Wisconsin Democratic Primary Debate for Governor

Matt Smith 0:00 ↗

We wanna just kinda knock on. Alright. Rodriguez just dropped out.

Announcer 0:04 ↗

Five candidates remain in a fractured democrat field, just days from the primary to decide who will take on likely republican nominee Tom Tiffany. Tonight, their first and only televised debate at a critical juncture in Wisconsin history. Former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes.

Mandela Barnes 0:23 ↗

We've been all across Wisconsin taking the fight directly to Tom Tiffany.

Announcer 0:28 ↗

Former Tony Evers cabinet member, Joel Brennan.

Joel Brennan 0:31 ↗

And I am in this race, and I'm committed to continuing in this race because Wisconsin values are at risk.

Announcer 0:38 ↗

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Wisconsin,

David Crowley 0:42 ↗

you deserve a true Democratic candidate, and that's exactly why I am reentering this race.

Announcer 0:48 ↗

State representative Francesca Hong.

Francesca Hong 0:51 ↗

I am the only candidate in this race who takes income and power inequality seriously as the most urgent crisis of our times.

Announcer 1:00 ↗

State Senator Kelda Roys.

Kelda Roys 1:02 ↗

That was not the time to move backwards and be in more disarray.

Announcer 1:07 ↗

And now, live from the campus of Marquette University in Milwaukee. Tonight's moderators, WISN twelve political director Matt Smith and up front cohost twelve news anchor Gerron Jordan.

Matt Smith 1:28 ↗

Thank our audience across Wisconsin for joining us for the first and only televised debate between the Democratic candidates in the primary for Wisconsin governor. Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, David Crowley, Francesca Hong and Kelda Roys. We thank you all for being here with us tonight.

Gerron Jordan 1:43 ↗

The top vote getter in the August primary will take on the likely Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in November, with Tony Evers not seeking reelection. It is the first wide open race for governor since 2010. First tonight, a few ground rules. This is a debate, but we'll be having a conversation. We'll be discussing some of the key issues facing Wisconsin.

Gerron Jordan 2:04 ↗

Candidates are asked to state their positions, stay on topic and to be concise. The candidates may speak to each other, but we will manage the time on any given topic and move the conversation along if necessary.

Matt Smith 2:17 ↗

At the end, each candidate will make a brief closing statement. It is fair to say that this race has been chaotic over the last few weeks, so let's get right to it.

Gerron Jordan 2:25 ↗

Mr Crowley, three weeks ago you dropped out of this race saying you couldn't see a path to victory. Eleven days ago, the primary upended when Sara Rodriguez dropped out and you made the unprecedented move of reentering the race with an immediate endorsement from Governor Tony Evers. Since then, you have been linked to a social media account that includes offensive posts. You've said you didn't write any of those, and some have accused you of being the latest prop for the Democratic establishment. So are you and why should voters now trust your judgment and ability to win?

David Crowley 2:56 ↗

Well, first and foremost, thank you for having us, but I was never born into the establishment. I was actually born into struggle. I grew up in the 53206 zip code where I had to work extremely hard for everything that I have, and so I'm not here to protect the establishment. I'm here to deliver real results for Wisconsinites all over our states. And, you know, I like to make decisions based off of the data, based off of facts.

David Crowley 3:18 ↗

And we learned ever since that day that a lot of things have changed, and we were going off of false data. And so we know that the stakes are too high this upcoming election, and that's why I got back into this race. And I'm honored to not only have the endorsement of governor Tony Evers, but lay labor unions and leaders all across this state who believe in my leadership, and I'm looking forward to delivering for all of Wisconsin.

Matt Smith 3:37 ↗

Miss Hong, you are the Democratic Socialist who is leading in all the polls, yet some Democrats are attempting to stop you from winning, fearful that you cannot beat Republican Tom Tiffany. Just this weekend, the co chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, which you are a member, reaffirmed the DSA's position of abolishing the senate, prisons, and replacing the presidency and the supreme court as we know it. Do you fully back the DSA platform, and why should primary voters trust your judgment and your ability to win statewide?

Francesca Hong 4:06 ↗

Well, first, thank you so much to the team at WISN, the Marquette University for hosting this important debate. I do not support the full platform of the National DSA, and I'm not endorsed by DSA National. What democratic socialism is is a form of government that puts working class people first, that puts work first. The policies that we have been working on, permanent affordability, has broad bipartisan support in every corner of the state. Well, things like fully funding our public schools, ensuring that we are doing right by our kids and cutting property taxes.

Francesca Hong 4:42 ↗

Taxing the ultra wealthy and mega corporations, ensuring that we can invest in free childcare, and that everyone has access to affordable housing. And we are the only campaign to support a moratorium on AI data centers, and we have found broad bipartisan support. I am looking forward to helping the Democrats become the big tent party that they've aimed to be for many years.

Gerron Jordan 5:05 ↗

Mr Barnes, you were once seen as the clear front runner in this race. You previously lost a statewide election for US Senate when the field cleared for you. In fact, last year, the Milwaukee Courier said we need a candidate who can unite this state and win. Mandela Barnes already showed us he can't, and Governor Tony Evers recently endorsed David Crowley over you. So why should primary voters now trust you that you can win statewide this time?

Mandela Barnes 5:27 ↗

Well, thanks so much for the question and thanks so much for having me. There's not a single person on this stage who's united all shades of blue of the Democratic Party as I have before. Now that race in 2022, it was the closest US Senate race in the state in over one hundred years. It was the closest challenge to any incumbent across the entire country. No incumbent lost statewide.

Mandela Barnes 5:46 ↗

Now while DC insiders like Chuck Schumer didn't see the race as winnable, Republican billionaires certainly did. They spent over $50,000,000 to defeat me, and I only lost by one point, 26,000 votes. Now I can tell you, having been the only person on this stage who's actually won statewide in 2018 when we kicked Scott Walker out of office for good, that race was also decided by one point. Now I've been on both sides of the coin, and you learn a whole lot more when you lose. When you win, you think you did everything right.

Mandela Barnes 6:14 ↗

But when you come up that short, you have a whole lot of time to think about the things that went wrong. You learn about the devastating impact of big money in politics. You also learn about how low Republicans can get, and I can tell you right now we have the resources and we have the support to get it done and on the terms of governor Evers, I have zero interest in upholding the status quo. I have zero interest in being the establishment candidate. That is the difference right here on the stage because I am pushing the envelope to make sure that we are as bold as we can possibly be in the Donald Trump era because that's what people have been calling for Democrats to be all along.

Mandela Barnes 6:47 ↗

We have not truly met the moment.

Gerron Jordan 6:49 ↗

Thank you.

Matt Smith 6:50 ↗

Mister Brennan and miss Roys, you are both polling in the single digits and have been since the start of this race. At this point, are primary voters wasting their vote on a vote for you, mister Brennan?

Joel Brennan 7:00 ↗

Well, here's what I would tell you is I don't think primary voters have been paying much attention until the last two weeks and all the upheaval that you have seen. This is what I find when I am going out around the state is that, and this has been verified by polls that was done here by my alma mater at Marquette, because about half the people at this point haven't made a decision. And so that is a lane that's opening up. The challenge that I have had from day one is not that anybody thinks I'm unqualified for the office. I am I served as the top appointee to Governor Evers.

