The outcomes of this past summer's recall elections did not seem to have a noticeable influence on the political dynamic of the state legislature during the recent special session, which marked the first significant post-recall meeting of the Senate.
Mass protests last winter over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, which eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees, culminated with recall efforts against six Republican senators who voted for the bill and three Democrats who fled the state because of it.
Although Democrats were not able to take control of the Senate, victories from Sen. Jessica King, D-Oshkosh, and Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, netted the Democrats two seats and narrowed the Republican majority to one.
The “Back to Work Wisconsin” special session, as Walker dubbed it, gave King and Shilling their first real opportunity to have an influence on the Senate. Before the session began, King stressed that she wanted to work with Republicans to form bipartisan solutions.
“We have a very polarized government right now and I think that frustrates people,” King said.
However, the two parties seem to be just as divided now as they were before the initial round of recalls.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said King and Shilling, along with other Democrats, attempted to get Senate leadership focused on jobs, but instead Republicans emphasized other issues, such as a bill giving public schools the ability promote abstinence-only education.
“Republicans chose not to focus on jobs, they chose to focus on this bizarre social agenda,” Zielinski said.
Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie disagreed, saying the special session allowed for health care tax exemptions for parents with dependent children and loans for small businesses, which will help restore confidence in the state’s economy.
“Beyond any single piece of legislation, the special session sends a message to job creators that the state and especially this administration are focused on jobs,” Werwie said in an e-mail.
Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said the addition of two Democrats to the Senate did not significantly affect the types of bills brought to the floor or the way the Senate voted prior to the recalls.
One exception Franklin noticed was with a bill the Republicans introduced that would have moved the redistricting changes passed over the summer effective by the next round of recall elections. Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, said he would have voted against the measure, which would have likely made him the only Republican, effectively killing the bill.
“[There] you certainly see a difference between having a three-seat majority and a one-seat majority,” Franklin said.
Zielinski said the results of the special session will only make people more eager to recall Walker and other Republican senators and said Democrats need to claim a majority in both houses to have a real jobs session.
“This session points to a need for a change in leadership,” he added.
Franklin, however, argued the session will not be a major factor during the recall campaigns because organizers will primarily continue to rally around opposing the collective bargaining reforms.
“I think we’re pretty much where we were six months ago,” Franklin said. “The broad issue that sparked the recalls to begin with is still there on the table.”
On Tuesday, Democrats officially kicked off the election season by filing recall papers against Walker and four Republican state senators, including Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, the majority leader.
To defend Walker and targeted senators, Republicans will point to the balanced budget and private job growth as evidence that their reforms are working.
“Democrats are fighting against facts, and the facts are that Governor Walker is putting our state back on track, and Wisconsin families will continue supporting his common sense reforms and responsible leadership,” Republican Party of Wisconsin communications director Nicole Larson said in a statement.
If the sufficient amount of signatures required to trigger a recall are collected over the next few weeks, the elections will likely be held next spring. However, the balance between the two parties after another round of recalls would only stand until November, when half of the Senate is up for re-election.
“That seems to be the much larger opportunity to change seats, compared to a small handful of recalls,” Franklin said.
