blog

Three Questions for Dan Kallgren

2008-10-30T15:17:00.008-05:00

Dan Kallgren is an associate professor of history and political science at UW-Marinette. He recently was the moderator of a political forum on campus that featured state legislative candidates from northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Wisconsin Vote on Campus asked him three questions about this year's election.

What sort of topics are dominating the list of voter concerns in the northern Wisconsin/Upper Michigan area?

We had a forum last Friday evening (10/24) with two pairs of Wisconsin candidates running for the State Assembly (the 89th and the 36th districts). The questions varied between the pairs, but the common issues dealt with health insurance in the state, the way state funding for local education is calculated, stemming the rising cost of higher education, infrastructure improvements in the area, and job creation and retention in this area. One of the legislative candidates from Michigan was unable to make the forum, but the one who did attend fielded questions about Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law, again funding for local education, the creation of jobs in Michigan, and the loss of jobs from the area in recent years.

As a history professor, is there any past presidential election that stands out to you as being the most comparable to the current election? What are the similarities?

I’m not a presidential or political historian, but it seems to me that with Barack Obama potentially becoming the first African American president, similarities can be drawn between elections in the past when other people from groups that had historically been excluded from presidential politics were running. In 1928, Al Smith, the nominee for the Democratic party, was the first Roman Catholic candidate from a major party. He did not win, but in 1960, of course, Jack Kennedy, also a Roman Catholic, was elected. The other potentially comparable election some are pointing to is the 1980 election of Ronald Regan which arguably ushered in our current political paradigm of low taxes and deregulation of the economy. Some argue that with the current political/economic crisis that paradigm is poised to change.

What are some of the main lessons from past presidential elections that you think this year's candidates are using to develop their strategies?

Again, I’m not an expert on these issues, but it seems to me that the McCain campaign has been using the “politics of resentment” tactic Richard Nixon first employed in 1968. They are doing this by labeling Obama as an “elitist” who thinks he is better than everyday American citizens. Also, it is seems that the so-called “culture war” issues that were particularly important in the 1992 campaign (“family values”, the destructive legacy of the 1960s social movements) have reemerged in the past few weeks with Sarah Palin’s remarks about enjoying visiting the “pro-America” parts of the United States, and the campaign playing up connections between Obama and William Ayers, the former head of the Weather Underground. I think the lesson the Democrats learned from past elections is to react quickly to potentially “Swift-Boat-like” ads from the opposition to avoid a repeat of what happened to John Kerry four years ago. Also, the Obama campaign, in deciding to forgo public financing, turned the tables on what had always been a Republican advantage in past elections regarding fund raising. It is strange to hear Republicans complaining of Democrats potentially “buying” the election (in the past that’s what Democrats had claimed of Republicans) and to hear the Democrats arguing for fewer controls on campaign spending (which the Republicans traditionally argued for). The one lesson all sides are going to take away from this election is that public financing of presidential elections is dead.

Posters and tear sheets

2008-10-28T18:51:00.008-05:00

In the FedEx box you will find several posters:

And a number of tear-off sheets:

The tear off sheets can be attached to some of the posters by taping, or tacking

And the tear off sheets can be distributed around campus, left at computer work stations, etc.

Three Questions for Eric Kasper

2008-10-27T21:36:00.005-05:00

Eric Kasper is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Barron County. He previously worked as a teaching assistant at UW-Eau Claire, UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. His research interests include criminal law and procedure, the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court and the separation of powers.

Wisconsin Vote on Campus asked him three questions about this year's election.

What impact will electing either Barack Obama or John McCain have on the judicial branch?

There is no question that whoever wins the 2008 presidential election will be able to greatly affect the composition of the federal judiciary. On the U.S. Supreme Court, the average age of the nine justices is 68, and it is likely that at least one or two will retire in the next four years. In particular, Justice John Paul Stevens is 88 years of age and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75. In addition, both Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Anthony Kennedy are 72 years of age. Given the amount of media attention given to John McCain’s age, it is interesting to note that four of the current justices are older than McCain!

