Friday, February 24, 2006

Winnebago County Labor Council endorsements for Spring 2006 elections

LC1 here....

The Winnebago County Labor Council interviewed and voted to endorse candidates at the monthly meeting last night. Here's the press release:



Press Release
Winnebago County Labor Council AFL-CIO
Contact: Stephen Dedow
Email: winnebagolabor@hotmail.com



Winnebago County Labor Council Endorses Candidates for April Elections


The Winnebago County Labor Council, the local AFL-CIO chapter, held its annual candidate forum on Thursday, February 23rd for the purpose of endorsing individuals running for local offices.

The following candidates were endorsed by the WCLC:

City Council: Mark Madison
Oshkosh School Board: Dennis Kavanaugh, Lee Wilson and Amy Weinsheim.
Winnebago County Board District 17: Jef Hall

The forum questions included individual positions on the Tax Payers Bill of Rights (TABOR), tax incentive accountability and economic development, new ideas for attracting and maintaining good paying jobs, the right to organize, shared revenue reductions, privatization, gender equity, and prevailing wage laws.

Candidates in attendance included: Burk Tower, Amy Weinsheim, Wayne Traska, Kent Monte, Dennis Kavanaugh, Brian Poeschl, and Mark Madison. Michelle Monte and Jef Hall requested and submitted questionnaires for consideration, while Paul Esslinger and Dan Becker respectfully declined the invitation to attend.

Council President Stephen Dedow stated that all the candidates in attendance gave thoughtful, honest and considerate answers to our questions. I believe that the intentionally loose format of the forum created an atmosphere of openness which allowed all those who participated to exchange ideas freely. Most of the candidates had similar view points such as the nearly unanimous opposition to TABOR. The individuals we ended up endorsing simply were closer philosophically to our overall position as organized labor and as such would represent our concerns effectively.

The current endorsements follow earlier recommendations in support of Peg Lautenschlager for Attorney General and Karen Siefert for Judge in Branch 4.