dallas area about 18 months ago. “As an ordinary citizen, I could do a better job.”
In Congress, she said, she would focus on the needs of veterans, including more choice in health care, and improving national security.
“Until we can secure our borders, we will constantly get an influx of things not good for the 4th District — illegal immigrants, drug dealing, human trafficking,” she said.
Werner served on a suburban Dallas school board and was a Texas delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. A U.S. Army veteran, she said she moved to Wisconsin for a job in property management. S
he filed for personal bankruptcy in the past to keep her home during a divorce, she said.
Rogers, 58, works delivering newspapers, flowers and other merchandise. He last ran for political office two decades ago, against then-Ald. Michael McGee Sr. He has two cocaine-related convictions — one for possession in 1999 and another for manufacturing and delivery less than 5 grams in 2001 — and served three years in prison.
If elected, Rogers said he would move to have Congress declare a federal emergency to ensure access to clean water across the country. He said the country needs to “come up with an affordable health care (plan) that won’t break the federal government.”
Rogers characterized Trump as “one of the best presidents in my lifetime” and Democrats in Congress as obstructionist.
He sees the allegations that the president colluded with Russia as a ploy to “make him look bad.”
He supports detaining immigrants while their requests for asylum are being processed, but that parents and small children should be held together. He supports construction of a wall along the southern border.
Like George, the Democratic challenger, Rogers questioned Moore’s ability to enact real change.
“I’m hearing a lot of people say she’s not doing anything,” he said. “I grew up in this city, and it’s just not getting a lot better.”