Swiggum takes on Suder in rematch
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By ELIZABETH HOCHSTEDLER
elizabeth.hochstedler@lee.net
Monday, October 27, 2008 10:17 AM CDT
Two years ago, Tim Swiggum ran as a Democratic candidate for the 69th Assembly District against incumbent Republican Scott Suder.
The race might not have been as close as Swiggum wanted — he received only 36 percent of the vote, while Suder reeled in 64 percent — but that hasn’t stopped him from running again.
“I’m running this time because really nothing got accomplished in the last two years,” Swiggum said.
Swiggum, who has been the mayor of Owen for the past 7 1/2 years, would like to see some big changes in the economic outlook of the state, and health care.
But incumbent Suder, who is seeking his sixth term, hopes he can retain his seat by focusing on many of the same areas.
Both men said bringing more jobs to their district, which includes includes Boyd and Stanley in Chippewa County, is among their top priorities.
“The plan is to help bring more jobs to the area that are higher-paying technology jobs, research jobs,” Swiggum said.
He proposes to increase these job opportunities by encouraging green energy production in the state.
“Those things need to be built somewhere. I would like to see that we could bring as much of that to the … west-central Wisconsin area as we can,” he said.
Suder said he has a record of bringing jobs to the area and will continue that work. He agrees alternative energy is an industry that could increase job offerings.
“I believe we’re going to come up with legislation that is workable, that will have both the support of the Democrats and Republicans, that will bring good-paying jobs to our area, be it for biodiesel or ethanol or alternative sources of energy,” he said.
“I believe that is one of the keys to revitalizing our world economy and our statewide economy, and I believe Wisconsin can be a leader.”
To see videos of the candidates, click on this link: http://www.chippewa.com/electionlocal/
Then click on the story link and look for the video player.
Budget deficit
Increasing jobs and fixing the state’s budget deficit are keys to helping local families thrive in this economy, they both said, though their plans for mending the budget are different.
Suder would like to see some DNR funds, which are paying for programs such as introducing new rattlesnakes to the state and ultra violet lights to help migrating whooping cranes, redirected. He said many DNR programs are helpful, but they need to be looked at and funds need to shift.
He would also like to see the transportation and corrections systems reapportion some of their money.
“There are programs, alternatives to incarceration, where we can utilize, better utilize, community service programs and probation and parole and allow these individuals to be better members of society for much cheaper than simply housing them in jail,” he said.
Suder believes a GPS system that was put into place with his “Project Kids Safe” legislation would be useful in tracking non-violent criminals instead of spending money incarcerating them.
Swiggum’s plan would include looking at every department and calculating savings.
“I believe that departments need to be empowered to save money,” he said. “The way it’s set up is that each department is budgeted so much money, and they have the mindset that if they don’t spend that, they’re not going to get that next year, so they set out the year trying to spend their whole budget.”
As mayor of Owen, he approached the city’s department heads and told them that even if they save money, they will still be budgeted the same funds as they were the year previously. Swiggum said the plan worked well.
“It actually saved the city money. It brought us an emergency fund is what it did,” he said. “Those monies can be used either to bring down property taxes or to expand on other projects down the road that you wouldn’t have to tax for in the future.”
Both candidates said they are against further taxes on working families.
“I believe we have to be responsible in how we tax,” Swiggum said. “We need to not just throw money at a problem for the sake of throwing money at a problem.”
“The last option should be to raise taxes. I don’t think people can afford to pay more,” Suder said.
Suder was appointed to the Joint Finance Committee last session, and he said that experience has taught him a lot about the budget process, and he has been able to get more involved.
“It’s been a learning experience. It has been, I think, an experience that has allowed me to get doing more things for our entire area,” he said.
Health care
Health insurance is a big issue in many elections this year. Both Suder and Swiggum want to increase health care access to their constituents, but they have vastly different plans.
Swiggum believes the Healthy Wisconsin initiative has been the best solution proposed as of yet.
“The Healthy Wisconsin plan is a good start. It’s not a perfect plan … but if implemented, it would reduce those (health care) costs.”
Healthy Wisconsin would provide coverage to all residents and employees in the state who are not already insured by a state or federal program, according to HealthyWisconsin.net.
“It is a payroll tax, I admit that,” Swiggum said. “Employers pay 10 percent of a person’s wages, and employees pay 4 percent, but it replaces all health insurance premiums and provides everyone with a basic health insurance policy.”
Swiggum said he would like to see the plan reworked to better fit small businesses, but he said if passed, it could save money across the state.
According to his figures, Clark County could save anywhere from $1.3 million to 3 million. The city of Owen could save $45,000 with only nine employees, and school districts such as Neillsville could save from $1-2 million in heath care costs.
But Suder completely dismisses Healthy Wisconsin.
“I won’t support a $15.2 billion new payroll tax that lets government be in charge of everyone’s health care. I think that would kill jobs, and I think that would harm working families and certainly harm farmers,” he said, adding that the plan would also cover illegal immigrants.
“I do not want to place government in charge of our health care. I think that would be disastrous,” he said. “Government doesn’t do very well in programs they do operate.”
Suder supports BadgerCare and SeniorCare, as well as the WARM program that encourages doctors to practice in rural areas.
“Keeping access, maintaining and increasing access is key, doing what we can for our most vulnerable,” he said.
In order to increase access for his district, Suder worked with Democratic state Sen. Russell Decker to add a federally-qualified dental clinic in Neillsville in last year’s budget.
He said the clinic, which will break ground in early 2009, will serve working families within a 100-mile radius.
“The No. 1 constituent complaint and phone call we get in our office is, ‘Where do I go to get dental care?’ ” he said. “This will help with dental care access.”
He also supports health savings accounts and wellnes programs.
Scott Suder
Age: 40.
Address: 102 S. 4th Ave., Abbotsford.
Family: Single.
Education: Graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science.
Profession: Formerly a small business operator and a legislative aide for Pink Van Gorden.
Political Experience: Incumbent elected in 1998, seeking his sixth term in the Legislature.
Tim Swiggum
Age: 43.
Address: 739 E. 7th St., Owen.
Family: Married, wife Karen. They have one daughter.
Education: Attended the University of Missouri, studying business.
Profession: Spent 20 years in the restaurant business until selling his last restaurant in 2006 to focus on his campaign. After that he worked as a supervisor at Midwest Aluminum until he began to focus on his campaign again.
Political Experience: Serving his fourth term as the mayor of Owen, where he has been for 7 ½ years. He lost in a bid for the 69th Assembly District in 2006.
The district
The 69th District includes Boyd and Stanley and the towns of Sigel, Edson and Delmar in Chippewa County. It also includes the town of Wilson in Eau Claire County, the town of Taft in Taylor County, portions of Marathon and Wood counties and most of Clark County.
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