A few more notes from the 2010 DPW convention

I know it’s Tuesday, but here’s a few more notes from the 2010 DPW convention this past weekend:

• Prior to his impressive win in the WisPolitics.com straw poll, I had a chance to chat with Lt. Governor candidate Henry Sanders, Jr., who noted his reception by delegates at the convention had been “great.” Sanders added lots of folks from counties all over Wisconsin had come up to him to thank him for visiting their county to talk about his candidacy and what he’d do as Lt. Governor, and I also had a chance to ask Sanders about his recently unveiled jobs plan. Asked which of the proposals in his plan he was most exciting about seeing put into action, Sanders was quick to respond by citing a repeal of the state’s Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Sanders noted that as a workforce issue, a ban against same-sex marriage will hamper Wisconsin’s ability to compete for talented workers against states that are more inclusive.
• I also had an opportunity to sit and chat with State Treasurer candidate Dan Bohrod following his speech to the convention. Asked how his campaign was going, Bohrod noted his campaign is going well and has been well received, with the exception of Milwaukee County Democrats, who are very loyal to his opponent, incumbent Dawn Marie Sass. Asked why he had chosen to run against Sass, Bohrod cited his 25 years of public service experience while noting Sass was inexperienced on policy matters and is a poor administrator. Bohrod added Sass has a “different vision” on the role of the State Treasurer than he does, noting Sass has departed from the role of the State Treasurer as envisioned in the Wisconsin State Constitution. When pressed to elaborate on that point, Bohrod said the office of State Treasurer under Sass has diminished to the point where it’s strictly an administrative position, as opposed to providing strong fiscal oversight.

  Asked for his thoughts on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett’s proposal to eliminate the State Treasurer position to cut government spending, Bohrod called Barrett’s plan a “gimmick,” noting the elimination of the State Treasurer can’t be accomplished without a Constitutional amendment. “It’s a non-solution to a non-problem,” Bohrod said, adding that while elimination of the State Treasurer position may result in some cost savings, elimination of the position would lessen accountability, adding, “at what price the people’s voice?” In closing, Bohrod went on to say he found it “interesting” that both Tom Barrett and the “Tea Party” candidate for the State Treasurer position both agreed on eliminating the position.