Monroe County, WI Focus

CRITICAL April 5th Election: JoAnn Kloppenberg for Wisconsin Supreme Court

With the Wisconsin Republicans taking away the rights of working class Americans to please their billionaire buddies, there is going to be one hell of a fight in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. From FireDogLake:

If you’ve been following along in my last post, you know the news: the Wisconsin State Senate rushed through and passed a bill that strips collective bargaining rights from most public employees. The vote in the State Senate, entirely composed of Republicans, was 18-1; only moderate Dale Schultz voted no. The budget repair bill was split at the last minute, cleaving the “non-fiscal” anti-union piece from the fiscal components of the bill. The non-fiscal piece did not require a quorum, so the Senate was able to pass it....

• Legal challenges. There are going to be a number of legal challenges to this bill. It will not be implemented right away. There’s the near-term challenge of how the bill got passed tonight. It was done in a way that may have violated open meetings laws, by not allowing 24 hours notice for a public meeting of the conference committee. There are other statutes about collective bargaining that may be brought up in court and fought. And there’s the issue of the bill having a fiscal impact. Scott Walker spent three weeks claiming that collective bargaining was a fiscal issue, and then the legislature just passed the bill as “non-fiscal.” Courts will have to wade through a lot of this, and it’s sure to go up to the state Supreme Court. Which brings us to…

• Supreme Court fight. The matchup between David Prosser (R) and JoAnn Kloppenberg (D) for the state Supreme Court on April 5 just got very interesting. It’s a statewide vote, and the balance of power on the state Supreme Court is at stake. Right now there are 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats on the court, but one of those Republicans is Prosser. Expect lots of organizing and millions of dollars poured into this election, which is much like a political election, with debates and everything. If Democrats win, the legality of what took place tonight may be put in greater question.

That's right. An election that very few people were paying attention to has now become MASSIVELY important.

Recall efforts are underway targeting the Wisconsin Republican State Senators who are minions of the Billionaire Koch Brothers.

Efforts are underway to raise money to retake the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate.

But before these, we need to win on April 5th.

JoAnn Kloppenberg is not accepting contributions. She is running on public financing only. What she needs is PEOPLE. People to knock on doors, pass out flyers...and of course people to VOTE on April 5th.

Here is some background on JoAnne:

Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg has been a litigator and prosecutor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice since 1989, serving under Attorneys General from both parties: Don Hanaway, Jim Doyle, Peg Lautenschlager and JB Van Hollen.

Her legal experience is broad and deep and includes constitutional law, appellate law, civil litigation, environmental prosecution and administrative law. She has argued numerous cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and she has tried cases in circuit courts around the state.

Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin Law School (1988). She has an undergraduate degree from Yale (1974), also with honors, and a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University (1976). During Law School, she was an intern for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and later was a law clerk for Chief Judge Barbara Crabb of the United States District Court.

A teacher at the UW Law School since 1990, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana (1976-1979) and remains active in professional, civic and community life. She is a member of the Legal Association for Women (LAW), a mentor with the Dane County Bar Association, an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor, and a member of her neighborhood association board, and has volunteered with various nonprofit groups.

CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

It is CRUCIAL that we win this election. It is our first chance to challenge the pro-Billionaire, anti-working class Republicans since they first started to try and take away workers' rights. Your vote and your time are vital to winning.


AFL-CIO ORGANIZER FOR MONROE COUNTY:
Here is the contact person if you want to help labor in Western Wisconsin, including Monroe County:

Western WI
Organizer: Andy Thompson
E-mail: athompson@wisaflcio.org
Cell: (715) 456-4113 Office: (715) 831-3353
Address: AFL-CIO, 2233 Birch St., Eau Claire, WI 54703
Counties: Barron, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, LaCrosse, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon


It is time to face facts about Wisconsin's Teabagger (remember, THEY picked that name) Governor...he has been lying and quite possibly breaking the law for no reason other than to please his Billionaire Masters, the Koch Brothers of NYC. Here are the facts and the fallout from his putting the rich in NYC over Wisconsin's firefighters, police, nurses and teachers:

Exposing Teabagger Republican Walker's Anti-Union Lies: Wisconsin State Employees Already Contribute 100% of Their Pensions...this follows on Walker's earlier lies about the Wisconsin budget: Wisconsin In January Reported A Year-End $121 Million Surplus...more: Manufactured Crisis

Teabagger (remember...THEY came up with that term, so don't whine to me about it) Walker Manages To Unite Law Enforcement And Protesters At Wisconsin Capitol...more: WI Police Refuse to Kick Out Protesters, Join Them Instead!

Teabagger Walker and His Billionaire Masters the Koch Brothers Booed by Working Class Americans...more: Gov. Walker asked to leave restaurant due to booing

Teabagger Extremist Walker Likely to Brought-Up on Similar Charges as Corrupt Texas Republican Tom Delay

The Way Forward in Wisconsin?


Monroe County Democratic Party
Steve Williams - Chair
Monroe, Wisconsin
(608) 487-2424 (main)
contact@monroecountydemocrats.info


Monroe County Branch NAACP:
https://sites.google.com/site/mcbnaacp/
Phone: 812-332-1513

* The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is the oldest, largest and strongest civil rights organization in the United States.
* The principal objective of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of the United States.
* The NAACP is committed to non-violence and relies upon the press, the petition, the ballot and the courts, even in the face of overt and violent racial hostility.


GREEN BUSINESSES IN THE MONROE COUNTY AREA: These are some of the best local businesses around. Taken from the Green America Green Pages

Organic Maple Coop/Maple Valley Inc.
www.maplevalley.coop
Produces 100% pure organic maple syrup, maple candy, and maple granules. Producers are small to mid-sized family farms and cooperatives in the US and Canada. Maple Valley brand syrup is available through health food stores, natural food co-ops, restaurants, and as an ingredient in many fine natural food products.
Phone: (800)760-1449
Fax: (800)865-4602
Show Map
919 Front St.
Cashton, WI 54619

Midwest Organic Services Association, Inc. (MOSA)
www.mosaorganic.org
MOSA provides organic certification services to producers and processors/handlers throughout the United States with a strong emphasis on the Upper Midwest.
Phone: (608)637-2526
Fax: (608)637-7032
Show Map
P.O. Box 821
Viroqua, WI 54665-0344

Organic Valley
www.organicvalley.coop
Organic Valley and Organic Prairie are trusted brands of a cooperative of over 750 organic farmers. All products are grown in harmony with nature, and in accordance with USDA National Organic Standards. (888)444-MILK.
Phone: (888)444-6455
Fax: (608)625-2600
Show Map
One Organic Way
LaFarge, WI 54639-8601


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