GOP candidate takes on Obey
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BY ROD STETZER rstetzer@chippewa.com
Saturday, January 28, 2006 10:45 PM CST
Jeff Tyberg was not shy making his political views known in the Grantsburg coffee work where he worked.
“Sitting around, talking with the customers, they said, ‘Jeff, you should run,'” he said.
So the 37-year-old decided to quit his job and run as a Republican for the Seventh District Congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wausau).
Like many other Republican candidates before him, Tyberg said Obey is out of touch with the views of 7th District residents. For example, he claims Obey favored a bill to stop Christians at the Air Force Academy from openly speaking about their faith.
Obey funneled defense spending to several Chippewa County businesses, but voted against the defense budget, Tyberg said. “How do you take credit for something that you vote against?” he asked.
“The fact is that Wisconsin ranks 48th or 49th in 50 states in money coming back from Washington,” Tyberg said.
Tyberg said he favors lowering spending across the board. He criticized the federal transportation bill, which included $300 million for an Alaskan structure that critics dubbed the “Bridge to Nowhere.” That money was eventually diverted for Hurricane Katrina aid.
Obey is the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, but Tyberg isn't impressed by that. He said the GOP controls the House and would show appreciation to a newly-elected Republican by helping to return federal money to the congressional district.
Tyberg said he would try to build coalitions and work with others if elected as a freshman representative.
“I'm strongly pro-life,” Tyberg said. He maintained Obey has voted several time to allow government funding of abortions and has been supportive of the pro-life movement in general.
Tyberg has a wife, Tanya. He attended the University of Minnesota-Morris, and left college to go into missionary work.
He said he will have two Republican opponents in a primary later this year. They include Nick Reid of Rice Lake, a former secretary to U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, and David Robinson, a veteran who operates a custom log home building business in St. Croix Falls.
“I believe the amount of effort I'll put in will outmatch them,” Tyberg said, adding he is the most fiscally conservative of the three GOP candidates.
Tyberg also pledges the maximum he would stay in Washington, D.C. would be 10 years.
Reach Rod Stetzer at rstetzer@chippewa.com.
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