Joel Brennan 7:29 ↗

We created the largest budget surplus in state history. We increased the rainy day fund. We got millions billions of dollars out to family farms, to small businesses, to renters who needed it during COVID. So all of that stuff puts me in good stead. The challenge I have had is that people don't know me as well as they know some other candidates around the state.

Joel Brennan 7:46 ↗

And so what I have found in recent days is that the disruption, the upheaval, somebody putting their thumb on the scale, it has gotten people much more engaged and much more interested in this race. And day by day I am feeling that momentum and I'm feeling people who want somebody who can beat Tom Tiffany in the fall and who can hit the ground running on day one. And I I will put my qualifications on those issues up against anybody in this race.

Matt Smith 8:11 ↗

Mister Brennan, thank you. Miss Roys, you are continuing to poll in the single digits as well. At this point, are primary voters wasting their vote on a vote for you?

Kelda Roys 8:19 ↗

If you want the best public schools in the nation for your children, if you want to open up the state's health care plan so that everyone can buy in and we can lower costs for all Wisconsinites, if you want a candidate who is gonna stand up and fight Donald Trump and bring an end to this authoritarian regime, then you should vote for me. I am the candidate in this race that brings the most experience in and around state government with ten years of service in the legislature and the only one who served on the state budget committee. I've also been an executive in the private and nonprofit sectors, and for over twenty years, I've been the candidate that has turned progressive ideas, like the kind that all of us have on this stage, into law. That kind of experience is absolutely essential, and voters need to think about not just who can beat Tom Tiffany, although that is important, Not just who can deliver a democratic legislature, although that is vitally important, but who can actually do the job on day one. And I am proud to have earned by far the most endorsements of any candidate in this race, including the most endorsements in Milwaukee County, the most, largest labor union endorsement with WEAC, the state teachers union, and, the endorsement of former lieutenant governor Barbara Lawton.

Gerron Jordan 9:24 ↗

Thank you all. Last week, a Madison police officer shot and killed a man. Tonight, the investigation and the protests continue. Governor Tony Evers has called for transparency and accountability and urged for peaceful protests. Miss Hong in the hours following the shooting, standing alongside protesters, you said quote this state sanctioned violence was an execution.

Gerron Jordan 9:44 ↗

Would you make those immediate declarations as governor even though an investigation had not yet started?

Francesca Hong 9:50 ↗

No, the governor has the largest microphone in the state and there comes deep responsibility with that. But what we saw in videos and what I had talked to folks who had witnessed that, I think what we saw, it was clearly the type of violence where no one's life should have been taken. My thoughts are with, Corey Ruys and his family, and I hope that the accountability and transparency that both the governor Evers and I have called for, the independent investigation, the investment in body cameras. We want local governments to be able to invest in public safety, to be serious about public safety, and I plan to be a partner in that.

Gerron Jordan 10:31 ↗

You have also called to defund and abolish police before while saying your ideal world is one without prisons. Would you sign a bill or budget that cuts funding for police departments? No. No, why not?

Francesca Hong 10:45 ↗

The governor cannot defund police, and I'm not here to govern by slogan. I'm here to make sure that I am the governor that is most serious about public safety, That means investing in the things that we know prevent crime and getting resources to victims and ensuring that the people who are incarcerated and the folks who are working in our prisons are able to live a life of dignity and work with dignity. I think it's important that we invest in communities, including our public schools, out of of school programs, and mental health resources, and attacking the opioid, epidemic. These these are things that are proven to prevent crime, and this is what will help to make sure that we have a government that is serious about public safety.

Gerron Jordan 11:27 ↗

Mister Barnes, you have previously shown support for reducing police funding and abolishing ICE. Following the Madison shooting, you said you were deeply disturbed and pained. Would you sign a bill or budget that cuts funding for police departments?

Mandela Barnes 11:39 ↗

First of all, we should all be very disturbed by what we saw in those images, what we saw in the video. And we should fight as hard as we possibly can as a state, as a people, as a society, to make sure that never happens again. And body cameras, of course, are the norm. It should be the norm. And I wish that the Madison Police Department did have those body cameras.

Mandela Barnes 11:59 ↗

So of course, I would not sign a budget that reduced funding because obviously that police department needs the funding to have body cameras.

Matt Smith 12:05 ↗

Miss Roys, after the Madison shooting, you said we do not have to accept this as inevitable. We can create a more fair, safe world. Would you sign a bill or budget that cuts funding for police departments?

Kelda Roys 12:16 ↗

No, but I think we need to actually fund local communities so that we can do evidence based programs that actually reduce and prevent crime. At the end of the day, I'm a mom and stepmom of five. I want my kids and every kid to be safe in our communities, and I want law enforcement officers to be safe in our communities. That means that we have to invest in proven strategies that actually do that, unlike what Republicans like Tom Tiffany have done, which is cut funding to local governments, and take away local control so that communities don't have the resources to be able to actually solve these problems effectively. I am really proud, as the only attorney on this stage, to be someone that has fought for and passed criminal justice reforms to make us more safe and more just.

Kelda Roys 12:58 ↗

I have taken on racial disparities in areas from health to criminal justice, and I believe that Wisconsin can be a place where everyone has the freedom to thrive, but not if we aren't willing to tackle these really tough issues.

Matt Smith 13:11 ↗

Mr. Brennan, after the shooting in Madison, you are also calling for investigation. Would you sign a bill or a budget that cuts funding for police departments?

Joel Brennan 13:20 ↗

Of course I wouldn't. And I think as others have said here, there's been a generation of disinvestment and a broken system between the state, the broken partnership between state and local government. So we need to make sure that we're robustly funding that. It has been demonstrated. This hundred and fifteen year old contract that we have had between state and local government worked pretty well for the first eighty years.

Joel Brennan 13:40 ↗

And then the Republicans just turned off the spigot and stopped funding local government. So we need to make sure we do that. On the larger issue of criminal justice reform, we need to look a little bit to our neighbors to the West. In Minnesota, they spend about $215 per capita on criminal justice in that state. They they're about the same size.

Joel Brennan 13:57 ↗

They have about the same crime rate. We have about three times as many people incarcerated. In Wisconsin, we spend about $315 per capita on that. As a long term target, spending that $600,000,000 difference that they spend on other things in Minnesota, spending those on early childhood, on K-twelve education, on other programs in Wisconsin, that would be the kind of investment over the long term that would put us in better stead and keep us from having fewer of these incidents. Because they should outrage all of us, but there are ways that we can make a difference on those by spending our money differently.

Matt Smith 14:31 ↗

Brennan, thank you. Mr. Crowley, without first seeing any video, you said that you were horrified by the reports of the shooting and immediately pointed to other police shootings in Kenosha and Minneapolis. Did you rush to judgment with your comments, and would you sign a bill or budget that cuts funding for police departments?

David Crowley 14:45 ↗

No. Did not rush to judgment with my comments. My thoughts and prayers are not just with Corey and his family and friends, but with the entire Madison community and everybody who's been affected and retraumatized by this. Again, we have seen these types of incidents happening here locally with Jacob Blake, as well as George Floyd in Minnesota. And so it's extremely important that we have transparency.

