In one of the busiest election days of 2012 and one of the most historic,
voters in Wisconsin decided not to recall their Republican governor who set
off a national debate by curtailing collective bargaining rights for state
public employees.
In a blow to organized labor, Wisconsin voters opted to let Republican
Governor Scott Walker keep his job rather than have Milwaukee Mayor Tom
Barrett, a Democrat, take over the remainder of Walker's term.
Walker once again bested Barrett whom he defeated in a regular election
two years ago. As Stateline illustrated in yesterday's Infographic, Walker was
only the third governor in U.S. history to face a recall and the first to
survive one.
Walker struck a more conciliatory tone election night, telling supporters
that he hoped to soon bring Democratic and Republican lawmakers together to
meet over brats, burgers and beer, and he cut off the crowd when they booed a
mention of his opponent, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Meanwhile, Democrats appeared to have assumed control of the state Senate
with results posted early Wednesday, the Journal Sentinel also reported.
The recall was the most expensive in Wisconsin history, with more than
$63.5 million spent, largely by out-of-state sources, according to findings
from the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based nonprofit
investigative journalism organization.
As The New York Times has reported, Wisconsin, once known for progressive
policy, has become the most politically polarized state in the nation.
Walker's collective bargaining measure prompted large-scale demonstrations
last year at the state Capitol, not to mention more than a dozen state
senators fleeing to Illinois to avoid a vote on the bill.
But as Politico noted, the issue of collective bargaining had fallen to
the wayside in the campaign to replace Walker. Democrats focused on Walker's
tactics and ethics, rather than the collective-bargaining debate. The party's
nominee, Barrett, "wears the fact that he wasn't labor's top choice for the
ticket as a badge of honor," Politico reported, hoping to draw support from
independent voters who aren't fond of unions.
For Republicans, Walker's win gives them momentum to continue to try to
rein in government spending and union power. For Democrats, a Barrett victory
would have given them a second significant win at the polls after Ohio voters
last year repealed a new law there pushed by Republican Governor John Kasich
that likewise limited bargaining rights for state workers.
Wisconsin also had the nation's first recall election of a lieutenant
governor and here too voters decided to keep Rebecca Kleefisch in that post.
Three of the four Republican incumbent state senators who were recalled
appeared to have kept their jobs, The Associated Press reported, but final
results weren't available.
Results in Montana and California
While the Wisconsin recall drew most of the headlines, yesterday also was
primary day for state legislative races in six other states, with California,
Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota deciding their
candidates for the general election.
In Montana, voters also had to decide on candidates for this fall's
gubernatorial contest to replace outgoing Democratic Governor Brian
Schweitzer, who is term-limited. Voters there picked Attorney General Steve
Bullock as the Democratic nominee for governor and former U.S. Representative
Rick Hill as the GOP nominee, according to the state election board latest
tally.
California's primary was significant because of the ballot measures that
voters considered and for a new way that candidates for office were selected.
On ballot measures, Californians accepted shortening current legislative
term limits from 14 years to 12 years. Legislators, who can now serve only six
years in the State Assembly and eight years in the Senate, would be able to
continue to split that time across chambers or spend their entire 12-year
legislative career in one chamber, which is not currently allowed.
But the other statewide ballot measure was too close to call. That
measure calls for increasing the state's cigarette tax by a $1 to $1.87 a pack
and use the revenue for cancer research, smoking cessation programs and law
enforcement.
California's primary also was significant because of ballot measures in
San Diego and San Jose that asked voters to consider cutting public pension
benefits for city employees hired in the future. The rising cost of
retirement benefits is contributing to the budget problems facing California's
state and local governments.
In San Diego and San Jose, voters overwhelmingly approved measures to cut
retirement benefits for government workers, The AP reported. The measure in
San Diego will move city employees _except police recruits _ from the
traditional defined benefit pension plan to a 401(k)-style, defined
contribution system similar to that offered by many private companies. Current
city workers would keep their fixed pension benefits but their salaries would
be frozen for five years.
San Jose voters likewise approved limiting retirement benefits for newly
hired city employees, increasing contributions from current and future workers
and allowing city officials to suspend the annual cost-of-living increases
during financial emergencies, such as the one the city currently is
experiencing. Current workers could choose between keeping their existing
benefits, with higher contributions, or accepting a cut in their retirement
checks but contributing less. The measure also would tighten the eligibility
requirements for disability pensions.
The San Diego and San Jose votes also were noteworthy because both
allowed city residents to decide directly what level of retirement benefits
their public employees should receive. In most states, the legislature or city
government determines the benefits.
Yesterday's primary in California used a new "top-two" primary system
that put all candidates for the legislature, Congress and statewide elected
offices on a single primary ballot, regardless of party, making some races
more competitive than they would otherwise be. The top-two vote-getters in
each race will face off in November.