The major concern regarding appointments to the Supreme Court is the justices’ ideology. Electing John McCain would likely have a greater impact on the future of the Supreme Court than electing Barack Obama. Currently, the Court is composed of four liberals (Stevens, Ginsberg, David Souter, and Stephen Breyer), four conservatives (John Roberts, Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito), and one moderate, Justice Kennedy. Many of the Court’s major rulings in recent years have been 5-4 decisions, with Justice Kennedy as the swing vote. The justices most likely to retire are Stevens and Ginsberg, and both of them are liberals. Hence, if Obama is elected, it is likely that retiring liberals would be replaced by newly appointed liberals. However, if McCain is elected, it likely that retiring liberals would be replaced by more conservative justices. This could tip the court from being equally balanced to being largely conservative. Of course, one never knows when a justice will die or simply decide to retire at an earlier age, but given the current Court composition, it is likely that the election of McCain would have a greater impact.

That said, the Supreme Court is only one part of the equation. The Supreme Court only gives full consideration to approximately 75 cases per year. This means that most federal cases end at the district (trial) court or court of appeals levels. Today, there are nearly 700 federal district court judges, and there are 179 judges who sit on the federal court of appeals. If a vacancy arises, appointees for these lower courts also require confirmation by the Senate, but they receive nowhere near the media publicity that a vacancy on the Supreme Court does. Thus, it is easier for a president to select judges for these courts with much less scrutiny given to the appointments. In one term of office, a president may appoint one or two hundred lower court judges, so the power to reshape the judiciary here is quite great indeed. Obviously, Obama would be likely to appoint liberal jurists, and McCain would appoint many more conservatives.

Suppose that Barack Obama wins the presidency and the Democrats increase their size in the Senate to above 60. What are the positives and negatives of having such a one-party dominance in Congress and the Presidency?

First of all, it is interesting to note that for most of U.S. history, one-party government was the norm. For instance, from 1828 to 1860, the Democrats won six of eight presidential elections and held a majority in both houses of Congress almost every session. Similarly, from 1860 to 1932, the Republicans won the presidency and controlled Congress well more than a majority of the time. Each party has also had overwhelming dominance at different times. From 1869-1871, the Republicans controlled the White House, and they held 61 of 74 Senate seats and 170 of 243 House seats. Likewise, from 1937-1939, the Democrats controlled the presidency as well as 75 of 96 Senate seats and 333 of 435 House seats. Although the majorities in the past were not always this large, it was more likely that one party controlled both branches of government. It has only been since 1968 that divided government has become the norm in American politics, whereby the most common scenario has been one party controlling the presidency and the other party controlling Congress.

From a partisan point of view, the positives and negatives of this one-party dominance will vary depending on your party affiliation. From a Democratic Party point-of-view, there are many positives. Members of Congress would be able to accomplish their legislative agenda without the threat of a Republican filibuster in the Senate or a Republican veto at the White House. Likewise, judicial appointments and other executive appointments would be easily confirmed, as the minority party could not hold them up in the Senate. The only negative for the Democrats would be the possibility that they overplay their hand and push an agenda that is too liberal for the electorate to bear. Doing this could lead to an electoral backlash in 2010 and 2012. Remember, from 2003 to 2007, the Republicans controlled the presidency, the House, and the Senate. With so many independent voters, control of the government can change hands quickly today.

From a Republican perspective, just the reverse would be the case. The party would have little to no recourse to stop anything done by such large majorities. However, the Republicans could begin slowly building their case for future elections, and they would have the ability to perhaps work for some compromises in certain legislation.

From an institutional point of view, there is a strong argument for one-party dominance and a strong argument against it. If you want the government to be efficient and avoid gridlock, it is much better to have one party control Congress and the presidency. This ensures that the party in power can accomplish what it feels is its mandate from the voters; in turn, voters in the next election will be better able to evaluate the success of that party because no one can blame any failures on a minority party that is so small. However, the downside to such dominance is that there is less of a check in place. A minority party that small can do very little to hold up change that they feel is against the national interest.

Suppose that John McCain wins the presidency and the Democrats keep the about the same number of people in Congress. How would that affect McCain's ability to push his legislative agenda?

Although John McCain’s chances of policy success are lower with the Democrats controlling Congress, he should still be able to accomplish many of his goals. Presidents in the era of divided government have been able to pass a substantial amount of legislation – usually all that is required is more compromise. For instance, Democratic President Bill Clinton had to work with a Republican-controlled Congress for six of his eight years as president. In that time, Congress passed (and Clinton signed into law) major policy initiatives that included welfare reform, the Defense of Marriage Act, telecommunications reform, a minimum wage increase, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

Given John McCain’s history of working across the aisle while in the Senate, he would have the potential to pass some of his major policy initiatives. In 2002, McCain and Democratic Senator Russ Feingold were able to pass a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill. In 2005, McCain was part of the “Gang of 14”, a bipartisan group of seven Republican and Seven Democratic senators who negotiated a compromise to end a standoff between the two parties over the use of the filibuster on judicial nominees. Thus, McCain would probably be able to work out compromises to pass some of the legislation he wants, depending on the issue. He has a more liberal position than President Bush on global climate change and the development of alternative energy sources, so congressional Democrats would likely work with him on that. McCain has also been supportive of federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, which Democrats tend to favor. And do not forget that the president needs to sign a congressional budget into law every year, so they would need to find the ability to compromise on this matter too.