David Crowley 15:04 ↗

We cannot defund the police. We should be investing in public safety, and that doesn't mean more money to police officers. That's like investing in in in in in systems like the community violence interruption. Milwaukee County, we have been a leader in actually helping to reduce violent crime here in Milwaukee County, working directly hand in hand with not just police departments, but also community organizations. And so we have to focus on not just investing upstream, but making sure we wrap around services around families so that they don't have to go down the road of criminality in the first place.

Matt Smith 15:34 ↗

Madison Police currently do not have police body cameras. Raise your hand if, as governor, you would sign legislation requiring all police and sheriff's departments in Wisconsin to have body cameras.

Gerron Jordan 15:46 ↗

All of you

Matt Smith 15:47 ↗

all candidates.

Gerron Jordan 15:48 ↗

Let's move on to the economy tonight. Wisconsinites overwhelmingly say inflation and the cost of living is the most important issue ahead of this election. The failed tax relief deal negotiated by Governor Tony Evers and Republican leaders who have delivered rebate checks to Wisconsinites, directed money to local schools to lower property taxes, increased special education funding, and eliminated taxes on tips and overtime. It failed in the state Senate. I'd like you to raise your hand if as governor you would have signed that deal into law if it passed.

Gerron Jordan 16:21 ↗

If it passed, if it passed, would you have signed it into law? One, Mr. Crowley.

Matt Smith 16:27 ↗

Miss Roys, you were one of the 15 Democratic senators who helped kill the deal. Why?

Kelda Roys 16:32 ↗

Because at the end of the day, my job is to be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, and this would have created a $2,900,000,000 deficit down the road, which our schools and our health care system and our local governments cannot afford. It also would have spent the surplus before it even materialized. Look at what is happening with the economy. When we are spending money that we do not yet have and spending it in ways that do not actually help us solve the long term problem of getting more money into our public schools, giving property tax relief to property taxpayers, and making sure that we have a more fair, just tax system, All we are doing is throwing that money away on a political gimmick that was frankly cooked up by Robin Vos as he sees the blue wave coming and wanted to do anything that he could to either protect his members from losing their seats and run away from their terrible record on public education, which Tom Tiffany is partially responsible for.

Gerron Jordan 17:27 ↗

Quickly, that projected deficit factored in zero economic growth. Would you consider zero economic growth? Would that be part of a Roys administration if you cite that deficit?

Kelda Roys 17:35 ↗

I'm looking at having a president who is hell bent on making things as expensive and challenging for families across the state, and a congressman running for governor who has done nothing but rubber stamp Trump's agenda 100%.

Gerron Jordan 17:48 ↗

Thank you. Mr. Crowley, you're the only one who raised your hand to sign the deal. Why would you have signed it into law?

David Crowley 17:52 ↗

Well, would have signed it into law because we would have gotten a bipartisan deal actually done. I think folks understand here in the state of Wisconsin when you have divided government, it can be a bit chaotic. Were there things in this bill that I did not like? Absolutely. I love the fact that we were going to give relief into our schools and property tax relief, and there are other things in this bill that I didn't like.

David Crowley 18:11 ↗

At the end of the day, we know that there are many Wisconsin families who are desperate. We should be focusing on how we lift them up and not playing politics. And so I would have signed that bill because that means it would have passed with bipartisanship.

Gerron Jordan 18:23 ↗

Congressman Tom Tiffany is campaigning on the fact that he would return the entire surplus, he says, to taxpayers. Miss Hong, would you return the surplus to taxpayers, or how would you spend the projected $2,500,000,000

Francesca Hong 18:34 ↗

Those are the taxpayers dollars, but investment is what we need, thinking about our shared future, our kids. It is an investment when we invest in public schools and ensuring that we are cutting property taxes, but doing right for our kids. Our campaign is about permanent affordability, and putting all of those surplus dollars, back into, taxpayers money. I think that it would be irresponsible, and the reason why that surplus deal was so problematic is that those who are on fixed income would not have received that check. Folks who are lower income would have received less.

Francesca Hong 19:09 ↗

I think it's important to think about some of the working class families across our state that deserve real relief, durable relief, and that deal was not it.

Gerron Jordan 19:18 ↗

We should mention you did vote against that in the assembly. Quickly, what would you spend the surplus on?

Francesca Hong 19:23 ↗

Public education and health care.

Gerron Jordan 19:25 ↗

Mister Brennan, would you return it to the taxpayers, or would you spend it, and how would you spend it?

Joel Brennan 19:30 ↗

Well, I think Tom Tiffany, and the Republicans have already shown their hands about how they'd return it to the taxpayers. There are three sections in the studio audience here tonight. If the poor people were and the people on fixed income and Social Security were sitting over here, they would get nothing. The rest of us who are doing okay would get the $306,100 dollars. And by the way, if you want a stimulating effect by putting money into the economy, you put it in the hands of people who are going to spend it.

Joel Brennan 19:52 ↗

And so that was part of the deal. The thing that I would have exercised in all of this is caution. Because we live in a Trump economy. I put together as a secretary of administration two budgets for governor Evers, and we need to make sure that we are doing everything possible to be cautious in this time with Trump. The way that I would spend it, you know, one, it would be cautious.

Joel Brennan 20:10 ↗

But the first thing that I would spend, the first $100,000,000, which I will do in January, will go into child care and early childhood education. It is a system that is broken. A billion dollars of productivity sits on the sidelines every year from especially from women, mainly from women who can't find affordable, accessible, or high quality child care. It is a k 12 and workforce issue. That's the first place I'd spend a $100,000,000.

Joel Brennan 20:34 ↗

Then I would restart the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund with another $100,000,000. Like, those are the types of things that we can do. That's bipartisan effort. Those are bipartisan things that have been successful. The Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund, 90% of us live within a mile of a project that's been enhanced by that over the last forty years.

Joel Brennan 20:51 ↗

It's as bipartisan as it gets, and it now, as of July 1, doesn't exist anymore. Those are the types of things that we should be investing in.

Gerron Jordan 20:58 ↗

Thank you. Mister Barnes, would you send it back to taxpayers or spend it? How would you spend it?

Mandela Barnes 21:02 ↗

Well, let's first talk about how we got here. Now, the reason there is a surplus is because Republicans in the legislature have failed the people of Wisconsin. Our school districts are going to referendum every single year just to keep the lights on. And we also see gaps in health care because we are one of 10 states that has yet to extend our excuse me, expand our Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. We are in a world of trouble and Robin Vos has never been a good negotiating partner.

Mandela Barnes 21:27 ↗

So no, I certainly wouldn't have signed the deal, but the way we give more money back to people, the way we actually return money to folks is by taxing the wealthy, taxing the billionaires, taxing these corporations that have been getting over on us, making money hand over fist while communities continue to starve for resources. This is how we can most effectively return money back to folks. On the issue of affordability, the best way we can close the affordability gap is to put more money in the pockets of hardworking people. Our minimum wage still $7.25 Costs have gone up, wages have not. But returning that money to the people, that means making the right investments in public education, making the investments in healthcare, taxing the wealthy, and implementing a working class tax cut for folks who work hard every single day and don't get the benefits that corporations get.

Gerron Jordan 22:12 ↗

So quickly, what are you doing with the surplus?

