As Mary Burke launches her campaign for governor, job growth in Wisconsin seems to be one of the key points of debate.
Madison School Board member Mary Burke has ended months of speculation when she announced on Monday morning that she's running for governor next year as a Democrat. Burke has been avoiding most or all of the news media, and instead made her announcement in a campaign video: Some analysts say the video will boost fundraising, and let Burke avoid tough questions at news conferences. Burke served as commerce secretary for a few years under Democrat Jim Doyle, and in the video release said Doyle’s team had some economic success.
Mary Burke: “We re-opened the mill in Park Falls, brought Uline to Kenosha, and helped entrepreneurs and new businesses start up and grow.”
Burke says Wisconsin trails most states in job creation because the Republicans in charge are too focused on politics and winning political fights. She’s also touting her work at Trek Bicycle, the Waterloo company that her father founded. Asked about burke while in Eau Claire today, Gov. Scott Walker avoided criticizing Burke by name but did criticize the Doyle administration, saying the election would be a case of: “Do the voters of this state want to go back to the days of double-digit tax increases, billion-dollar budget deficits and record job loss, or do they want to build off the positive record of reform we’ve put in place that’s helped us balance a $3.6 billion budget?” Walker says the choice will be between forward and backward, though some of walker's critics, looking at his record of conservatism, say he's the one trying to take the state back in time. Other candidates could still get into the Democratic primary race for governor, but party officials say they're very pleased to have Burke in the race.
