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Scott Walker (politician)

Scott Walker (politician)

Overview
Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician who began serving as the 45th Governor
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

 of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidate Tom Barrett
Tom Barrett (politician)
Thomas Mark "Tom" Barrett is the Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving since 2004. He ran for Governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, losing by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent to Republican Scott Walker. Previously, Barrett served in the United States House of Representatives...

, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election. Previously, Walker was the County Executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

 of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin from 2002 to 2010, and a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 from 1993 to 2002.
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Encyclopedia
Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician who began serving as the 45th Governor
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

 of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidate Tom Barrett
Tom Barrett (politician)
Thomas Mark "Tom" Barrett is the Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving since 2004. He ran for Governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, losing by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent to Republican Scott Walker. Previously, Barrett served in the United States House of Representatives...

, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election. Previously, Walker was the County Executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

 of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin from 2002 to 2010, and a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

 from 1993 to 2002.

Early life, education and career


Walker was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

, to Llewellyn and Patricia (née Fitch) Walker, a Baptist minister and a bookkeeper, respectively. The family moved to Plainfield, Iowa
Plainfield, Iowa
Plainfield is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 436 at the 2010 census a decrease of 2, or 0.5%, from 438 at the 2000 census...

, and when Scott was ten years old, to Delavan, Wisconsin
Delavan, Wisconsin
Delavan is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,463 at the 2010 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Delavan.-Economy:Delavan is home to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf, and Andes Candies.-History:...

, a town of about 8,000, where his father became a prominent preacher.

While in high school, he attended two weeks of American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

-sponsored training in leadership and government; Badger Boys State
Badger Boys State
Badger Boys State is a week-long youth program held each June to teach Wisconsin high-school students leadership and the workings of government. Forty-nine states have a similar yet distinctive program for boys and a separate program for girls...

 held in Wisconsin, and the selective Boys Nation
Boys Nation
Boys Nation is an annual civic training event run by the American Legion.Each year, two delegates in the summer after their junior year of high school are selected from each of the forty-nine American Legion Boys State programs in the U.S....

 held in Washington, D.C. He has credited the experience with solidifying his interest in public service and giving him the "political bug". While in Washington, he met Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

, who became his inspiration and model.

He enrolled at Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

 in 1986. He attended college for four years but never graduated, working part-time for IBM selling warranties. His IBM job led to a full-time position in marketing and fundraising at the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...

 from 1990 to 1994.

Wisconsin State Assembly


Walker made his first try for government office in 1990 at age 22, winning the Republican nomination for Milwaukee's 7th District seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....

, but losing in the general election to incumbent Democrat Gwen Moore
Gwen Moore
Gwendolynne Sophia Moore is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in Milwaukee and also includes South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis, and part of West Allis. She is the first woman to represent the district...

. He moved to the predominantly Republican edge city
Edge city
"Edge city" is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a residential suburb or semi-rural community...

 of Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...

 when its Assembly seat opened up in 1993, winning the special election over Democrat Chris Ament, the son of then-Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament
Tom Ament
Francis Thomas Ament , a United States politician, was the County Executive of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin from 1992 to 2002....

.

During the campaign, Walker backed welfare reform and opposed the expansion of mass transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

. He supported a cap on state spending and said that the law on resolving labor disputes with local government employees needed to be reformed. Walker received the endorsements of Wisconsin Right to Life and The Milwaukee Sentinel, with the Sentinel calling him a fiscal conservative and noting his pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

, tough-on-crime, and pro welfare reform positions. He was re-elected four times, serving until 2002 when he became a county executive.

While in the State Assembly, Walker took a special interest in criminal justice matters, and chaired the Committees on Correctional Facilities, and Corrections and the Courts. Over the years, he served on a number of other committees, including Health, Census and Redistricting, Financial Institutions, and Housing. In 1999 he took the lead in passing a truth-in-sentencing bill that ended the practice of taking time off prisoners' sentences for good behavior. In 2001, he was the lead sponsor of a bill to prevent pharmacists from being disciplined for refusing to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception , or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to birth control measures that, if taken after sexual intercourse, may prevent pregnancy.Forms of EC include:...

. He was also a strong supporter of a bill to require voters to show photo id at the polls.

Milwaukee County executive


Walker became Milwaukee county executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

 in a special election called in April 2002, after the former county executive, Tom Ament
Tom Ament
Francis Thomas Ament , a United States politician, was the County Executive of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin from 1992 to 2002....

