Letters to the Editor

Citizens of the 49th have been doing a great job with their support, they are writing letters to the editor to express their feelings. We would like to post a few letters here to let you know what people are thinking.

October 26, 2008
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my support for re-electing Phil Garthwaite to the 49th Assembly. Phil has worked hard during his first term in office as our “voice for Southwest Wisconsin”, serving on the Transportation Committee, Agriculture Committee, and the Rural Affairs & Rural Economic Development Committee. He has fought to give Wisconsin citizens affordable access to healthcare, appropriate funding for their public schools, safer roads, and fair policies for farms and small businesses. As both my father and father-in-law were veterans of WWII, I appreciate the tremendous support Phil Garthwaite shows for all our veterans.

Unfortunately, a Michigan based special interest group, All Children Matter, has launched a vicious attack on Wisconsin politicians, including Phil Garthwaite, by buying radio time and mailing flyers that are filled with lies and deception. Because of their unethical tactics, this group has already been levied a $5.2 million fine by the bipartisan Ohio Elections Commission and is currently under investigation in Wisconsin.

It is disappointing that rather than distance himself from these types of unethical tactics, Travis Tranel chose to do the same in his campaign flyers. So much for the “positive campaign” he told voters he wanted following the primary election. The last two flyers his campaign sent to my mailbox only slammed Phil Garthwaite and did not say anything about his own issues. Although no statement printed on those flyers said anything about Travis Tranel, they spoke volumes to me. If he was that easily influenced by special interest groups, what would he be like in Madison? Would he be unable to speak his own mind then, too?

Phil Garthwaite ran a positive campaign in 2006 and has continued to do so in 2008. While he has been in Madison working on the issues he promised to make a priority in his 2006 election bid, Phil has not forgotten the people he represents. He was there helping the Village of Bagley clean up after the flood. He was there speaking at the dedication of the Mt. Hope Veterans Memorial. He was there announcing or auctioneering at numerous events and fundraisers throughout the 49th Assembly district. Please join me in supporting a man who is true to his word and true to his roots. Vote for Phil Garthwaite on November 4th!

Sincerely,
Carol Harris
Bagley, WI

Negative Advertising - Got Questions?

This is in regard to your interest in the issue advocacy mailing you received concerning my legislative record during my first term in the Wisconsin State Assembly. I would like to start out by setting the record straight about the vote in the piece of mail you received. The vote that is cited is October Special Session Senate Bill 1. That bill was a 1,625 page document that outlined the entire 2-year 57 billion dollar state budget. A so called “issue advocacy group,” aka special
interest group, from Michigan has pinpointed 2 lines in that bill referring to illegal immigrants. They have now sent out mail to nearly everyone in our district saying I support various entitlements to illegal immigrants. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is true that I did vote for SB-1 and I will tell you why. At the time that SB-1 was proposed there had been a month’s long stalemate about the state budget. There was partisan bickering going on between the Senate and the Republican leadership in the Assembly. The budget was 100 days late when this vote was taken; local governments all over our area were having lots of financial trouble as a result. Local governments and school districts were calling my office and letting me know that if the State Legislature didn’t pass a budget soon there would be serious problems: roads not being taken care of, major cuts to local services like fire, police, garbage, to name just a few. Also if the budget stalemate took too much longer, huge property tax increases were very likely. I wasn’t about to sit by and let our local governments and local tax payers pony up the dough for political bickering in Madison.

Something needed to be done to protect the tax payers so I voted yes in hopes of ending the budget crisis. Now this group has turned a vote I took to save property tax payers millions of dollars into something completely untrue for political purposes.

You might be wondering why this group has decided to get involved in “issue advocacy” against me. Well the group that sent these mailings is named “All Children Matter”. They are a Michigan based big dollar special interest group. The big issue they support is tax payer funding for private schools in big cities like Milwaukee. Well, I have always opposed sending money that should be spent on good public schools in rural areas, to places like Milwaukee. The first
budget proposal from the Republican Majority would have cut state money to schools in our area by about one million ($1,000,000.00) dollars. That would have resulted in a one million dollar ($1,000,000.00) property tax increase for people in our local communities. I voted against their proposal and now they are spreading lies and half-truths about my positions.

Additionally, I co-authored a bill that would have made these outside groups play by the same rules that all candidates need to follow. If my bill had become law this group, All Children Matter, would have contribution limits, so that all of their money couldn’t come from just a few ultra-wealthy supporters. They also would be legally required to publicly say who is paying for these mailings. As it is now, they get to operate in the shadows and don’t need to tell the public
anything about who supports them or why. It is obvious that they don’t want my vote or my bill to stop them from sucking money away from our rural communities into private schools in Milwaukee.

It is interesting to note that All Children Matter was fined $5.2 million dollars in Ohio for illegally funneling money to Republican candidates in 2006. All Children Matter is also currently under investigation by the Government Accountability Board here in Wisconsin for sending illegal literature to voters in Racine County in 2006. All Children Matter has given over $130,000 to Republican legislative candidates in Wisconsin, most of whom oppose reforming the rules that govern these groups, and that support tax payer funding for private schools.

I hope this clears up both my record and gives you an understanding why these groups have decided to distort my legislative record for their own political gain. Thanks again for your interest in getting to the truth about these deceptive mailings.

Rep. Phil Garthwaite, 49th Assembly District
Garthwaite For Assembly
P.O. box 178
Platteville, WI 53818
phil08@philgarthwaite.com
philgarthwaite.com