A Choice for Democracy: Tony Evers
Jasleen Kaur
“Doing what’s best for our kids means having a governor that is prepared to reach across the political aisle to do what’s best for the people of this state. We must care for each other.”
In the most recent gubernatorial poll released by Marquette Law, the race for governor between incumbent Tony Evers (D) and career businessman Tim Michels (R) seems to be tightening with Evers carrying a slim 1% lead. This monumental midterm election serves as an indicator for the battleground state of Wisconsin as to what its future will hold: democracy or disaster. Tony Evers has shown the constituents of Wisconsin that he is the voice of choice, the vote for justice, and the only option for democracy.
Evers comes from humble beginnings, contrary to Michels’ constant remarks of him being a “career politician.” Evers grew up in Wisconsin his whole life, even attending college at UW-Madison before becoming a teacher and administrator in districts across the state. After gaining over 30 years of public education experience, he was elected as State Superintendent in the 2009, 2013, and 2017 elections as a non-partisan candidate. It is important to note that Evers started his career as a teacher all the way back in 1974 and only got involved in partisan politics in 2018 when he ran for the Governor’s office. This proves that he isn’t a career politician, but rather a constant public servant that sought to use his skills and experiences as a common citizen to prevent corruption within our government.
Michels claims to be a “self-made” businessman owning the Michels Corporation, a family construction company estimated to be earning billions, but in reality, this corporation was passed down to Michels and his siblings by their parents, Dale and Ruth. This wealthy businessman owed $3.7 million in state income taxes, as seen in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which suggests that he had reported over $10 million in income for the year of 2020. On the other hand, public servant and governor Tony Evers owed a total of $11,900 in 2020 income taxes. Now, money is definitely not a bad thing; however, it is a bad thing when you fail to understand the common problems that paycheck-to-paycheck Wisconsinites face in order to benefit yourself.
Michels stated that he would support imposing a flat tax rate for all Wisconsinites. He states that “it looks like we could get it [tax rate] somewhere just below 5%.” The problem with this plan is that the current income tax rates fall between 3.54% to 7.65%. This means that those in the lower income brackets in Wisconsin would have to pay more than they already do, even though they make the least. The tax rate that Michels is proposing only benefits the wealthy in Wisconsin who, like him, are able to pay the current tax rate as they make astoundingly more than low-income Wisconsinites. Michels not only doesn’t understand the monetary qualms of Wisconsinites, but he doesn’t understand the state’s lifestyle or people as a whole.
His corporation has been under fire since 1998 when it faced its first lawsuit of sexual harassment. The company faced five lawsuits filed between 1998 and 2020 ranging from sexual assault to racial discrimination. Court documentation shows that three female employees separately sued the company in 1998 and twice again in 2012 due to claims of verbal and physical abuse in addition to being pressured to engage in sexual activity with male employees. A February 2012 complaint records the groping of a female employee by a male coworker who used harsh language to state that if she didn’t have sex with him, he would make sure she lost her job. The company has also faced racial discrimination suits, the most recent being in 2020 when the Michels Corporation was sued by a Black employee for racial hostility after a noose was found near his job site. Michels states that as governor his “number one priority is to take care of the hard-working people of Wisconsin.” If this is how his corporation “takes care” of its workers, then Wisconsin doesn’t want him.
Michels can be perceived as a “carpetbagger,” as he is seeking election in Wisconsin while owning and living in a $17 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, and an $8.7 million penthouse in Manhattan, New York. Though Michels owns a home in Hartland, records show that his children have all gone to high school in the states of Connecticut and New York. Michels himself admitted that the family “probably could have moved back [to Wisconsin] a few years ago.” For the nine years he has lived out of state, he claims to have stayed in Wisconsin for 183 days each year (except one) only in order to maintain Wisconsin residency status. How is a businessman who makes millions of dollars a year and purposefully lives outside of the state he is running for election in going to understand the issues that common, middle-class Wisconsinites face?