However, there are some things that McCain would be unlikely to pass through a Democratic Congress. For example, McCain clearly would not be able to ask Congress for more restrictions on abortions. It is also improbably that Congress would reaffirm the Bush tax cuts for people in the top tax brackets, something McCain supports (these tax cuts are currently set to expire in 2011). Finally, McCain would likely face opposition by a democratic congressional majority if he continued the war in Iraq.

Home

Poster proofs

2008-10-25T23:39:00.004-05:00

Here are the proofs of the posters local contacts will distribute next week. I hope to have them printed and shipped on Monday for Tuesday delivery. The 'my source' template is a national campaign promoted by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is our project funder.

Take a look at the posters, you can see a large version by clicking on the image.

Thanks to Ramon, Shannon and Korin for agreeing to be profiled for the poster campaign. I look forward to hearing your reaction and the reaction on the campuses.

Putting in news links

2008-10-24T20:23:00.013-05:00

Here are some step by step instructions for putting in news links for local editors.

First, find an article you'd like to link to from a search engine, Google News Alert, or browsing your local media.

Then go to the news section of the admin site, select the bullet point menu so each article has a bullet point to set it apart.

TYPE, don't copy and paste, the headline of the article you want to link to. Copy and paste will copy the font style and make your links look of all different sizes and styles. Follow the headline with the source (newspaper) and the publication date.

Return to the window that has the article you want to link to. Highlight the Web address and copy.

Next, highlight the text--the headline--that you want to be linked to the article

Then select the tool bar button that looks like three links of chain.

This window will pop up, paste the Web address into the field labeled URL.

Click OK and the headline will be linked to the Web address. BE SURE TO CLICK SAVE, the button is located below the text box.

Then go to the live site (eg richland.wisconsinvote.org) and check that the link appears in the campus-localized box.

Congratulations, you've shared useful voting information with your campus.

