Wright Is the Right Choice In The 51st!

By Jeff Simpson

In the upcoming election, there is too much focus on the top of the ticket and not enough on the races that matter.  The ones that continue on, after you vote for Senator Feingold.   

One that is very important is the 51st Assembly District.   The 51st is currently being represented by Todd Novak (R-Scott Jensen).   Todd Novak was recently named a "school choice champion" by American Federation for Children and Scott Jensen.  This is interesting because there are no voucher schools within his own district, so he is a champion of giving public education money to his bosses.   

One thing that he is not, is a champion for public schools in his district,   One thing we need to point out also is Mr. Novak is also Mayor of Dodgeville(so he double dips).  

Can you name one of the school districts most harmed by the education policies of the Walker administration and the Republicans. 

If you guessed Dodgeville you would be correct.   

District Administrator Jeffrey Jacobson said 28 teachers left the district, which comprises two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, this summer. He said the district has hired 28 new teachers to replace them.
"In a small town, that's a lot, that's a lot of turnover," Jacobson said. "I don't want to pretend the number that we have this year doesn't draw special attention."
One parent said learning that so many teachers left the district worries her.
"It's really concerning, I didn't know we had 28 that had left," said Tahera Stern. "To hear that many is pretty scary."

The Assembly Rep and Mayor of Dodgeville is being praised by AFC while his own district crumbles under his own nose.   All of the favors that the local police have done for Mr. Novak when he gets on the whiskey, you would think he would want to help the city out in return.  Maybe the good folks of Dodgeville, should have taken heed when Mr. Novak was peeing all over the side of a building downtown as a sign of things to come.  

Luckily the members of the 51st have an alternative in Jeffrey Wright.   Not the outstanding character actor, but the Assistant Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District.   

Wisconsin has been home to my family since before its statehood. I grew up in the central part of the state, and after serving as a high school principal on Chicago’s south side, my wife and I decided to put down roots and raise a family back home in Wisconsin. Now living outside of Plain, I am the assistant superintendent for the Sauk Prairie Schools, one of the 15 school districts in the 51st Assembly District.
I value the identity of our region and see a strong path forward through smart investments in our rich traditions. I am active with economic development work, serve as the president of a local rails-to-trails effort, and participate in other civic and community groups. Let’s work together to advocate for local control of strong public schools and responsive municipalities. Let’s champion the need for wise investment in infrastructure and broadband, and find ways to attract and retain the next generation to build their lives in our dynamic rural communities.

It is imperative that we send as many champions of public education champions as possible to the legislature and this race that choice is clear cut!  

Go to Jeffrey Wrights website and Facebook page.   Send him a few bucks call your friends in his district and knock some doors for him.

Our kids will thank you!

 

The Worst of Dodgeville!

By Jeff Simpson

The Republicans have so gerrymandered the state that they do not even try and run qualified candidates anymore. They are running people who will do what they are told, so qualifications be dammed. From running Bill Feehan, whose resume includes a domestic battery charge for choking his ex girlfriend,to the ethically challenged Robin Vos, to Joel Kleefisch, who allowed a donor to write a bill which would have allowed him to escape child support. 

Now they have another All Star to add to the lineup --- Todd Novak.  Novak is running for Assembly District 51 and is the mayor of Dodgeville.   Novak also likes to drink!  

 Dodgeville police encountered Mayor Todd Novak twice this summer in alcohol-related incidents, neither of which resulted in citations. This comes after a public event a year ago where numerous sources said Novak bragged publicly about getting preferential treatment from the city's police department in regards to driving drunk.

 Police records show officers stopped Novak from driving home drunk at 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 20 after he "staggered and nearly fell" on the way to his vehicle. He called his next-door neighbor and friend, Dodgeville police Sgt. David J. Bauer, to drive him home. The two men traded numerous emails this summer about Bauer's candidacy for the position of Dodgeville police chief, with Novak writing that Bauer left out "personal aide to the mayor" on his resume.

 However, court records show Novak was arrested on May 18, 1990, in Dodgeville for operating while intoxicated after failing Breathalyzer and field sobriety tests. That charge was dropped when blood tests taken roughly an hour after the arrest showed Novak was one-thousandth of a percentage point under the legal limit.

Last October, at a Best of Dodgeville event, three sources said Novak was in a group of people when he was warned not to drive home from the event because he was intoxicated. The sources said Novak was warned about getting pulled over for driving while intoxicated with one source saying the mayor responded, "It doesn't matter because I have a Mayoral Pass. I won't get into trouble."

However, this story and Mr. Novak give us probably the best example of symbolism in terms of how they have treated our state these last four years:

 Earlier this summer, an officer intervened as Novak allegedly was urinating on a building in downtown Dodgeville. Now-retired Dodgeville Police Chief Dave Kieffer said he did not know why that incident was not written up by officers.

Let's make sure Mr. Novak keeps his partying in Dogeville only, and elect a great candidate in Dick Cates to represent the 51st!