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On Thursday, Wisconsin State Assembly candidate Glen Brower announced he had received a key endorsement of his candidacy for the State Assembly. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsed Brower, who issued a statement on the endorsement:

***For Immediate Release***
August 28, 2008

With the Labor Day weekend quickly approaching, Glen Brower candidate for the 21st Assembly District receives Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsement.

With an Economy in peril, gas prices hovering near $4, and news every day of more jobs being lost or shipped over seas, we need strong leadership perhaps more than ever before. The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has long been a leader in protecting the rights of workers as well as their quality of life, but their still a lot work to be done.

They need the support of strong and proven leadership to ensure that the working men and women of our great state have a voice in Madison. Therefore, recently the AFL-CIO threw its support, along with 1,000 of their affiliated groups, behind Glen Brower.

“As Labor Day approaches I am honored by the endorsement of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO along with its 1,000 affiliated unions. Labor groups such as these have been vital in the creation of our middle class and the quality of life now enjoyed by many of our citizens. We need to make sure that the working men and women of this state are paid livable wages, have job security, and can afford good healthcare for their families.”
- Glen Brower

The Son of a Machinist and a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Army, Glen knows the value of hard work and the many challenges that come with it. Because of Glen’s background and understanding of these values, we know we can count of him to fight for our working class.

Contact Person:
Scott Dettman
Brower for Assembly
Campaign Manager
sdettman@ymail.com
414-530-0725

To be fair, Rep. Mark Honadel has received two endorsements since August 4th, with one coming from Pro-Life Wisconsin (no surprise there) and the other coming from the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

This endorsement is huge for Glen Brower, and it’s just another example of the momentum his campaign has.

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Do you know a progressive you think would make a great candidate for elected office? If so, visit Draft a Progressive and draft that person to run for office one day. If you draft someone, Draft a Progressive will post their name on the DaP website and their state staff will contact the person you drafted.

It’s an interesting concept, and it’s worth a look!

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One of the headings on the “Mark on the Issues” page of State Rep. Mark Honadel’s campaign website is “Protecting the Community”. Underneath the heading, Rep. Honadel lists a number of bills he’s cosponsored, and at face value, it seems like he’s doing a lot to keep the community safe. However, looks can be deceiving. The Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA) recently released the results for its report cards for the 2007-2008 legislative session, and Rep. Honadel didn’t get a very good grade. In fact, Rep. Honadel scored a 31%, good for second from the bottom in the entire Assembly.

That’s quite a dubious honor, and it makes me wonder just how serious Mark Honadel is about “Protecting the Community” as a member of the State Assembly.

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U.S. Senator Russ Feingold spent some time yesterday in Milwaukee, where he spoke at the Working America Canvass Office and joined Working America, the AFL-CIO’s grassroots organization for workers who don’t have unions on the job. Here’s a YouTube clip of Sen. Feingold speaking to Working America:

In addition to his remarks supporting Working America, Sen. Feingold also announced his plans to introduce a package of economic development legislation that would benefit Wisconsin and particularly the Milwaukee area. According to JSOnline, Feingold told Journal Sentinel editors and writers his bills would focus on ways to encourage innovation by small businesses, to create jobs related to energy conservation, to provide additional training and transportation opportunities for workers, and to forge partnerships between schools and businesses.

What I found interesting is the fact that Feingold said the legislation was developed after he consulted with prominent business leaders and philanthropists in the Milwaukee area, including Sheldon Lubar and Joseph Zilber

Although the legislation will be national in scope, Feingold said, he developed it after consulting with prominent business leaders and philanthropists, such as investor Sheldon Lubar and developer Joseph Zilber, about what was most needed to stimulate the southeastern Wisconsin economy. In my opinion, this is what we need more of - public officials like Sen. Feingold who aren’t afraid or unwilling to sit down and talk with folks in the private sector - like Joseph Zilber and Sheldon Lubar - to figure out how government can augment the work already being done by philanthropists and other folks in the community. It’s obvious there’s no one easy answer as to how to tackle joblessness, underemployment, homelessness, and poverty, and so it’s going to take more than a “one size fits all” approach. It’s going to take government working with the private sector collaboratively to find the solutions to fix the problems that ail our society.

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Glen Brower has momentum. Not only did he outraise Rep. Mark Honadel, the incumbent in Wisconsin’s 21st Assembly District, for the month of June, but now he’s also received the endorsements of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as Democratic State Senator Jeff Plale, whose district roughly overlaps the 21st Assembly District. These endorsements are in addition to endorsements Brower has already received from Assistant Assembly Minority Leader Jon Richards, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Progressive Majority Wisconsin.

Now obviously I’ve not been keeping close tabs on Rep. Honadel’s campaign, but a quick look at his campaign’s website shows just one lonely endorsement from Wisconsin Right to Life. Now sure, it’s early, and Rep. Honadel does have the advantage of being an incumbent, but in the bigger picture, it’s obvious one candidate has momentum and the other doesn’t, and Rep. Honadel can’t like his chances if he continues to tread water in a year that looks to heavily favor Democrats.

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