Candidates debate economy

Posted: Aug. 11, 2010

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Scott Ash

A large crowd attends the Lake Country Publications' candidate forum for the 33rd Assembly District at Saint John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Scott Ash

A large crowd attends the Lake Country Publications' candidate forum for the 33rd Assembly District at Saint John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

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City of Delafield — Four Republican candidates for the state Legislature exchanged ideas about how to help Lake Country small businesses during a two-hour candidates' forum at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy campus sponsored by Lake Country and Mukwonago Publications on Tuesday night.

The candidates suggested lowering business taxes, providing new tax incentives and writeoffs, and reducing business regulations.

They voiced opposition to state laws mandating that prevailing labor wages must be paid on public projects and advocated repealing state laws that allow unions to organize workers.

The candidates were Brian Dorow, a community college administrator; Joe DeKlotz, a real estate broker; Chris Kapenga, a local business owner and certified public accountant; and Steve Ksobiech, also a real estate broker who at one time worked briefly as a railroad conductor.

The four are seeking the Republican nomination to the 33rd Assembly District in the Sept. 14 partisan primary election.

The candidate who wins the primary election is likely to be elected in the November general election, since the 33rd is one of the most prominently Republican Assembly districts in the state.

The district extends along Highway 83 stretching from the Town of Mukwonago north to the Village of Chenequa.

The sharpest disagreement among the candidates was over the repeal of a state law that limits the wages and benefits that can be paid to teachers through collective bargaining contracts with local school boards

Dorow and Kapenga argued the law - known as the Qualified Economic Offer - should be re-established to protect taxpayers against the rising cost of education, particularly teachers' salaries and benefits.

DeKlotz and Ksobiech rebutted that the law was not effective and teachers' salaries and benefits are best determined by local school boards not state mandates.

"Putting it back the way it was is putting a broken system back in place, and I am not in favor of it," said DeKlotz.

DeKlotz added that the state's sales and income tax systems need to be completely revamped so they can provide more state revenues for schools and local governments.

He described as "unsustainable" the present system of depending on local real estate taxpayers to pay for large amounts of the costs of schools and local governments.

Kapenga and Dorow helped established the economic tone of the forum by their debate over which was most important in the district, providing incentives for local business owners or finding jobs for local workers.

Kapenga told stories about unemployed voters he had met during the campaign.

"The No. 1 thing we need to do in this district is get people working again," he said.

Dorow responded that he did not think the district had a significant unemployment problem.

"We have a lot of business owners living here. I would want to give them the incentives so they could create the jobs," he said.

Dorow said a recent change in the state's corporate tax policy has cost Harley-Davidson $50 million and might prompt the company to move out of state.

He said he would support legislation repealing that tax policy.

Both he and Kapenga said they would support reducing some business taxes and the highest income tax rates in the state.

The candidates all endorsed a state voter identification card.

"You have to have an ID to drive a car, you have to have an ID to purchase liquor or cigarettes; it just doesn't make any sense that you don't have to have an ID to vote," said Ksobiech.

Incumbent Scott Newcomer is not seeking re-election.

Joe DeKlotz

Age: 58

Occupation: Real estate broker

Previous offices: Town of Delafield Park Committee member

Education/military: University of Nebraska

Community activities/honors: Board of Directors, Delafield Chamber of Commerce; founder, Dreamer Center for Creative Arts

Family: Wife, Pat; three adult children, four grandchildren

Years in the district: 25

Brian Dorow

Age: 41

Occupation: Associate dean, Waukesha County Technical College

Previous offices: None

Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Community activities/honors: Waukesha Citizen of the Year 2008; Waukesha YMCA Board of Directors

Family: Wife Jennifer, three children

Years in the district: 5

Chris Kapenga

Age: 38

Occupation: Owner, Integrated Time Systems

Previous offices: None

Education: Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Community activities/honors: Board of Directors, Elmbrook Church

Family: Wife, Cari; two children

Years in the district: Less than a year

Steve Ksobiech

Age: 41

Occupation: Real estate broker

Previous offices: None

Education: West Allis Central High School

Community activities/honors: School scholarship fund founder

Family: Wife, Rebecca; two children

Years in District: 5

Web extra See a video of the forum on our website, LivingLakeCountry.com.