Wisconsin voters approve state transportation fund amendment

Wisconsin voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved establishing a constitutional amendment that would prevent governors and legislators from using the state transportation fund for other uses.
The referendum - which passed by a 4-to-1 margin - asked voters if they wished to create a clause in the Wisconsin Constitution that says money generated from using roads, airports, harbors and the like must be used exclusively for transportation. The referendum also asked voters if they wanted to establish a department of transportation in the constitution. Currently, the Department of Transportation and transportation fund exist only under statute.
Proponents said putting the fund in the constitution would ensure that revenue from the state’s gas tax and vehicle registration fees be targeted for transportation and not for education, health care or other programs.
The genesis for the referendum came when state elected officials tapped $1.3 billion from the transportation fund to pay for schools and other programs. The move was made by then-Gov. Jim Doyle but was supported by lawmakers of both parties.
The practice of tapping the fund ended in 2011.
A “yes” vote was supported by Craig Thompson, executive director of the Transportation Development Association. Much of the funding for the development association came from the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association. Supporters of the amendment said a dedicated fund would benefit not only roads, but rail, transit, harbors, bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Leading up to Tuesday’s vote, Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) had been the most vocal opponent of the referendum. He said the measure, if included in the constitution, would give the highway lobby a lock on transportation funds.
The referendum completes the process for inclusion in the constitution. Lawmakers approved the measure in 2011 and 2013.
Last year, a special commission said the state needs an additional $6.8 billion for transportation over the next 10 years. The gas tax is 32.9 cents per gallon.
Attorney General Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel notched a win Tuesday in the race for Wisconsin attorney general, allowing that office to stay in Republican hands.
Schimel topped Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ, a Democrat. In January, Schimel will succeed GOP Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who announced last year he would not to seek a third term.
Schimel will become the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement officer. He will be responsible for improving the way the state tracks and prosecutes online child exploitation cases and responding to high-profile challenges to state laws.
His top priority will be combating heroin, he said.
“I am sick and tired of meeting with parents who have buried their children,” Schimel told his backers in Waukesha. “Tonight I am putting drug dealers on notice. You are public enemy No. 1.”
In other statewide races, Republican Matt Adamczyk won the open state treasurer’s seat, and Democrat Doug La Follette won re-election as secretary of state. La Follette has served in that role since 1983, and previously held the office for a term in the 1970s.
As reported in Wednesday’s News Tribune, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won re-election against Democratic challenger Mary Burke.
25th Senate District Democrat Janet Bewley is heading back to Madison to represent northern Wisconsin.
Bewley, of Ashland, who currently represents the 74th Assembly District, garnered nearly 51 percent of the vote districtwide in a narrow win over Republican Dane Deutsch of Rice Lake to fill the 25th Senate District seat held for nearly three decades by Poplar Democrat Bob Jauch.
In Douglas County, voters handed Bewley about 61 percent of the vote to Deutsch’s 39 percent.
“At around 12:30 a.m., I got a call from Dane’s campaign manager graciously conceding defeat,” Bewley wrote in a brief emailed statement issued Wednesday. “Thanks everyone for making democracy work.”
In the race to replace Bewley in the 74th District, Democrat Beth Meyers defeated Republican challenger Jamey Francis 57 percent to 43 percent, according to unofficial county vote totals.
Wisconsin Senate remains in GOP hands Republicans maintained their majority in the Wisconsin state Senate on Tuesday as Democrats fell short in an ambitious bid to win three GOP-held districts.
The victories would have allowed Democrats to halt the steady stream of conservative legislation that has rolled through the GOP-dominated Legislature since 2010.
Republicans have held an 18-15 advantage in the state Senate for most of the past session and a much larger cushion in the Assembly.
Democrats had hoped to win three GOP districts - in the Fox Valley, the Sheboygan area and southwestern Wisconsin - where incumbents didn’t seek re-election. But Republican candidates swept all three races.
The Superior Telegram and Wisconsin State Journal contributed to this report.