by Kerry Thomas
April 20, 2011
On November 4, 2008, a group with more than 170,000 members was given the opportunity to choose one person to be their voice, to represent their views, to decide how that group would be governed. Of the two finalists for the job, the group narrowly chose Jim Holperin to be their voice in the Wisconsin Senate for the next four years.
For the first two years of his new term, Senator Holperin enjoyed his status among a majority in the Legislature, where Democrats controlled both the Assembly and the Senate. A Democrat also served as Governor for those two years. The Democrats pushed through whatever legislation they wanted. Republicans could put up opposition, but lacked the numbers to stop any Democrat proposals.
Democrats used all manner of accounting gimmicks to claim a balanced 2009-11 budget. They borrowed money from segregated funds, used one-time federal stimulus money, and raised taxes by more than $1 billion. Senator Holperin even claimed the Democrat budget would result in a $270 million surplus.
On November 2, 2010, with Wisconsin’s economy going downhill
fast, Wisconsin voters handed Republicans control of both legislative bodies
and the Governor’s seat.
Republicans had promised to get Wisconsin’s fiscal house in
order, and wasted no time once they took office in January. They introduced several legislative
proposals, and prepared to vote on them.
Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate, who now found themselves
in a minority position, didn’t like the Republican proposals. But rather than voice their opposition in
the Legislature, knowing they were in a losing minority position, they instead chose
to flee the State.
Senator Jim Holperin abdicated his responsibilities as an elected
official, by fleeing to Illinois rather than reporting to work in the Senate. In doing so, Senator Holperin deprived nearly
170,000 residents of Wisconsin’s 12th Senate District from any
representation in the Wisconsin Senate.
No matter which side of the debate you’re on, if you’re a
resident of the 12th District, you had no representation, no voice
in the Senate. Pro or con, your voice
was silenced by Senator Holperin’s absence.
On this particular
matter of the budget, Jim Holperin and I hold opposing views. From my perspective, it's probably better
that Jim Holperin not cast a vote than cast a vote contrary to my views. But in our republic, my elected
representative has a duty to be present and cast that vote, even when it
diverges from my own.
By his absence, Jim
Holperin caused the 170,000 voices of the 12th district - all of our
voices - to be silenced.
Recalling Jim
Holperin should not be based on political ideology. He was elected to be the voice of Wisconsin's 12th Senate
District. Jim Holperin abdicated his
responsibilities as an elected official, and deprived all of us from having
that voice heard in the Senate.
Think about it this way.
If you refused to
report to work for three weeks, would you still have your job? Would you still be paid for those three
weeks? If you had an employee who
refused to report for work for three weeks, would you still pay that employee? Would that employee still have a job with
your company?
Think about it, and
then ask yourself if Jim Holperin should be treated any differently. He's your public employee...for now.