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Washington County

2008-10-24T10:26:00.003-05:00

City of Cedarburg

cmchugh@ci.cedarburg.wi.us
(262) 375-7606

City of Hartford

lorihetzel@ci.hartford.wi.us
(262) 673-8201

City of Port Washington

mgrams@ci.port-washington.wi.us
(262) 284-5585

City of West Bend

wbclk@ci.west-bend.wi.u
(262) 335-5103

Horicon

clerkhoricon@charterinternet.net
(920) 485-3500

Village of Germantown

eknaack@village.germantown.wi.us
(262) 250-4740

Village of Grafton

tdylak@village.grafton.wi.us
(262) 375-5300

Village of Jackson

treasurer@villageofjackson.com
(262) 677-9001

Village of Kewaskum

sjustmann@village.kewaskum.wi.us
(262) 626-8484

Village of Newburg

bcording@village.newburg.wi.us
(262) 675-2160

Village of Richfield

(262) 628-2260

Village of Saukville

dmwagner@village.saukville.wi.us
(262) 284-9423

Village of Slinger

mamurphy@wppisys.org
(262) 644-5265

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Sheboygan

2008-10-24T10:24:00.002-05:00

City of Plymouth

phuberty@plymouthgov.com
(920) 893-1271

City of Sheboygan

srichards@ci.sheboygan.wi.us
(920) 459-4000

City of Sheboygan Falls

joel@shebfalls.com
(920) 467-7900

Village of Adell

vofadell@excel.net
(920) 994-8620

Village of Cascade

sgallagher@excel.net
(920) 528-8071

Village of Cedar Grove

vocgrove@hotmail.com
(920) 668-6523

Village of Cleveland

sgrunwald@clevelandwi.gov
(920) 693-8181

Village of Elkhart Lake

village@excel.net
(920) 876-2122

Village of Glenbeulah

glenbeulah@wi.rr.com
(920) 526-3701

Village of Howards Grove

villagehg@tds.net
(920) 565-3511

Village of Kohler

llindow@kohlervillage.org
(920) 459-3873

Village of Oostburg

oostburg@wi.rr.com
(920) 564-3214

Village of Random Lake

jschluechtermann@randomlake.org
(920) 528-7534

Village of Waldo

waldo-clerk@wi.rr.com
(920) 528-7534

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Rock County

2008-10-24T10:22:00.002-05:00

City of Beloit

alexandc@ci.beloit.wi.us
(608) 364-6680

City of Brodhead

cityclerk@cityofbrodheadwi.us
(608) 897-4018

City of Edgerton

chegglund@charter.net
(608) 884-3341

City of Evansville

judy.walton@ci.evansville.wi.gov
(608) 882-2266

City of Fort Atkinson

mtrebatoski@fortatkinsonwi.net
(920) 563-7760

City of Janesville

wulfj@ci.janesville.wi.us
(608) 755-3070

City of Jefferson

tanya@jeffersonwis.com
(920) 674-7700

City of Milton

miltonclerk@charter.net
(608) 868-6920 Ext. 25

City of Monroe

cstamm@cityofmonroe.org
(608) 329-2530

City of Whitewater

msmith@ci.whitewater.wi.us
(262) 473-0500

Village of Clinton

(608) 676-5304

Village of Footville

footville@T6B.com
(608) 876-6116

Village of Orfordville

clerk@orfordville.org
(608) 879-2004

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Richland

2008-10-24T10:20:00.002-05:00

City of Boscobel

aharris@wppisys.org
(608) 375-5001

City of Richland Center

rctreas@mwt.net
(608) 647-3466

Village of Boaz

villofboaz@mwt.net
(608) 536-3466

Village of Cazenovia

arland@mwt.net
(608) 983-2634

Village of Gays Mills

dmccann@gaysmills.org
(608) 735-4341

Village of Lone Rock

(608) 583-2951

Village of Muscoda

cljohnson@wppisys.org
(608) 739-3182

Village of Soldiers Grove

SGROVE@MWT.NET
(608) 624-3264

Village of Spring Green

608.588.2276

Village of Viola

(608) 627-1831

Village of Yuba

(608) 528-4345

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Marshfield/Wood County

2008-10-24T10:17:00.004-05:00

City of Abbotsford

abbych@charter.net
(715) 223-3444

City of Colby

colbych@charter.net
(715) 223-4435

City of Marshfield

debbieh@ci.marshfield.wi.us
(715) 486-2023

City of Nekoosa

nekclerk@tznet.com
(715) 886-7877

City of Pittsville

cofpitts@tds.net
(715) 884-2422

City of Wisconsin Rapids

sblaser@wirapids.org
(715) 421-8200

Village of Arpin

arpinclerk@gmail.com
