Tony Schultz, Green Party candidate for state Senate District 26, received the endorsement of the Teaching Assistants' Association after debating state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, in a TAA-hosted debate Tuesday.
Ben Manski, member of the TAA's Political Education Committee, said the endorsement comes from the TAA's strong concerns with Risser and to send a message to the state government regarding tuition increases and support for workers.
\It's basically a strong desire to send Risser and the governor a message that what they have been doing in terms of the university,"" Manski said. ""In the governor's case, it has been harmful and in Risser's case it hasn't been good enough.""
Manski, however, conceded the TAA's decision is not likely to sway voters, but voters should vote on their interests and concerns.
""We recognize it's very unlikely that Risser will lose this race,"" he said. ""[The TAA] supports a decent compensation for university workers and the way to send that message is to support Tony Schultz.""
The candidates faced a variety of questions from the TAA moderator and the audience. Questions ranged from health care to higher education costs.
Tony Schultz is a 2004 graduate of UW-Madison and now is working as a U.S. history and economics teacher. He supports steep progressive taxation of the rich, education, health care and state investment in energy. Schultz is also a past president of the Student Labor Action Coalition.
'We need to have a political debate,"" Schultz said. ""I wanted to articulate a popular platform ... If you want to live a more socially just world you have to be able to articulate.""
State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, has represented the 26th District since 1962. As a Democrat, he said he supports liberal progressive views.
""The last session of the legislature which I attended was the worst session I have ever attended,"" Risser said. ""There are too many right-wing Republicans, and all they could think about was the three G's-God, guns and gays.""
UW-Madison sophomore Monica Adams said she found the debate helpful.
""Personally, I didn't know much about the candidates and I hadn't heard them in a formal debate,"" Adams said. ""I found it informative in that sense.""
Bill Anderson, UW-Madison sophomore, used the debate to find differences in style between the candidates.
""The biggest thing I noticed was that Tony Schultz is about grassroots organizing,"" Anderson said. ""Fred Risser is more about leadership.\