Mandela Barnes 22:14 ↗

Well, with the surplus, like I said, it's just reinvesting back into education. And And also now also because of Trump's big ugly bill, there's gonna be some stresses when it comes to expanding BadgerCare, which I still support. It is the right thing to do for us. So many folks are staring down medical debt, medical bankruptcy. We're gonna

Matt Smith 22:32 ↗

move on to

Gerron Jordan 22:34 ↗

taxes. We did bring up taxes, so let's move on to taxes. You all in some degree have used phrases like making the wealthy pay their fair share and discussed raising taxes on the rich to fund your priorities. Wisconsin already has the second highest top income tax rate in the Midwest at 7.65%, So so we want to know what all of you define as rich. So Mr.

Gerron Jordan 22:53 ↗

Barnes, under your plan, what is the specific income level where taxes would go up and what percentage would that top tax bracket pay?

Mandela Barnes 23:00 ↗

Yeah, so I think that incomes over $1,000,000 should be taxed a little bit higher, even if it's temporary. The fact is we are in a real crisis right now and our necessities have not been seeing the resources, have not been seeing the funding. Again, there's no reason these school districts should be going to referendum every single year just to fund basic services And if we increase that tax rate by less than 1%, 0.9%, 0.8%, we do a great deal to be able to provide much more funding to our school districts and also help close the share of revenues.

Gerron Jordan 23:33 ↗

Is that what you're proposing? 0.8 or point 9%?

Mandela Barnes 23:35 ↗

Well, I'm saying this is all of I'm happy to negotiate. This is what we need to negotiate, but this is the arena where I'm in right now.

Gerron Jordan 23:41 ↗

Miss Hong, the income level that you would raise taxes and how much?

Francesca Hong 23:46 ↗

Those who are making the million and $1. I think that, the billion as well to increase that 2.9%. It is incredibly disappointing that some of our lowest income earners are paying a higher tax rate than some of our highest income earners. We need to return to a progressive income tax rate. It is how we build sustainable revenue and ensure that we're able to actually increase our tax base across the state as more working class people are gonna be attracted to coming to Wisconsin to live, work, and play here.

Francesca Hong 24:18 ↗

I think that the legislation that I introduced, that would tax the billionaire and add a millionaire, tax bracket would lower property taxes by up to 44%, and we could put that funding into special education funding, which we have neglected to actually honor the budget amount, and we must bring that back up to 90% reimbursement.

Gerron Jordan 24:38 ↗

And the percentage for those millionaires?

Francesca Hong 24:40 ↗

I would increase that by about 1%.

Gerron Jordan 24:42 ↗

You would increase that to about, so about 8.65.

Francesca Hong 24:45 ↗

Correct.

Gerron Jordan 24:46 ↗

Mr Crowley, your income level and and how much would you tax them?

David Crowley 24:49 ↗

Well, let's be very clear. It's just not the the income tax, but it's also the property taxes that are also extremely high in the state of Wisconsin.

Gerron Jordan 24:55 ↗

We'll talk about that next.

David Crowley 24:57 ↗

Okay, well, we talk about income taxes, what we really need to be focusing on is how do we actually fix this system moving forward? What we need to do is take a holistic view of our tax a our taxes here in the state of Wisconsin. The last time that we took a holistic view of how we spend our money and bring in revenues was in 1986 when governor Tommy Thompson was actually governor. And so we need to bring academics. We need to bring labor.

David Crowley 25:19 ↗

We need to bring business owners and community members to the table. And let's actually have a real discussion about the entire system. I don't think that we should be just focusing on how we can increase taxes just particular for for for certain income earners when we haven't looked at the entire system. When it comes down to those who are making hand over fist, we absolutely need to to tax the ultra wealthy. We need to be smart about how we're doing things long term.

Gerron Jordan 25:43 ↗

Do you have an income level or a percentage for that?

David Crowley 25:45 ↗

Well, I think we always gotta look at those who are making more than a million dollars or more. Absolutely.

Gerron Jordan 25:50 ↗

And do you know how high you'd like to tax them?

David Crowley 25:52 ↗

No, I think that we have to look at the entire system holistically.

Gerron Jordan 25:55 ↗

Miss Roys, your income level and percentage you would tax them looking to raise taxes.

Kelda Roys 26:00 ↗

I agree with my colleagues that anyone who's earning over $1,000,000 a year should pay a slightly higher tax rate, but we also need to look at the corporate tax giveaways that have run rampant over the last fifteen years of Republican rule. We have rolled out the red carpet for Foxconn. The AI data center tax breaks are estimated to cost us $2,000,000,000. All that at a time when we are spending $0 on early childhood education, when our public schools have been starved of resources, jacking up people's property taxes just to help our kids keep teachers in the classroom. So as a small business owner, it offends me that the largest businesses in the state are not only not paying their fair share of taxes, but they're often getting public resources.

Kelda Roys 26:43 ↗

These are going to big polluters, big corporations, out of state corporations. They're not tied to job creation, and we need to not just tax the wealthy, but make sure that big corporations pay their fair share too.

Gerron Jordan 26:52 ↗

Do you have a specific percentage in mind?

Kelda Roys 26:55 ↗

I think it's concurrent with what my colleagues have talked about.

Gerron Jordan 26:58 ↗

Mister Brennan?

Joel Brennan 26:58 ↗

You're gonna find that I have general agreement that people making over $1,000,000 should pay a little bit more, and we could talk about what that is. But I also think that there are other things, the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit, which is generally not paid to farmers, and which has continued to increase to the tune of about $400,000,000. I would like to continue you know, we're talking about raising taxes on the rich. One of the real successes of Tony Evers is making sure that we have had middle class tax cuts and ensuring that we can continue to do that. Now, the other thing about this, however, is that, you know, I like to win.

Joel Brennan 27:28 ↗

And we are losing right now to Ohio. We're losing to Michigan. We're losing to Minnesota when it comes to economic development. And so if we're truly going to get to the Wisconsin that we need, if we're gonna increase our population, if we're gonna increase what we're getting out of our government, it's gonna come from economic growth. And I think we need to make sure that we are aggressive in those things.

Joel Brennan 27:48 ↗

Know, you don't need to tell me about Foxconn. I spent the first year of the Evers administration trying to figure out how do we get out of that $3,000,000 obligation. Ultimately, we brought that down to $80,000,000 and we were able to invest and treat them like virtually every other company and then be able to invest in main street businesses. So this is not just about how do we raise revenue, it's how do raise revenue by taxes, it's how do we raise revenue through growth and making sure that we are growing our own and investing in economic development in our state.

Gerron Jordan 28:16 ↗

Real quick before we move on, what if all the millionaires leave the state and go to a state near us that has a flat tax rate or or a lower tax rate? Then all of these plans collapse, correct?

Joel Brennan 28:25 ↗

I think that's why you need that that's why this needs to be a holistic strategy. You know, there's a whole bunch of ways in which people don't trust government and don't trust Democrats, and we better be in a position where we can demonstrate to them that when we're spending these things, they're also getting some benefit on it. So if all we're talking about is raising taxes, if this is all gonna be about how do we make sure that we are, you know, know, doing that to people penalizing, if it's just gonna be penalties, then we are going to start to lose. We need to make sure we're growing with everybody.

