The state's three Democratic hopefuls for attorney general made their case to the public Tuesday at an open debate hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
State Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ and Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne all hope to be their party's nominee to face the sole Republican running for attorney general, Waukesha District Attorney Brad Schimel.
Happ said she believes her background as a rural Democrat and the only female candidate for Attorney General will appeal to voters next week.
“It is not enough to just earn votes from Democrats because I’m not just going to be representing Democrats,” Happ said. “We know that Dane County and Milwaukee County are hugely important, but 40 percent of the vote will come from those smaller communities, and these citizens want to feel like they can relate to their attorney general and that their voices will be heard.”
The three candidates agreed on many big issues discussed in the debate, but Happ was the only candidate who opposed criminalizing a first offense drunk driving infraction. Both Richards and Ozanne said they want to see first-time drunken driving offenses classified as misdemeanors, not traffic citations as they currently are.
“At a time that we are talking about massive incarceration rates and imprisonment, I do not think we need to add another criminal charge on the books,” Happ said.
Happ said she would instead beef up punishments for repeat drunken driving incidents and focus on rehabilitation programs for first offenders. Richards and Ozanne both said criminalizing the first offense of drunken driving is a matter of public safety.
Ozanne said he believes Wisconsin’s Department of Justice is out of date without a Division of Civil Rights, which he said he would make a priority if elected. Richards made the case for creating an Office of the Senior Citizen Advocate.
All three of the candidates have said they would not defend Wisconsin’s recently struck-down voter identification law.
Campaign finance reports for attorney general candidates were released at the end of July. They showed Richards had raised the largest war chest of the three candidates, narrowly beating Happ. Ozanne raised the least of the candidates.
By the end of July, Richards had over $167,000 on hand to Happ’s roughly $132,000. Ozanne’s filing reported just under $8,000. Schimel, with no primary opponent, reported over $418,000 in cash on hand.
Schimel has been endorsed by many of Wisconsin’s top Republicans, including Gov. Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan.
The three Democratic candidates await the outcome of Wisconsin’s statewide primary election August 12.