, resigned in the wake of a county pension fund scandal. He was elected to a four year term in 2004 gaining 57 percent of the vote to defeat former state budget director, David Riemer. He won another four year term in 2008, defeating State Senator Lena Taylor
Lena Taylor
Lena C. Taylor is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 4th District since 2005. She previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 18th District from 2003 through 2005....

 with 59 percent of the vote.

Walker won the office on a platform of fiscal conservatism, promising, among other things, to give back part of his own salary, and criticizing the salaries of other county workers as excessive. He said his voluntary give-back gave him the moral authority to make cuts in the county budget. He continued returning $60,000 annually (slightly less than half of his salary), for several years, but by 2008, he cut his give-back to $10,000 per year. During his eight years in office, he engaged in disputes with the county board "over taxes, privatization of public services, quality of parks and public buildings, and delivery of social services," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He never submitted a budget with a higher property tax levy than the county board had approved over his veto the prior year. He cut the number of county employees by more than 20 percent, and reduced the county's debt by ten percent. However, according to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

, "overall county spending ... increased 35 percent over his tenure". The conservative-led Greater Milwaukee Committee produced a report indicating that during Walker's tenure as county executive, the county had come to be "in such dire financial shape that state lawmakers should push through legislation that would allow it and other local governments to file for bankruptcy," as reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

2006 campaign


During his time as county executive, he entered the 2006 race for Wisconsin governor
Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2006
The Wisconsin gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Doyle defeated Republican Congressman Mark Green. Doyle served between 2007 and 2011...

; becoming a candidate 21 months before the election, but dropping out after 14 months of campaigning, citing fund-raising difficulties. He threw his support to fellow Republican Mark Andrew Green, who ultimately lost the election to the incumbent Democrat, Jim Doyle
Jim Doyle
James Edward "Jim" Doyle is a Wisconsin politician and member of the Democratic Party. He was the 44th Governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. He defeated incumbent Governor Scott McCallum by a margin of 45 percent to 41 percent; the Libertarian Party candidate Ed...

.

2010 campaign



Walker became an early favorite for the 2010 Republican Party endorsement for Wisconsin governor, winning straw polls of Wisconsin GOP convention attendees in 2007 and 2008. He announced his candidacy in late April 2009 after several months of previewing his campaign themes of reduced taxes and reduced spending to Republican audiences around the state. He criticized the 2009–11 Wisconsin state budget as too big given the slow economy. He won the Wisconsin GOP convention endorsement on May 22, 2010, receiving 91 percent of the votes cast by the delegates. Walker won the Republican nomination in the primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 of September 14, 2010, receiving 59 percent of the popular vote, while former U.S. Representative Mark Neumann
Mark Neumann
Mark W. Neumann is a businessman and politician. He represented from 1995 to 1999. In 2010, Neumann lost a bid to become the Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin. Neumann is currently a candidate for U.S...

 garnered 39 percent.

As part of his campaign platform, Walker said he would create 250,000 jobs in his first term through a program that would include tax reforms such as rolling back the 2009 state tax increases on small businesses, capital gains
Capital gains tax
A capital gains tax is a tax charged on capital gains, the profit realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property...

, and income for top earners, and cutting state employee wages and benefits to help pay for the tax cuts. Critics claimed his proposals would only help the wealthy and that cutting the salaries of public employees would adversely affect state services. Supporters said that tax cuts for businesses would reduce the cost of labor, which would ultimately promote consumer demand and more job growth. Walker indicated he would refuse an $810 million award from the federal Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

 to build a high speed railroad line from Madison to Milwaukee because he believed it would cost the state $7.5 million per year to operate and would not be profitable. The award was later rescinded and split among other states.

Social issues played a part in the campaign. Walker has stated that he is "100% pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

" and that he believes life should be protected from conception to natural death. He opposes abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 in all circumstances, including in cases of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

, or to protect the life of the mother. He supports abstinence-only sex education in the public schools, and opposes state supported clinical services that provide birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...

 and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...

s to teens under the age of 18 without parental consent. He supports the right of pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives on religious or moral grounds. He supports adult stem cell research, but opposes human embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...

 research. As the election drew near, Barrett attempted to portray Walker as an extremist on social issues.

