As the first anniversary of protests over Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining legislation approaches, more than 100 progressive activists gathered at Madison Area Technical College Thursday to discuss the state of the protest movement.
John Nichols, columnist for The Nation magazine and author of a new book on the Wisconsin protests, said the possible recall election of Walker is important, but said the movement was larger than electoral politics and that it needed to hold politicians of both parties accountable.
"We should never be satisfied... with a politics that has at its end game the election of a new governor," Nichols told the audience.
Local progressive activist Ben Manski said last year's protests put the labor movement back on the map, both nationally and globally, and that activists need to regain that momentum independent of the Democratic Party to make further progress.
"This struggle has been ongoing in Wisconsin, and we still have a lot of work to do," Manski said.
Manski added he does not want to see former Dane County executive and recall candidate Kathleen Falk become governor. He mentioned state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, as candidates he would support in a recall election.
Tina Treviño-Murphy of the Student Labor Action Coalition said activists need to be back at the Capitol to ensure their voice is heard, regardless of who is elected governor.
"Mass mobilization works," Treviño-Murphy said.
Organizers are planning a series of demonstrations over the next week to mark the first anniversary of the Capitol protests.