Gerron Jordan 28:52 ↗

Miss Hong, do they leave the state?

Francesca Hong 28:54 ↗

You know, discussing that hypothetical is, a little bit, I'm confused about that. However, let's look at all the other policies that we have talked about that we have been fighting for with our campaign. When there is free childcare, when there is fully funded public schools, when we see some of these corporate loopholes and corporate welfare come to an end, when we have investment in rural roads, when there's legalization of cannabis, I think that we can improve the quality of life for millionaires and ensure that they too will be able to live, work, and thrive here in our state.

Gerron Jordan 29:28 ↗

Let's talk about property taxes.

Matt Smith 29:30 ↗

This past year, Wisconsin Idea saw highest property tax increase in three decades. School property tax levies increased on average nearly 8%. Raise your hand if you as governor would commit to an across the board property tax decrease. All candidates agreeing to across the board property tax decrease. We'll start with you Mr.

Matt Smith 29:53 ↗

Barnes. How would you make that happen?

Mandela Barnes 29:54 ↗

Well first of all we have to get school funding off of the property tax pros. That's the biggest thing. The reason we have seen these historic property tax increases is again because communities all across the state of Wisconsin have voted to raise their own property taxes just to keep the doors open. It is a very irresponsible way to fund education, to fund our future, to prioritize our children. When I talked about Robin Vos not being a good negotiating partner, when I talked about the priorities in Wisconsin missing the mark, this is how we end up with a surplus because our schools don't have this funding and the resources that they need.

Mandela Barnes 30:27 ↗

So what we need to immediately do is get to the state's constitutional commitment of two thirds funding. We have to make sure our schools are fully funded. When our schools are fully funded, that burden doesn't fall on the property tax rolls. Then gradually over time, we'll be able to decrease property taxes.

Gerron Jordan 30:44 ↗

We are there right now at two thirds roughly?

Mandela Barnes 30:46 ↗

We are not we're not there yet. Are not there yet. We're not

Matt Smith 30:48 ↗

there yet. Mr. Brennan, how do you make an across the board property

Joel Brennan 30:52 ↗

It tax increase was mentioned a little bit by Mandela, but this spring when we all celebrated Chris Taylor's win that that night, that same night, 72 school districts went to referendum, 60 of them for operations, just to keep the lights on, not to build a new middle school, not to build a new science classroom. That is as as big a condemnation as we can get in Wisconsin. And so I would immediately scrap that funding formula, which is under a lawsuit right now, but it's probably going to take three years for that to work its way through the courts. Our kids don't have three more years to wait. I would create a child centric formula where every kid has value regardless of where you live.

Joel Brennan 31:26 ↗

You add on for special needs. You add on for urban rural poverty. You add on for English language learners. Like that's how most other states have done this. And if you do that and you recommit to that two thirds from the state, immediately that brings down property taxes for people and it gives kids and teachers and parents what they need in the classroom.

Joel Brennan 31:45 ↗

This is where we have failed. That student, the school funding formula has been around since 1993. It didn't work then and it doesn't work now. So that's the first thing that we've got to do that would meet the needs of kids, but stop hitting property taxpayers against kids.

Matt Smith 31:58 ↗

Miss Hong, how do you bring property taxes down across the board?

Francesca Hong 32:01 ↗

As I mentioned that we have already introduced legislation that would add a tax to the millionaire and increase the millionaire tax bracket as well as a billionaire tax. You know, this would help us fund, special education while lowering property taxes by up to 44%. It is essential that we return to two thirds funding and make sure that we are bringing a responsible end to the voucher program. This is a program that currently, the state is spending over $1,200,000,000, and I think that it is not just public school funding that is raising property taxes. Robin Vos and the Republican led legislature has been decreasing shared revenue, and and it is a deep inadequate funding for our local governments, and they too have had to go to referenda, and many are increasing property taxes.

Francesca Hong 32:47 ↗

So increasing the levies and giving our local governments the ability to raise, more revenue, I think that this is how we're gonna make sure that communities can invest in, the things that and the programs that they absolutely deserve.

Matt Smith 33:01 ↗

And we're gonna get to education and vouchers here in just a second. Miss Roys, so I do wanna ask about property taxes. How do you bring property taxes down across the board?

Kelda Roys 33:09 ↗

The most important thing that we can do is appropriately fund our local governments and our public schools at the state level. That means getting to the two thirds funding commitment that was made but has never been met, but it also means fixing the way that those dollars are distributed because right now it's deeply inequitable. My family moved to rural Taylor County. That's where I was a little girl, and they moved because of the quality of the public education system here in Wisconsin forty seven years ago. Now, raising my kids in Dane County, I can see that we have been shortchanging our kids, and that is not okay with me.

Kelda Roys 33:41 ↗

So we do need more state resources to end this divisive cycle of referendums that are pitting neighbors against one another, grandparents against their grandkids' schools. I also am the only candidate in this race that actually has a plan, not just a wish, but an actual plan to bring that private voucher scheme to a responsible end because the actual number is closer to $1,800,000,000 in each budget that is going directly out of the coffers of our local school districts into these private schemes, and they are unaccountable, and they can discriminate against kids, and none of us as taxpayers should find that acceptable.

Matt Smith 34:14 ↗

Mister Crowley, do bring property taxes down across

David Crowley 34:16 ↗

the board? Property taxes are extremely high here in the state of Wisconsin. It's not just affecting the senior who's on a fixed income. It's also affecting that young person who may wanna buy a home, and everybody's getting squeezed in every direction. And it's not just affecting homeowners.

David Crowley 34:28 ↗

It's also affecting renters as well because when property tax go up, landlords quite frankly pass those out down to those renters as well. And so we have to tackle property taxes by one investing in our education system, increasing the reimbursement rates as well for special education because our school districts shouldn't have to choose between mandated services and whether or not they're gonna have teachers. But as the only elected official who runs, you know, county government representing 19 different municipalities close to a million people, we have a lot of state mandated services. And with those state mandated services, those resources don't come down the pipeline. And so it's extremely important that we work at the state to to make sure that we are getting the local governments are getting enough resources to invest in things like public safety because the state of Wisconsin is near the bottom or dead last when it comes down to investments and such.

Gerron Jordan 35:15 ↗

We brought up. We brought up vouchers, so let's talk about vouchers right now. About 30,000 Milwaukee children attend private schools using taxpayer funded vouchers. Milwaukee was the first school choice program in the nation to help families who felt failed by the public school system and still do so today. The program has since expanded statewide.

Gerron Jordan 35:33 ↗

As we've heard, some of you are calling to end the voucher program. Mr Crowley, do you support eliminating or reducing vouchers in the city of Milwaukee?

David Crowley 35:41 ↗

Look, I am a proud MPS graduate. Went to Milwaukee Public Schools. All three of my daughters go to public schools. So I believe in the power of our public education. I think to say that we're going to fully eliminate the voucher system overnight really doesn't take into account the impact towards our family, towards our teachers, and quite frankly toward the public school system.

David Crowley 36:00 ↗

You know, we've talked about how we went to referendum to make sure our public schools have what they need. And if we're going to referendum for the current capacity of students that they have now, how will we be able to bring on those students and make sure that we have great public schools moving forward? And so I don't think the question is whether or not we should have vouchers. The question should be how do we continue to invest in our public schools to make sure that they are the school of choice?

