Burke campaign defends jobs plans

MADISON -- Job creation is one of the key issues in the race for Wisconsin governor. Governor Scott Walker's campaign is now seizing on a report that says the Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke, lifted portions of her jobs proposal from other sources.

That article was posted late Thursday by the media website 'Buzzfeed'. The article says large portions of Burke's jobs plan is copied from past Democratic candidates.

\"I think the people in this state deserve better.\" said Walker Friday.

According to the article, parts of Burke's jobs plan look similar to plans from past Democratic candidates in other parts of the country.

In a statement, the Burke campaign says it's because Burke spoke to a Philadelphia based expert who wrote campaign material for those other candidates. Campaign Communications Director Joe Zepecki wrote, \"...explains why in a few, isolated instances similar language from those plans is used to describe ideas that are widely accepted as best practices or are ideas which hold promise for Wisconsin.\"

Walker's campaign said Burke misled people in the state.

\"Particularly when we've heard from her campaign making a big deal about how this came out of the experience at the Harvard Business School and taking some shots at us in the past.\" Walker said.

The Burke campaign statement says the core ideas in the plan were written by her, and \"They are informed by Burke's time at Harvard Business School, through starting her own small business, serving as a top executive at Trek and leading the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.\" Zepecki wrote.

In the Burke campaign statement, it also says the campaign immediately cut ties with that Philadelphia based expert, and that was done as soon as the campaign was made aware of the article.