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GREEN BAY, WI – (WGBW) – 9to5 Wisconsin and the Main Street Alliance invited the candidates for the 30th Senate District to a forum Wednesday at the Hinterland Brewery in Ashwaubenon. Shawn Phetteplace, state manager with Main Street Alliance said both candidates were invited and asked to attend the forum. Democratic Candidate Jamie Wall attended. Republican Jim Rafter did not.
Wall started the evening by talking about his experience running a consulting practice, working in Economic Development, and his concern with representing the people of the Greater Green Bay Area.
“This race matters. It’s a moderate closely divided district. And whoever wins it is going to have a different set of values and a different set of voices that they are going bring to Madison,” said Wall. “Now in my case, I want to make sure that the state government is on the side of regular people.”
Even though only one candidate was in attendance, the organizers and residents of the 30th Senate District asked questions of Wall.
Childcare Affordability and Shortages
When asked if he would continue supporting Child Care Counts and Wisconsin Shares in an attempt to help solve the childcare shortage.
“The subsidies only matter if there are centers that exist that can provide decent care and cater to employees decently at a price that the customers can afford,” said Wall. “I do think that we need to support both of those programs. We have the ability to make some choices to invest in our kids – invest in our workforce. And this is one way to do that.”
Affordable Healthcare
When asked if he would work to ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare, and if he would support the expansion of Badger Care, the Medicaid program in Wisconsin, Wall replied, “Yes, And Yes!”
“One of the easiest, and most obvious things we can do is do what 40 other states have done which is accept the federal money to expand Medicaid, which we call Medicare in this state,” Wall said. “If we did that, we would be able to insure about 90,000 Wisconsinites. Not quite the population of Green Bay. So that’s a meaningful figure. We’d also save money for the state.”
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Christine Thor with 9to5 Wisconsin said small businesses lack the capital to offer paid leave to their employees. She then asked Wall if he supports a universal paid leave policy for small business owners and their employees.
Every one of us is likely to go through something like this (the need for family and medical leave), whether it’s with a parent, whether it’s with a spouse, or God forbid, with a child. and This is a darn near Universal human need. I mean, we’re all mortal, right? We all get sick and we’ll all get to die at some point,” Wall said. “This stuff matters and it’s a shame that we don’t have at least some level of this. We don’t need to start with giving everybody a year. But maybe we can get to where everybody has three months or six weeks or, whatever, we have a political will to do.”
Small Business Support
Main Street Alliance and 9to5 Wisconsin both work with small business owners and look to make things better for the Wisconsin worker. One of the questions asked what Wisconsin does well and what the state can do better to give small businesses the support needed to grow and thrive.
Wall said the future vitality of the state depends on the success of small businesses.
“But there’s always more that, in my mind, can be done to improve capital access, especially to high-potential startups,” Wall said.
Green Bay Correctional Institution
For years, Jim Rafter, the Republican in the race for the 30th Senate Seat and current Village Administrator for Allouez has been calling for the closure of Green Bay Correctional Institution and the building of a new prison due to prison overcrowding, deterioration of the building and safety factors.
A resident asked Wall during the forum what his opinion was on closing the prison and building a new one; what he proposes for prison reform; and if he is for legalizing marijuana.
Wall answered the legalization of marijuana question first.
“Every other state around us, I think except for Iowa, has already legalized marijuana for recreational use,” Wall said. “The fact that we haven’t been able to do that, even for medicinal purposes is a symptom of the kind of backwards-looking leadership that we’ve had in the state legislature for the past ten or 15 years.”
As for reforming the criminal justice system, Wall said things like allowing inmates who complete vocational training or academic programs earlier release and substance abuse programs will help keep offenders out of the system.
“Alcohol and drug treatment for nonviolent offenders because at the root of a lot of these issues is some kind of substance abuse problem. And it’s a lot easier and cheaper, it turns out to treat that than to chuck somebody in prison for an indeterminate period of time,” Wall said.
More election information
The Recombobulation Area and Civic Media’s 2024 Wisconsin State Legislature Voter Guide has the race for the 30th State Senate District as a district that may flip Democrat.
See the guide here.