(715) 652-2010

Village of Auburndale

(715) 652-2244

Village of Biron

vofbiron@wctc.net
(715) 423-6584

Village of Dorchester

dvc@acsimail.net
(715) 654-5006

Village of Hewitt

swunrow@tznet.com
(715) 486-4130

Village of Milladore

vomclerk@tznet.com
(715) 457-6375

Village of Port Edwards

Julie.Bodette@port-edwards.org
(715) 887-3513

Village of Rudolph

(715) 435-3162

Village of Spencer

clerk@vil.spencer.wi.us
(715) 659-5423

Village of Stratford

stratfordclerk@fibernetcc.com
(715) 687-4166

Village of Unity

unity@pcpros.net
(715) 223-4362

Village of Vesper

villageofvesper@tznet.com
(715) 569-4530

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Marinette County

2008-10-24T10:15:00.002-05:00

City of Marinette

janderson@marinette.wi.us
(715) 732-5141

City of Niagara

info@cityofniagara.com
(715) 251-3235

City of Oconto

clerk@cityofoconto.com
920-834-7711

City of Oconto Falls

admin@ci.ocontofalls.wi.us
920-846-4518

City of Peshtigo

clerk@peshtigo.cybrzn.com
(715) 582-3041

Village of Coleman

colvil@ez-net.com
(920) 897-2234

Village of Crivitz

mpadgett@vocwi.com
(715) 854-2030

Village of Pound

vop@centurytel.net
(920) 897-4307

Village of Wausaukee

vilofwauskee@centurytel.net
(715) 856-5341

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Marathon County

2008-10-24T10:08:00.003-05:00

City of Antigo

kmatucheski@antigo-city.org
(715) 623-3633

City of Merrill

Bill.Heideman@ci.merrill.wi.us
(715) 536-5594

City of Mosinee

clerks@mosinee.wi.us
(715) 693-2275

City of Schofield

LReeves@cityofschofield.org
(715) 359-5230

City of Wausau

ksaager@mail.ci.wausau.wi.us
(715) 261-6620

Village of Athens

athensclerk@charterinternet.com
(715) 257-9170

Village of Birnamwood

lkclerk@aol.com
(715) 449-2001

Village of Brokaw

vilbro@aol.com
(715) 675-8712

Village of Edgar

viledgar@dwave.net
(715) 352-2891

Village of Elderon

pj549man@yahoo.com
(715) 342-5454

Village of Fenwood

f46475025@aol.com
(715) 352-3320

Village of Hatley

(715) 446-3341

Village of Kronenwetter

marie@kronenwetter.org
(715) 693-4200

Village of Marathon

marathoncity@pcpros.net
(715) 443-2221

Village of Rothschild

rothsch@dwave.net
(715) 359-3660

Village of Weston

sweinkauf@westonwisconsin.org
(715) 241-2626

Voting contact information for communities served by UW-Manitowoc

2008-10-24T10:05:00.002-05:00

City of Kiel

admin@ci.kiel.wi.us
(920) 894-2909

City of Manitowoc

jhudon@manitowoc.org
(920) 686-6950

City of Two Rivers

kaypul@two-rivers.org
(920) 793-5526

Village of Cleveland

sgrunwald@clevelandwi.gov
(920) 693-8181

Village of Francis Creek

villageoffranciscreek@yahoo.com
(920) 682-7410

Village of Mishicot

vmishicot@lakefield.net
(920) 773-2471

Village of Reedsville

Clerk-treasurer@reedsville.org
(920) 773-2471

Village of St. Nazianz

villageofstnazianz@tds.net
(920) 773-2471

Village of Valders

valdersclerk@tds.net
(920) 775-4522

Village of Whitelaw

villageofwhitelaw@comcast.net
(920) 732-3239

Voting contact information for communities served by UW Fox Valley

2008-10-24T09:58:00.003-05:00

City of Appleton

Cindi.Hesse@appleton.org
(920) 832-6443

City of Kaukauna

dudasj@kaukauna-wi.org
(920) 766-6300

City of Menasha

dgaleazz@ci.menasha.wi.us
(920) 967-5117

City of Neenah

psturn@ci.neenah.wi.us
(920) 886-6101

City of New London

goofy@newlondonwi.org
(920) 982-8500

City of Omro

lkutch@omro-wi.com
(920) 685-7000

City of Oshkosh

pubrig@ci.oshkosh.wi.us
(920) 236-5011

City of Seymour

susangarsow@new.rr.com
(920) 833-2209

Town of Menasha

kbackman@town-menasha.com
(920) 720-7149

Town of Neenah

tnneenah@tds.net
(920) 725-0916

Village of Bear Creek

715-752-4065

Village of Black Creek

vilclerk@charterinternet.com
(920) 984-3295

Village of Combined Locks

markvt@combinedlocks.org
(920) 788-7740

Village of Hortonville