On November 2, 2010, Walker won the general election with 52 percent of total votes cast, with his closest opponent, Democrat Tom Barrett
Tom Barrett (politician)
Thomas Mark "Tom" Barrett is the Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving since 2004. He ran for Governor of Wisconsin in November 2010, losing by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent to Republican Scott Walker. Previously, Barrett served in the United States House of Representatives...

, garnering 46 percent. His running mate, now Lieutenant Governor, was Rebecca Kleefisch
Rebecca Kleefisch
Rebecca Kleefisch is a former television news anchor, turned American politician, and is currently serving as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin...

, a former television news reporter in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

.

Governor of Wisconsin


Walker took the oath of office to become the 45th Governor of Wisconsin on January 3, 2011. On January 25, 2011, the state legislature passed a series of Walker-backed bills, the largest of which would cut taxes for businesses at "a two-year cost of $67 million", according to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

.

2011 budget repair bill and protests



Walker proposed a budget repair bill on February 11, 2011 that would save the state an estimated $30 million in the current fiscal year, and $300 million over the next two years. The bill would require additional contributions by state and local government workers to their health care plans and pensions, amounting to roughly an 8% decrease in the average government worker's take home pay. The bill also would eliminate, for government workers, most collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

 rights except for wages. Unions would be unable to seek pay increases, for government workers, above the rate of inflation, unless approved by a voter referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

. Under the bill, unions would have to win yearly votes to continue representing government workers, and could no longer have dues automatically deducted from government workers' paychecks. Law enforcement personnel and firefighters would be exempt from the bargaining changes.

In announcing the proposed legislation, Walker said the Wisconsin National Guard
Wisconsin National Guard
The Wisconsin Army National Guard has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergency...

 and other state agencies were prepared to prevent disruptions in state services. He later explained that police and firefighters were excluded from the changes because he would not jeopardize public safety. Walker also said that the bill was necessary to avoid the layoffs of thousands of state employees, and that no one should be surprised by its provisions. Union and Democratic leaders quickly criticized the bill as a power grab, claiming that Walker had never campaigned on doing away with collective bargaining rights. In a media interview one week later, Walker said he was not trying to break the unions, and noted that Wisconsin government employees would retain the protections given by the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

 laws. He said that asking employees to pay half the national average for health care benefits was a modest request.

Demonstrators began protesting against the proposed bill on February 15, 2011. During the sixth day of the protests, leaders of the two largest unions said publicly they were willing to accept the financial concessions in the bill, but would not agree to the loss of collective bargaining rights. All 14 of the Democratic state senators departed the state on February 17, delaying the passage of the bill by the Republican-controlled legislature by preventing the quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

 necessary for a vote. The missing legislators said they would not return to Madison unless Walker agreed to remove the limitations on collective bargaining from the bill. Walker warned that if the budget repair bill was not passed by March 1, refinancing of a $165 million state debt would fall through, and more cuts would be needed to balance the budget.

Appearing on Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...

on February 27, he said that he did not believe the unions were sincere in offering the pension and health care concessions because local unions had recently pushed through contracts with school boards and city councils that did not include contributions to the pensions and health care, and that in one case, the contract actually included a pay increase. On February 28, the largest public union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the state labor relations board, claiming that Walker had a duty to negotiate, but had refused.

On March 8, private emails were released dating back to February 28 showing that Walker had been trying to negotiate with the Democratic legislators, even proposing to allow some collective bargaining rights. However, unable to reach a compromise with Democratic legislators, Walker removed some fiscal measures from the bill, claiming that allowed passage by simple senate majority.

On March 18 a court order was issued by Judge Maryann Sumi preventing the publication of the bill by the Secretary of State while legal challenges to it were being considered. On March 26, the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) published the bill. Republicans contend that the court order did not mention the LRB, which is responsible for publishing laws, and their actions make the bill law. Democrats contend that the bill cannot become law until the Secretary of State takes action and the entire law is published in the state newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal. Judge Sumi, the same judge who issued the March 18 order, later clarified her order to indicate that the bill may not be considered as published pending legal reviews.

On May 26, Judge Sumi struck down the budget repair bill after finding that its passage was in violation of state open meetings laws. The Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

 overturned Sumi's ruling on June 14.

