Six Democratic candidates for governor meet voters in West Bend, take part in forum

WEST BEND, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Several of the candidates for governor shared a stage in West Bend Tuesday evening, March 10, as they work to separate themselves in a crowded field.

All major party candidates were invited. Six Democrats accepted.

The Q-and-A forum was preceded by an informal meet and greet that allowed the candidates to speak directly with voters.

Many have similar ideas and plans, and so sharing their personality and making connections can make a big difference.

The most recent Marquette Law poll found that for every candidate, most voters have not yet heard enough from them to form an opinion.

The Democratic slate is largely a friendly field. The candidates rarely, if ever, attack each other, and several candidates have said it doesn’t matter who emerges from the primary, they will be supported.

Questions were submitted by audience members.

They asked about regulating artificial intelligence, the future of data center development, how to bolster public school funding, and how to ensure everyone has affordable healthcare.

But the first question, which was asked by the most people, was about how to strengthen the economy.

State Sen. Kelda Roys said, “My plan is to raise wages for everyday working people, and that's why I introduced living wage legislation just earlier this year to raise our minimum wage to $15 an hour with a path to $20 an hour.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said, “We have to make sure that we're balancing education, housing, employment, All of these things, quite frankly, deals with the social determinants of health, where we can measure individual success as well as community success.”

State Rep. Francesca Hong told the audience, “When we have paid leave for all, that ensures that small business owners and larger business owners have workers that can take care of themselves and the people that love.”
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said, “We have to make sure that if we are enticing businesses to come into the state, that they are investing in our communities, that they are investing in the resources that they are using.”

Mandella Barnes told the crowd, “What we have to do is create the not just for good jobs to come to Wisconsin, but to foster innovation. And that's exactly what we do when we invest in mines.”
And Missy Hughes said, “It is a roll up your sleeve kind of a job and get involved and make sure when someone comes in and says, I need to figure out this problem, you're ready to help them and get the resources there to help them.”

Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican candidate for Governor, was also invited but did not attend.

Longshot Republican candidate Andy Manske asked to join and was welcomed to make an opening statement.