hrtnvlclerk@charterinternet.com
(920) 779-6011

Village of Kimberly

shaas@vokimberly.org
(920) 788-7500

Village of Little Chute

vicki@littlechutewi.org
(920) 788-7380

Village of Nichols

nichols001@centurytel.net
(920) 525-2717

Village of Shiocton

bjbvc@charterinternet.net
(920) 986-3415

Village of Winnecone

jjensen@winneconnewi.gov
(920) 582-4381

Village of Wrightstown

clerk1@vil.wrightstown.wi.us
(920) 532-6005

Voting contact information for communities served by UW Fond du Lac

2008-10-24T09:55:00.003-05:00

City of Chilton

chiltonclk@charter.net
(920) 849-2451

City of Fond du Lac

sstrands@ci-fond-du-lac.wi.us
(920) 322-3432

City of Horicon

clerkhoricon@charterinternet.net
(920) 485-3500

City of New Holstein

mstutz@wppisys.org
(920) 898-5766

City of Ripon

sbarg@cityofripon.com
(920) 748-4914

City of Waupun

kyle@cityofwaupun.org
(920) 324-7900

Village of Brandon

clerkofbrandon@centurytel.net
(920) 346-5415

Village of Campbellsport

cportclerk@charter.net
(920) 346-5415

Village of Eden

smzook@powercom.net
(920) 477-4304

Village of Fairwater

lapersherry@hotmail.com
(920) 346-5418

Village of Mt. Calvary

marymerten@yahoo.com
(920) 753-6536

Village of North Fond du Lac

drichards@nfdl.org
(920) 929-3765

Village of Oakfield

jlesser@villageofoakfield.com
(920) 583-4400

Village of Rosendale

villageofrosendale@charterinternet.com
(920) 872-2740

Village of St. Cloud

villagesc@spiritusa.net
(920) 999-4762

Voting contact information for communities served by UW Barron County

2008-10-24T09:50:00.003-05:00

City of Amery

amerycity@amerytel.net
(715) 268-7486

City of Barron

tslagstad@barronwi.us
715-537-5631

City of Chetek

chetekch@chibardun.net
715-924-4838

City of Cumberland

cumberland@charter.net
715-822-2752

City of Hayward

ctyclerk@centurytel.net
(715) 634-2311

City of Ladysmith

sharikavanagh@hotmail.com
(715) 532-2600

City of Rice Lake

kmorse@ci.rice-lake.wi.us
715-234-7088

City of Spooner

spoonerclerk@centurytel.net
(715) 635-8769

Town of Rice Lake

townofrl@charter.net
715-234-8087

Village of Almena

jjvjr@chibardun.net
715-357-3013

Village of Cameron

Rogero@chibardun.net
715-458-2117

Village of Dallas

vdallas@chibardun.net
715-837-1437

Village of Haugen

haugenvillagewi@centurytel.net
715-234-8663

Village of New Auburn

newauburnvill@citizens-tel.net
715-237-2223

Village of Prairie Farm

rsttt@chibardun.net
715-455-1431

Village of Turtle Lake

clerktreas@turtlelakewi.com
715-986-2241

Voting contact information for communities served by UW Baraboo/Sauk County

2008-10-23T16:34:00.009-05:00

City of Baraboo

cmgiese@cityofbaraboo.com
(608) 355-2700

City of Lodi

avanness@wppisys.org
608.592.3247

City of Portage

marie.moe@ci.portage.wi.us
608-742-2176

City of Reedsburg

ameister@ci.reedsburg.wi.us
608.524.6404

City of Wisconsin Dells

608.254.2012

Town of Baraboo

clerk@g2.net
608.356.5170

Village of Cazenovia

arland@mwt.net
608.983.2217

Village of Ironton

ironton@mwt.net
608.985.7959

Village of Lake Delton

kay2busy@dellsnet.com
608.254.2558

Village of LaValle

lavlib@mwt.net
608.985.8383

Village of Lime Ridge

clerk@merr.com
608.986.6200

Village of Loganville

608.727.5981

Village of Merrimac

merrimac@merr.com
608.493.2122

Village of North Freedom

608.522.4550

Village of Plain

vilplain@charter.net
(608) 546-2047

Village of Poynette

finstads@centurytel.net
(608) 635-2122

Village of Prairie du Sac

mmolzof@wippisys.org
608.643.2421

Village of Rock Springs

publicworks@merr.com
608.522.5070

Village of Sauk City

vicki@saukcity.net
608.643.3932

Village of Spring Green

springgreenclerk@charter.net
608.588.2276

Village of West Baraboo

maryklingenmeyer@villageofwestbaraboo.us
608.356.2516

Voting contact information for communities served by UW Waukesha

2008-10-21T21:49:00.004-05:00

All numbers (262)

