Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - The Daily Cardinal

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University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

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Walker says no to offer on proposed Kenosha casino EMILY BUCK/THE DAILY CARDINAL

KAITLYN VETO/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Mayor Paul Soglin (left) advances with 52.7 percent of the vote, followed by Ald. Scott Resnick (right) with 23.3 percent of the vote. Each thanked their supporters and families, pledging to continue their hard work finding solutions to Madison’s citywide issues.

Soglin, Resnick move forward By Irene Burski THE DAILY CARDINAL

In a race with limited voter participation, Madison voters chose incumbent Mayor Paul Soglin and Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, to advance to the April 17 general mayoral election. Soglin finished with 52.7 percent of the vote followed by Resnick with 23.3 percent of the vote. Election officials reported low turnout across the board. “In a word, [turnout has been] abysmal,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. “I think everybody expected

voter turnout to be low given the particular lack of enthusiasm for the election, and the fact that there’s only one race on the ballot.” According to Verveer, only 28 voters had cast ballots at Gordon Dining and Event Center, shortly after 7 p.m., and numbers at Porchlight Inc. had not eclipsed 100. At a victory party held at Cardinal Bar, Soglin thanked his supporters and family, emphasizing his record of leadership and familiarity with the systems used to solve

Madison’s issues. “In 2011, we were talking about fixing the city finances and then moving on to the challenges of poverty and equity,” Soglin said. “[It was] long before the race to equity reports came out, long before a lot of other people suddenly discovered that this was a major issue in our community.” Soglin delivered on his promises from the 2011 mayoral campaign and continues to “work tirelessly on the issues,” according to Soglin for Mayor spokesperson Melissa Mulliken.

“We’ve been Soglin supporters for 40 years. We’re here to support Paul.” Cardinal Bar owner Ricardo Gonzalez said. Across Capitol Square at The Fountain, Resnick celebrated amid supporters and family members. The mayoral hopeful, who was elected as a campus alder in 2010, stressed his plans to foster Madison’s future growth. “I’m very excited for him,” Steve Resnick, the candidate’s father, said. “He gets to live his

forward to page 2

State Democrats accuse Walker of increasing debt State Democrats accused Gov. Scott Walker of inflating the state’s debt Tuesday after the governor decided to delay a debt repayment of $108 million. The report, produced by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, outlines the proposed payment restructuring on the state debt, which was previously scheduled to be paid off by May 2015. The governor’s proposal would increase the overall payment costs to $544,900 in 2015-’16 and $18.7 million in 2016-’17, including interest. Walker’s proposal brought opposition from Democrats who serve on the state’s Joint Committee on Finance. They criticized the governor for his history of borrowing to balance the state budget to pay for infrastructure and for the tax cuts. In addition, Democrats argued for what they said was the position of taxpayers, seeing that $90 million remains

for this debt. “Rather than paying the state’s bills, Gov. Walker is once again resorting to risky and financially irresponsible borrowing schemes,” state Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said in a Tuesday statement. “This latest accounting gimmick kicks the can further down the road and will end up costing taxpayers millions more.” This type of restructuring does not need legislative authorization. Walker’s administration can directly communicate with Department of Administration Capital Finance officials to not make the anticipated payment. Pushing back the deadline of debt payments allows for additional lines of credit to be established but at the expense of steeper interests rates over a longer period of time, according to the report. —Jason Snyder

Riley Faison brings

‘Mambo Mouth’

+ ARTS, page 3

to Madison

Gov. Scott Walker responded in a letter to Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Chairman Gary Besaw Monday, explaining his reasoning for rejecting the Menominee’s latest offer on the proposed Menominee-Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Kenosha. The Menominee requested that Walker meet with them to discuss their offer to pay $220 million for a new Milwaukee Bucks’ arena and pay for a bond to cover legal defense fees as a counter to Walker’s initial rejection of the casino plan in January. Menominee tribal members, who have been marching from the Menominee Indian reservation since Feb. 13, plan to hold a rally at the state Capitol Wednesday in protest of Walker’s decision. “[The] Menominee never seriously discussed providing funding for a Bucks arena,” Walker said in a letter Monday. “There was an opportunity to bring forward a proposal and have it vetted by our team of independent economists, which was not done.”

“[The] Menominee never seriously discussed providing funding for a Bucks arena.” Scott Walker governor Wisconsin

THE SETT

Mardi Gras Celebration

The Sett at Union South offered live music, Cajun food and mask painting to celebrate Mardi Gras Tuesday. + Photo by Chris Gao

For nearly a year and a half, negotiations between the Menominee and state officials, including Walker and Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, have focused on the proposed Kenosha casino. Potential lawsuits due to current gaming compacts enacted under former Gov. Jim Doyle posed a risk far too great for taxpayers, according to Walker. “Even if the Menominee could acquire, finance, and legally execute the $275 million bond, it still would not fully cover the potential economic liability to the State,” Walker said in the letter. Walker’s letter comes after Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, penned a letter to Walker requesting a meeting with Kenosha officials during the governor’s jobs announcement at a local Kenosha business. ­— Negassi Tesfamichael

Scott Walker’s Lost + OPINION, page 5 Cause

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”


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