Madison Mayor Paul Soglin today officially announced his bid to unseat Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker later this year.
“Our great country and the State of Wisconsin were founded on the principle that our governments would provide for the general welfare – our health and safety through a fair system of taxation,” Soglin said in a written statement. “On the façade of the US Supreme Court are carved the words, ‘equal justice under law.’ Today we have a President and a Governor who do not believe in those principles. They do not cherish our heritage and, in fact, they violate and undermine it every day.”
Soglin joins a dozen other Democrats in a crowded primary, including Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, progressive activist Mike McCabe, Eau Claire Senator Kathleen Vinehout, Madison firefighter, labor leader and former Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor Mahlon Mitchell, among others.
In his announcement statement, Soglin specifically criticized the Walker administration’s deal with Chinese firm Foxconn to build a manufacturing plant in Southeastern Wisconsin, which included regulatory changes and nearly $4 billion in tax incentives.
“We can do better,” Soglin wrote. “Almost $4 billion for Foxconn with no expected payback to hard working Wisconsinites for at least 25 years – and perhaps never. We need a leader who can grow the tax base faster than the budget – something I know how to do. We need effective leadership, we need efficiency. And, above all, we need fairness. That is why I am running for Governor and why I ask for the support of Wisconsinites all around this great State.”
Soglin is in the second term of his most recent stint as Madison’s mayor. He also served as Mayor in the 1970s and 1990s.