2012–2013 budget proposal


Wisconsin faces an anticipated deficit of approximately $3.6 billion in the 2012–13 budget cycle that must be balanced according to state law. Walker was planning in mid-February 2011 to propose a budget bill but was delayed by the protests and the absence of 14 state senators. He confirmed in advance that he will be asking for a 9% ($900 million) cut in state aid to education. A revenue limit that would reduce the property tax authority by $500 per pupil will also be proposed. The state school superintendent has objected in advance to the budget, saying, "whole parts of what we value in our schools are gone". The governor released information regarding the effect his budget proposals will have on each district. In the proposal, the projected savings statewide in fringe benefits comes to about $489 million, which is offset by state aid reductions of about $394 million.

Job appointment controversy


The Walker Administration has been criticized for alleged favoritism and patronage. Valerie Cass, the mistress of State Senator Randy Hopper
Randy Hopper
Randal B. "Randy" Hopper is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 18th District from 2009 until losing his seat to Jessica King in a 2011 recall election. The 18th District includes the cities of Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Waupun....

 (R-Fond du Lac) was hired at a salary of about $11,000 a year higher than that of her predecessor. According to state records, Cass had never formally applied to the position, while multiple other qualified candidates with high-level recommendations were passed over for the job.

On April 3, 2011, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...

reported that Walker had appointed Brian Deschane to an $81,500 per year job overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Deschane's father, Jerry Deschane, is executive vice president and a longtime lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders' Association, which donated $121,652 to Walker over the past two years. State Representative Brett Hulsey
Brett Hulsey
Brett Hulsey is a Wisconsin consultant and Democratic politician and legislator.-Background:Hulsey earned a B.A. in political economy from Middlebury College in 1982, and an M.S. in natural science from the University of Oklahoma in 1988. He is the owner of an energy and environmental consulting...

 noted that the new law which made collective bargaining changes also converted 37 top agency attorneys, communications officials and legislative liaisons from civil service positions to jobs appointed by the governor.

Domestic partner registry defense


On May 13, 2011, the Walker administration petitioned the Dane County Circuit Court for permission to withdraw the state as a defendant from Appling v. Doyle
Appling v. Doyle
Appling v Doyle is a lawsuit seeking to have Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry declared unconstitutional. The action began as a petition for original action before the Wisconsin Supreme Court asking the Court for a declaration that the registry is unconstitutional and for a permanent...

. Appling is a challenge to the state's domestic partner registry
Recognition of same-sex unions in Wisconsin
Domestic partnerships for same-sex couples have been recognized in Wisconsin since August 3, 2009 despite same-sex marriage and "a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals" being banned by Wisconsin statutes and a constitutional amendment in...

, which enumerates 43 rights for registered same-sex couples. Walker inherited the case from the previous administration. The motion to withdraw was made because Walker believes the registry, which was instituted in 2009, violates the state's 2006 constitutional ban of same-sex marriage and the creation of a "legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals". Walker's predecessor, Governor Doyle, had asked the court to rule that the registry is constitutional. If the court does not allow the state to withdraw, Walker wants it to allow him to change the state's previous filing and request the court strike the registry as unconstitutional.

Voter ID law


On May 25, 2011, Scott Walker signed a Voter ID Law
Voter ID laws (United States)
Voter identification is required to vote in many of the 50 United States and U.S. territories. The first laws requiring identification to vote at the polls were passed in 2003, and as of September 2011, 30 U.S. states require some form of photo or non-photo identification...

 that required voters to show a government-issued ID before casting a ballot.

Possible recall


After the contentious collective bargaining dispute
2011 Wisconsin protests
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protestors opposing the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including tea...

, Walker's disapproval ratings have varied between 50-51% while his approval ratings have varied between 47-49% in 2011. Democrats led recall election
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...

s to remove six Republican state senators, and unseated two.
Wisconsin law makes Walker eligible for recall beginning January 3, 2012, and the Wisconsin Democratic Party has called it a "priority" to remove him from office. In the first half of 2011, Walker raised more than $2,500,000 from supporters.

Personal life


Walker married Tonette Tarantino in February 1993, and they have two children, Alex and Matt. The family attends a non-denominational
Non-denominational Christianity
In Christianity, nondenominational institutions or churches are those not formally aligned with an established denomination, or that remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations...

 evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 church in Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...

.

During the summers of 2004 through 2009, Walker led a motorcycle tour called the "Executive's Ride" through Wisconsin and parts of neighboring states. The ride was organized to attract people to Milwaukee County.

Electoral history



External links


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