Along with being a lifelong resident of Wisconsin, Tony Evers has gone out of his way to support small businesses rather than billion-dollar corporations like Michels’. On September 12, 2022, over 100 small business owners in Wisconsin announced their support for Tony Evers’ re-election. As governor, Evers’ has provided billions in funding to small businesses suffering from the pandemic. This funding has allowed them to stay afloat, prevented extreme unemployment, and created jobs due to the small businesses' expansions. Evers’ successful Main Street Bounceback program allowed for grants to be provided to over 5,200 businesses that planned to expand to Main Streets across the counties. This encouragement of expansion created many new jobs and built local communities tremendously. Evers stated that there is still more to come for small businesses expressing that, “Wisconsin’s economic strength is built around small businesses and working families, and they need to be supported. That’s why in the last three years I gave Wisconsinites the funding and support they need to create jobs and build their local community — there is still more to be done and I promise to continue to do the right thing for Wisconsin.”
When it comes to the topic of education, Evers believes that public tax dollars should continue going to public schools, whereas Michels believes that more tax dollars should be put into vouchers to private schools. Increasing the funding for vouchers would cut public education funding drastically. Private education is already stellar due to its tuition value, but if we look at districts like the Milwaukee Public Schools, we see a lack of funding resulting in less attendance and inadequate education. Why would we attempt to decrease public education funding when it is clear that these are the schools that need money in order to advance? Tony Evers understands this problem. In his administration, he has increased public school funding and aid exponentially. He is also behind the first funding increase for special education in 10 years. Evers presents a heightened fiscal leadership with a ground-breaking budget surplus which allows for his plan to invest about $750 million into our Wisconsin public schools in order to improve education quality for children regardless of monetary restrictions. Four years ago, Wisconsin schools ranked 18th in the country, but because Evers has put education at the forefront, this state’s schools are now ranked 8th best.
Michels and the Wisconsin GOP have consistently tried to point out a failure when it comes to parole during the Evers administration. Michels falsely stated the following: “You know how many convicted felons Scott Walker let out during his eight years early on parole? Zero. Tony Evers is approaching 1,000 of these that he’s let out early.” This statement itself is full of lies. First, Scott Walker actually was responsible for 1,400 people being let out on discretionary and mandatory parole. It is also important to note that parole numbers were higher than Evers’ under many previous governors, no matter the party. Many of the paroles granted under both Evers and Walker were also required by law, meaning that neither governor had a say on whether they would allow the parole or not. Now that the discussion is heading to the position of parole boards and governors, it is vital to understand that the parole commission is not under the discretion of the Governor. Though the governor picks the commission chair, the commission chair does not heed parole decisions based on what the governor wants. Evers himself urged his former chair, John Tate, to resign after he was put under the heat of criticism in June. Evers stated that “this is about shared revenue. We can talk about parole, but we also have all sorts of issues in the criminal justice system.”
Being “tough on crime” means addressing the problems within our criminal justice system and society as a whole that cause so many individuals to fall into a cycle of incarceration, not putting and keeping more people in jail. The way to be “tough on crime” is to address the causes, not create more; this is something that Michels doesn’t comprehend.
Under the leadership of Tony Evers as governor for the past four years, Wisconsin has benefited heavily from business reform, education funding, and, overall, the feeling of being heard and understood by a politician. The truth is that Evers grew up as a regular, middle-class citizen from Plymouth, Wisconsin who has spent his adult life serving the public. From UW-Madison student to teacher, from administrator to State Superintendent, to now governor it has become clear that Tony Evers is a man who truly cares about his Wisconsinites, no matter the race, gender, sexuality, or income level. Tony Evers knows the middle-class struggle; Tony Evers knows Wisconsinites; Tony Evers knows what is best for the future of Wisconsin. Tony for Wisconsin: the campaign that guarantees democracy.
“I need to stand up for the people of Wisconsin.”