Gerron Jordan 36:21 ↗

So would you sign a bill that eliminated or reduced vouchers in Milwaukee?

David Crowley 36:25 ↗

To eliminate or reduced vouchers? No. But I don't believe in expanding vouchers in the state of Wisconsin.

Gerron Jordan 36:29 ↗

Mister Barnes, you're proposing a multi year sunset of the program as you've described it. What does that look like specifically in the city of Milwaukee?

Mandela Barnes 36:35 ↗

Well, let's first talk about the reason why parents feel failed by public schools. This all goes back to the lack of funding. This goes back to the state not meeting its two thirds funding requirement, and schools have been starved of resources. So it will only be natural for parents to feel that way. I am also a proud Milwaukee Public School graduate, but I know having gone to a school that was starved of resources, what that impact meant on a lot of my classmates.

Mandela Barnes 37:00 ↗

Now I was very fortunate to know where I was gonna go home at night. I was very fortunate to not have to worry about where my next meal came from, but that's not the reality that far too many of our students face. And we're talking about education. We truly have to talk about the societal factors that impact how our students do or do not learn. If we have these exorbitant rates of child poverty, it is going to impact the way that they learn, and as I have talked about vouchers, the main line is accountability, because we have seen horror stories where voucher operators close doors overnight.

Mandela Barnes 37:33 ↗

These operators move to Florida on the public dime, and so we have to first get the bad actors out of the system. Now I believe public dollars belong in public schools, and if you receive a dime of public money as a private school operator, you should have to operate by a uniform set of standards. That means public governance. That means public accountability, public scrutiny. And if you cannot meet those standards, you should be taken out of the system.

Mandela Barnes 37:57 ↗

I can tell you

Gerron Jordan 37:58 ↗

But do vouchers go down or are they eliminated in the city of Milwaukee?

Mandela Barnes 38:01 ↗

Well, I think that the income caps being lifted is a travesty because that is what makes it a scheme. This no longer becomes a program for lower income parents to put their children.

Gerron Jordan 38:10 ↗

So there could be less vouchers in no

Mandela Barnes 38:12 ↗

one It to do becomes a handout, and we can no longer there's no justification for expansion of vouchers or lifting the caps if we have not fully funded our public schools. So yes, would sign a bill that reduced them because we have seen

Gerron Jordan 38:26 ↗

Thank you.

Mandela Barnes 38:27 ↗

So much chaos with this system. We have seen and look, a lot of students and this is not an overnight thing by any means, but we do have to get serious about the delivery of education, specifically here in Milwaukee, but we also have to get serious about the societal issues that continue to plague our systems. We always have the about education, but never about poverty.

Matt Smith 38:47 ↗

Thank you, Mr. Barnes. Miss Roys, at what point in your plan do vouchers go away for tens of millions of children in Milwaukee, tens of thousands of children in Milwaukee?

Kelda Roys 38:58 ↗

No student in Milwaukee or Racine who is currently enrolled in a voucher program and is happy there will be displaced, and they will be allowed to continue their education until they graduate, as will their siblings. However, all programs that take public money need to be subject to the same rules and regulations that public schools are. Right now, you can do corporal punishment in a voucher school. You don't have to have licensed teachers that undergo background checks. You can discriminate against teachers and against students, including cherry picking students and saying, no, we don't want a student with a disability.

Kelda Roys 39:29 ↗

I think that's totally unacceptable as a taxpayer, and certainly as a parent. Every single child deserves a high quality public education, And what we have with the statewide expansion is essentially a program that has subsidized the private choices of wealthy parents. The vast majority of students in the statewide expansion were already in private school at their parents' expense before taxpayers started picking up the tab. I believe that public dollars belong in public schools, and if you take even $1 of public money, you need to be subject to accountability. And yes, over time, I am gonna bring the private voucher scheme to an end as we increase the quality and the capacity of our public schools, Because the most important thing to me as a parent and what I hope my legacy will be as governor is to restore Wisconsin in our rightful place as the best public education state in the nation.

Gerron Jordan 40:18 ↗

So a three year old child, for example, in the city of Milwaukee would not qualify for a voucher under your plan?

Kelda Roys 40:24 ↗

Correct. Unless they were enrolled in a three k program or if their sibling was already in one.

Gerron Jordan 40:28 ↗

Thank you.

Matt Smith 40:28 ↗

Mister Brennan, do you support ending or dialing back the state's voucher program? And specifically, what does that look like for Milwaukee?

Joel Brennan 40:34 ↗

Yeah. And I I I do support some putting back the cap on for the statewide program which has come off. I think that there are we've already talked about some of the accountability. There's a transparency issue. We should pass a state law that says on your property tax bill you can see how much the city, the county, the public schools, and how much vouchers are costing.

Joel Brennan 40:52 ↗

Like all of those things are important. I'm a proud parent. My kids went to Milwaukee Public Schools for about twenty two years. But let me add a dose of reality here. There is not going to bill be a bill that passes in the legislature that is put on the governor's desk right now to end vouchers in Milwaukee.

Joel Brennan 41:07 ↗

You know why? Because there are representatives in Milwaukee who represent the city of Milwaukee for whom more than half of the people who go who live there are sending their kids to private schools. Like, we have to live in the real world. This is an issue that is dividing Democrats because in Milwaukee, what parents deserve is a great option. And I want to make sure our public schools are better than any, bar none.

Joel Brennan 41:27 ↗

We have the largest achievement gap in the country right here in my hometown. That's not acceptable. So the results aren't what we want. We need to hold everybody accountable. You know who doesn't like accountability?

Joel Brennan 41:38 ↗

Lousy schools, no matter what kind of school they are. So we need to make sure we are holding ourselves accountable, but we need to also make sure that we are, you know, living in the real world here because I wouldn't put legislators in a position where they're going to have to tell parents that they can't send

Gerron Jordan 41:55 ↗

this bill your desk. Would you sign a bill that reduced vouchers in the city of Milwaukee?

Joel Brennan 41:59 ↗

I wouldn't right now because I think we need to make sure that we are doing right by everybody in the city of Milwaukee.

Gerron Jordan 42:05 ↗

There are

Joel Brennan 42:05 ↗

changes to be made. The largest recipient of vouchers in the state, 44,000,000 to a virtual school.

Gerron Jordan 42:11 ↗

Those are the types

Joel Brennan 42:12 ↗

of things we can change.

Matt Smith 42:12 ↗

Miss Hong, you are calling for a responsible transition away from the quote unfair voucher program. Does that include fully eliminating vouchers in Milwaukee?

Francesca Hong 42:21 ↗

No, I'm a very proud, daughter of immigrants, a single mom where my son is going to the same public school district that I came through in my hometown of Madison. I believe that public dollars not only belong in public schools, but one of the reasons that privatization has grown across the country is that, you know, it's public institutions of education that are one of our last remaining democratic institutions, and if we don't have strong public schools, we can't have a strong democracy. Our plan would ensure, property tax transparency. I was in Luxembourg, Wisconsin, at the dairy breakfast talking to a gentleman who had no idea about the voucher program, and when he found out that the statewide program is where some of the public dollars were going into private schools, he was shocked. Ending that statewide program, and, implementing property tax transparency, and then moving to Milwaukee and Racine, and looking at accountability and transparency measures that is uniform across what public schools are having to, be audited for, and the different regulations that public schools are responsible for, and I will say I introduced the Healthy School Meals for All legislation, and that is a bill that would include all students in K through 12.