Town of Brookfield

clerk@townofbrookfield.com
796-3788

Town of Delafield

mary.elsner@townofdelafield.org
646-2398

Town of Genesee

barbw@towngenesee.org
968-3656

Town of Waukesha

mknoebel@townofwaukesha.us
542-5030

Village of Big Bend

villageofbigbend@sbcglobal.net
662-2747

Village of Butler

butler@wi.rr.com
783-2525

Village of Chenequa

zimdars@chenequa.org
367-2239

Village of Dousman

dousman@wi.rr.com
965-3792

Village of Eagle

villageofeagle@centurytel.net
594-3400

Village of Elm Grove

mstredni@elmgrovewi.org
780-6640

Village of Hartland

conniec@villageofhartland.com
367-2714

Village of Lannon

jlamb@villageoflannon.com
251-7690

Village of Men. Falls

kkaralewitz@menomonee-falls.org
532-4200

Village of Merton

vmerton@bizwi.rr.com
538-0820

Village of Mukwonago

sbraatzjr@villageofmukwonago.com
363-6420

Village of Pewaukee

satherton@villageofpewaukee.com
691-5660

Village of Sussex

sfreiheit@wi.rr.com
246-5211

Village of Wales

walesclerk@wauknet.com
968-3968

City of Brookfield

schmidt@ci.brookfield.wi.us
796-6653

City of Delafield

ggresch@ci.delafield.wi.us
646-6220

City of Muskego

jmoyer@ci.muskego.wi.us
679-5625

City of New Berlin

mgauger@newberlin.org
797-2447

City of Oconomowoc

dcoenen@wppisys.org
569-2175

City of Pewaukee

tarczewski@pewaukee.wi.us
691-0770

City of Waukesha

tneill@ci.waukesha.wi.us
524-3850

Just launched: An online election resource for each UW College campus

2008-10-02T10:59:00.004-05:00

A customizable sidebar for your campus on Wisconsin's leading statewide online election Web site, WisconsinVote.org.

If you are looking for a way to engage and inform students on your campus about the coming election, Wisconsin Vote on Campus can help. Wisconsin Vote on Campus takes Wisconsin Public Television & Radio’s established election Web site and adds a customizable sidebar unique to each UW College campus.

On this prominent sidebar, identified with the College logo, students can connect with the locally-relevant information they need to actually get to the polls and vote. Contact information for voting and registration, profiles of the candidates that will be on their ballot, listings of local election events, and links to news coverage will all be available.

This customized local information will be side-by-side with Wisconsin Public Television & Radio’s extensive coverage, continually-updated links to election coverage from other media, and a number of innovative and interactive opportunities provided by NPR, the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Lawrence University and American Public Media.

The project will also employ forward-looking mobile technology, feature coverage of young voters, and be a platform to highlight the contributions of your faculty.

Plus there’s an opportunity for students or student groups to be involved as content editors in exchange for grants ranging from $100 to $500. We are committed to providing a Wisconsin Vote on Campus site for each of the thirteen UW Colleges. But for this project to really make a difference on your campus, we’ll need your help.

If you’d like to learn more about what’s involved and how we can work together, please contact Andy Soth, Senior Producer, Wisconsin Public Television at 608 263-4599 or andy.soth@wpt.org.

Intern Opportunity for Students

2008-10-02T10:26:00.004-05:00

Wisconsin Vote on Campus will fund short-term student positions on UW College campuses. We want to establish one editorial intern position on each of the 13 campuses. Editorial interns will post links to local coverage and any election-related events in the area.

We anticipate this job taking about 5 hours weekly for three weeks from October 20 to November 7, or approximately one hour each weekday. Editorial Interns will search local media sites and perform Web searches for local election coverage in established media as well as blogs. The Interns will post these links directly to their Wisconsin Vote on Campus site customized for their College.

Editorial Interns will also browse the Internet for listings of election activities (meet the candidate events, rallies, voter registration drives, candidate debates, etc) to link to their Wisconsin Vote on Campus site.

After the election, Interns will search out and link to reporting about elections results.

The mini-grant for this position will be $150, working out to $10/hourly for the five hours perfomed weekly. This grant can go to an individual, or to a student group that agrees to do the work.

There is also opportunity at a somewhat higher pay rate for Editorial/Promotional interns. We anticipate this being an 8 hour/weekly commitment for the three weeks of October 20 to November 7.

In addition to the duties of the Editorial Intern, Editorial/Promotional interns will add original content to the project and help publicize the service to their campus.

These interns will agree to complete and post either an interview with all candidates in a local race or with a campus expert on some aspect of the election.

The grants for this position will $250, working out to about $10.42/hr for the 8 hours performed weekly. Again, this grant can go to a student group or an individual.

For more about these positions, contact Andy Soth, andy.soth@wpt.org, 608 263-4599.

Interactive tools to engage young voters

2008-09-30T01:11:00.009-05:00

Get My Vote, an innovative video/audio/text blogging tool created by National Public Radio and presented by Michael Feldman will be featured on the sidebar.

Also featured will be My Election Decision, an interactive quiz that compares your feelings on the issues with those of the presidential candidates. My Election Decision was developed at Lawrence University using the issues college students felt were most important this election year.

Additionally, the Wisconsin Vote site has a number of other interactive quizzes, games and other content created by the Newshour with Jim Lehrer online team and American Public Media.