Francesca Hong 43:35 ↗

It includes vouchers, and it includes private schools, schools for the visually impaired, and this is a type of bill that not only helps to reduce costs for families, but would help all students across the state.

Matt Smith 43:46 ↗

So to the point of fully eliminating vouchers in Milwaukee, your plan?

Francesca Hong 43:51 ↗

It has to be a responsible program and process where we work directly with the families and, the different schools where the voucher program, depending on how expansive it is in the school, but it would need to come to an end, and I can see, I don't wanna put a firm number on it, but I do believe that, again, public dollars coming in public schools, understanding that we are have we have built this system where it's deeply inequitable, and I think that it's important that we put in the responsibilities of working with our partners to end their program in Milwaukee.

Gerron Jordan 44:23 ↗

Eventually, a full end in the city of Milwaukee.

Francesca Hong 44:26 ↗

I believe that that is what, bringing a responsible end to the voucher program is, Matt.

Matt Smith 44:31 ↗

Thank you. Let's talk about data centers. In Marquette's latest poll, 76% of Wisconsinites say they believe the costs outweigh the benefits, and that includes a majority of Democrats, independents, and Republicans. You've all outlined varying plans on how you would approach the boom in data centers from new regulations to construction moratoriums. State lawmakers recently attempted to pass a series of regulations, but they failed to pass the full legislature.

Matt Smith 44:54 ↗

If lawmakers can agree and if you believe in local control, what really can you do as governor, mister Crowley?

David Crowley 45:00 ↗

Well, one, we need to it's unfortunate that the legislature actually left session without actually putting any guardrails in place. So as governor, we need to make sure that we're protecting ourselves from the data centers that are currently here. I do have the same concerns that many folks have across this state, but I think a moratorium, a short term moratorium doesn't address the long term concerns that we have. And so as governor, we will make sure that we hold these data centers accountable, that they pay, for the energy use, they pay for the grid upgrades, and they bring the Beyonce approach, bring your own new clean energy. We need these data centers to be as close to 100 renewable energy, as much as possible.

David Crowley 45:37 ↗

But they can go anywhere in this country. But we have to understand that our clean air, our clean water, it doesn't stop at the borders of of Wisconsin. And so as county executive, we have put in place a climate action plan to reduce our carbon emissions, and we're 50% of the way there. We need to make sure that we're having that same level of accountability here in the state of Wisconsin. But if they are going to be here, let's make sure we're utilizing union labor.

David Crowley 45:58 ↗

Let's see project labor agreements, prevailing wage, and community benefit agreements across the entire state because we're all going to be affected, and I believe they should be subsidizing our energy use if they're going to be here.

Gerron Jordan 46:10 ↗

You said they could go anywhere. Do you want them here?

David Crowley 46:13 ↗

I couldn't hear

Gerron Jordan 46:13 ↗

you. You said they could go anywhere. Do you want them here in Wisconsin?

David Crowley 46:16 ↗

Well, we need to make sure that we have framework in place to protect ourselves moving forward because right now, we don't have anything right now with what's already here.

Matt Smith 46:23 ↗

Miss Hong, if lawmakers, they can't agree on any regulations and if you believe in local control, what can you really do as governor?

Francesca Hong 46:30 ↗

No. I introduced the legislation that puts a moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers, and I would call a special session into, place so that the legislature can take up that legislation or the other democratic legislation that had been introduced by my colleagues, and yet Robin Vos ended session early. I think it's important that we have enforceable regulation, that we bring union workers to the table, that this is very similar to what I believe could be seen as more collective bargaining to make sure that we're protecting union jobs, and that, you know, the, natural resources, we're letting some of the big tech companies know that they are not for sale, and until we fully fund the Department of Natural Resources, and we have the actual regulations to, hold polluters accountable that we are including in the Public Service Commission, you know, different types of phases where we have stricter legislation and clear definitions of how data centers can actually move forward. This moratorium is necessary so that we can responsibly and and put in enforcement mechanisms to protect communities, and seeing local governments already put moratoriums into play, we want people to have local control, but we also wanna make sure that there are the guardrails, the legal resource, and that if data centers are going to come here in our state, that they pay their own way and actually pay up front.

Francesca Hong 47:50 ↗

And I think it's important to say that, you know, the data centers that currently exist in our state, you know, there is a sales tax exemption with over $2,100,000,000 that could go back into infrastructure for clean renewable energy.

Matt Smith 48:02 ↗

Miss all

Francesca Hong 48:02 ↗

Green union jobs.

Matt Smith 48:03 ↗

Thank you. Mister Brennan, if if lawmakers can agree and you believe in local control, what can you do to address the boom in data centers?

Joel Brennan 48:10 ↗

Three words to start with, get new lawmakers. That's why that's why the stakes are so important this year. That's why we need a nominee who's going to win down ballot and make sure we can have a majority in the state assembly and the state senate. Once we do that, you know, what people think about when they think about data centers, they are angry. They're angry because government has failed them.

Joel Brennan 48:28 ↗

The state got into the the data center game and they put no guardrails on. And you know, I have not called for a moratorium, but I have said that I would put a pause on the construction of new data centers, not for a year, but in the first hundred days. We can do four things. We can make sure that nobody watching tonight pays for the construction, the operation, the transmission, the ultimate retirement of these. Make sure that there are real teeth in the environmental regulations, making sure that they're having to do renewables.

Joel Brennan 48:52 ↗

Make sure that there are Wisconsin union workers who are building these if they happen here. And number four, make sure that there are never going to be the nondisclosure agreements that are the reason why people don't trust government, why the reason why they're they're so angry about these things. If we can demonstrate in that first hundred days and there's good legislation that's gone through 12 drafts, and Democrats and Republicans both, and stakeholders have had involvement in that. If we can do that in the first hundred days, it's not gonna make everybody happy, but it's gonna set the bar and take away that uncertainty and take away another reason for why people distrust government and why they're so angry. Like that's I think what governing is.

Joel Brennan 49:27 ↗

Mr.

Mandela Barnes 49:29 ↗

So as the governor, the response has to be bigger than buzzwords. Now I do think that there should be no new data center construction without those guardrails in place. If a community rejects a data center proposal, then there should be no new data center constructed. And with the guardrails, the framework that protects our natural resources, that makes sure that water quality, air quality is protected, that also makes sure that people's utility rates aren't increasing. If that framework is in place, it also needs to be retroactively applied to existing data centers.

Mandela Barnes 50:01 ↗

And we also have to have a renewable energy mandate to make sure that they are contributing energy back to the grid and I want us all to you know caution especially you know because I do again no new data center construction without those guardrails in place but even as the representative mentioned a full in urban Milwaukee was reported that a full data center moratorium may face legal repercussions. Those were the words of the representatives, not mine, and it is important for us to empower the Department of Natural Resources to make sure that they have the funding to engage in the ongoing quality monitoring of these data centers to ensure that they aren't negatively impacting air or water quality.

Matt Smith 50:36 ↗

Mr. Barnes, thank you. Miss Royce.

Kelda Roys 50:38 ↗

Something that none of my colleagues have mentioned, even though we are all running for governor, is using executive power against the existing projects that are under construction and were put under construction over the strenuous objections of those communities. We have a Department of Natural Resources that should be protecting our air and our soil and our water. We have a public service commission that needs to be much more aggressive about making sure that the big guys are not asking us to subsidize them. I have put forth the strongest legislation and the strongest plan of the candidates in this race to actually address and stop the unregulated development of data centers because I believe the status quo is totally unacceptable. The moratorium bill has very little support and is unlikely to pass, but the strong regulation bill that many of my colleagues have described is poised to pass in January.

Kelda Roys 51:28 ↗

But I will not stop there. I will also establish a public negotiating team so that any community that decides it would like to engage with a data center has the opportunity to have expert negotiators. I will increase shared revenue so that communities don't feel desperate like they have to. I will also end the subsidies for data centers because they should be paying us and not the other way around, and when a community decides, yes, we've reached agreement, I will charge an upfront fee that they will pay to the state on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars to finance a clean infrastructure public bank.

Gerron Jordan 51:59 ↗

I apologize if I cut you off here. We are kind of running up against time. Everything you've talked about tonight relies on a democratically controlled legislature. Miss Hong, what happens if there's a divided government or Republicans control the legislature and your governor?

Francesca Hong 52:11 ↗

You know, I have passed bipartisan legislation, the one where it would require K-twelve schools to teach Asian American history. So much of working in government has to do with building strong relationships, and I have done that with Republicans. I am willing to work with anyone at the table who wants to actually deliver for working class families, and improve lives, and work on policies that are going to be deliverables, and I believe that shared revenue, healthcare, and public education are three areas, and some of my top priorities where Republicans have shown some support, and I've talked to them about these issues, and so I believe that even with the split legislature, my focus and my leadership will ensure that we are governing to actually deliver for working class families across the state.

Gerron Jordan 52:57 ↗

Thank you, mister Barnes. How do you get anything done with Republicans?

Mandela Barnes 53:00 ↗

Well, can tell you that's why this race is so important. That's why rejecting this broken system matters so much. That's why rejecting the status quo is so important when people go to cast a ballot. Look, we'll never be as bold as we need to be as a state if we continue down this path that we've been going. And it's been mentioned that the county executive had his campaign resurrected by special interests in a dark room with people with their thumb on a scale.

Mandela Barnes 53:24 ↗

This means things will always be the same with that sort of leadership. We should be asking for more. We should be demanding more. If we lead

Gerron Jordan 53:31 ↗

Thank you.

Mandela Barnes 53:31 ↗

With a bold platform, we implement a mandate. We have a mandate to govern in the interest of people in a way that we have never done before, and that's what this race is about.

Gerron Jordan 53:42 ↗

Thank you. Mister Crowley, how do you work with Republicans? Get anything done.

David Crowley 53:44 ↗

You know, served in the state legislation like many of my colleagues here, but none of them have actually run local government. You know, I'm the county executive of the largest community. And when I was elected in 2020, we had to work to get Act 12 passed.

Gerron Jordan 53:56 ↗

We worked with

David Crowley 53:57 ↗

Democrats and Republicans, and we've done it in Republican controlled legislatures. And I do believe that we'll get a lot more done.

Gerron Jordan 54:03 ↗

Thank you. Believe it or not, it is now time for closing statements. We did choose randomly with the campaigns present to determine the order.

Matt Smith 54:10 ↗

Each candidate will have thirty seconds for a final thought, and we will begin with mister Brennan.

Joel Brennan 54:15 ↗

Thank you very much. While you've seen differences amongst us today, we have a common threat. It's losing to Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump. And the stakes have never been higher. We can build a 100,000 new homes.

Joel Brennan 54:28 ↗

We can expand BadgerCare. We can stop having property taxpayers pitted against kids in Wisconsin, but we have to win in order to do that. For twenty five years, I have been somebody who has solved problems. I'll be a governor who's more interested in results than rhetoric. I hope that I can get your support on August 11 and November 3.

Joel Brennan 54:47 ↗

Thanks for tuning in tonight.

Matt Smith 54:49 ↗

Mister Crowley.

David Crowley 54:50 ↗

I wanna first and foremost thank you thank our moderators for hosting us, and I wanna thank all of you who are tuning in today. You know, my story is like Wisconsin's story. I grew up learning the values of hard work, resilience, and to stand up when somebody tries to knock you down. But people all across this state are struggling every single day, and I know what that feels like. They need a governor who's gonna deliver for them on day one, and that's why I have received the endorsements of folks like Tony Evers, governor Evers, our labor unions, and folks all across our state, because they know I will be delivering the results that's going to make a great impact.

David Crowley 55:23 ↗

I look forward to having your vote on August 11. Miss Royce.

Kelda Roys 55:27 ↗

All of us on this stage are good people. For twenty five years, I have been turning the good ideas that we've shared into state law in the toughest of political environments. I've stood up to bullies and billionaires just like Donald Trump, and I will never stop fighting to build the Wisconsin that all of us deserve working alongside you as I have throughout my career. We need all hands on deck in this high stakes moment to protect our rights and freedoms, to deliver healthcare for all, and to make sure that every child has a great public school. I ask for your vote on August 11.

Matt Smith 56:00 ↗

Mister Barnes.

Mandela Barnes 56:01 ↗

To everybody watching at home, I want you to know that the establishment is trying to rig this election. They want you to choose between their preferred candidate, and also Republican billionaires are lining up to the tune of $3,500,000 to choose a Democratic nominee in this race. I'm here to say that's BS. I've been a progressive fighter who's taken on the tough fights, but also the only candidate on this stage who's actually defeating Tom Tiffany according to the most recent Marquette poll. We can get things done, but it starts on August 11.

Mandela Barnes 56:27 ↗

I'm asking for your support, so that we can go into November with the strength, and that we can go into January with the mandate to govern in the interest of people. And

Matt Smith 56:34 ↗

miss Hong.

Francesca Hong 56:35 ↗

Thank you so much to the viewers this evening. I am your fighter, fighting alongside you and fighting for you, This is a movement moment. Our campaign is the one that has built a bipartisan coalition where we have reached voters in every part of the state. Republicans, independents, Democratic socialists, and Democrats, they have come together and already uniting. We are already beating Tom Tiffany, whether it comes to the number of donors, whether it comes to the number of individual donations.

Francesca Hong 57:02 ↗

I think it's time for this moment of unity, and I'm the leader to meet that moment.

Gerron Jordan 57:07 ↗

That was quick, and we did it. We made it. Sincere thank you to the candidates this evening for being here tonight, and thank you to everyone watching at home.

Matt Smith 57:15 ↗

If you missed any part of tonight's debate, it will be available on the twelve news app, YouTube, and streaming on very local. You can look for post debate analysis Sunday on up front. Election day is Tuesday, August 11. Early in person voting already underway. Thanks so much for your time tonight.

Matt Smith 57:29 ↗

Have a good night.