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UW-Waukesha, our prototype sidebar

2008-09-30T00:45:00.011-05:00

This prototype sidebar, created with UW-Waukesha and Professor Jon Kasparek, was made for Wisconsin's Sept. 9th Primary Election.

It's a sidebar of content specifically selected for the UW-Waukesha community next to the statewide Wisconsin Public Television & Radio coverage. These news links covering Waukesha's assembly race were found and posted by Professor Kasparek. He also contributed the event listings.

We are looking for local content editors, which can be faculty, students or student groups, and we have some funding we can pass on as honorarium. But we will also add as much information as we can for campuses with no local editors.

We will research and provide local voting and registration contact information for each campus community.

Local candidates will be highlighted in the sidebar and linked to the more extensive profiles on the Wisconsin Vote candidate database.

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Texting voting reminders and results

2008-09-30T00:27:00.004-05:00

Recent research at the University of Michigan and Princeton shows that young people who receive a text message voting reminder are more likely to show up at the polls.

Included in the sidebar is an invitation to sign up for just such a reminder election day morning and to receive election results that night.

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Three questions for Jon Kasparek

2008-09-29T16:08:00.017-05:00

Jon Kasparek is assistant professor of history at UW-Waukesha and the author of Fighting Son: a biography of Philip F. LaFollette and a co-author of Voices & Votes, a civics text for elementary students.

Wisconsin Vote on Campus asked him three questions about this year's election.

Apart from the obvious firsts of race and gender in this year’s presidential election, what is capturing your attention as a historian?

Race and gender are clearly the big headlines in the 2008 election, but I’m also very interested in the regional aspect of this campaign. It seems clear that Senator McCain will do well in the South and Western states (as Republicans have tended to do) and that Senator Obama will do well in the Northeast and Pacific Coast (as Democrats have tended to do). The big battleground is in the Midwest: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri are all up for grabs. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have the potential to do well in this region. I think the election may very well turn on whether Midwestern voters on election day are more concerned about the economy or about foreign affairs. At the moment, it certainly seems that the economy, particularly the Wall Street bailout and the mortgage crisis has people worried, and the Midwest seems to be moving strongly toward Obama.

For your biography of Wisconsin’s Philip LaFollette (Fighting Son) you must have immersed yourself in the progressive era. Do you see any parallels in today’s politics?

It has become conventional to observe that we live in a “second Gilded Age,” dominated by conservative politicians and powerful corporations. There is also an increasing disparity of wealth, with working- and middle-class families unable to keep up with inflation. At the same time, however, I also see an anxiety about economic issues and environmental issues, both of which could drive a wave of progressive reform. The big issues of Theodore Roosevelt’s administration are remarkably relevant today: conservation, antitrust, and consumer protection. The next president is going to have to respond to those concerns and use the White House to push those kinds of reforms. I think the recent problems with oil prices (and the corresponding inflation), tainted food supplies, and product recalls (remember Thomas the Tank Engine?) suggest that the public will respond positively to the kind of regulatory legislation that was pioneered under Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson.

With the bailout and the mortgage crisis we also see something we have not really seen since the 1930s—widespread, genuine anger and resentment against the banking industry and Wall Street. For years, Americans have been told again and again to invest in 401ks and other portfolios, and now it looks like they need to bailout the same investors who since the 1990s promised them big returns. Americans have a fear of collective action but can embrace such activity if they perceive a genuine need, which was certainly the case during the Progressive Era and the 1930s, and seems to be the case today.

Your earlier book (Voices and Votes) is a political primer for Wisconsin elementary students. Is education enough to motivate young people to participate?

Education is certainly a prerequisite, but I’m not sure it is enough by itself. Education can tell young people why they need to participate theoretically, but we’re up against a feeling of cynicism and disconnect. I think there is a tendency among young voters to dislike politicians of ANY party and to not perceive any reason to vote. Both parties have made tremendous efforts recently to reach out to college-age voters and shape their message in a way that is relevant to them. I am cheered by increased political activity on college campuses, but I don’t think the media have done a good job emphasizing the issues affecting new voters, and I’m not sure young voters perceive themselves as a group or as the youngest members of more traditional voting blocks (ie, “values voters” or liberal reformers). I think the key is for first- or second-time voters to realize they have made a difference. If the youth vote swings the election one way or the other in a key state, and the media recognize that fact, it will make them politically active for life.

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