Campaign 2018: Year of Water Is Here

Clean water advocates from across Wisconsin gathered
at the state capitol in Madison to demand clean and
safe water. Image is from a video filmed in November 2015.
(Mal Contends)

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — The toil of citizens working for clean water appears likely to pay off in the midterm elections statewide.

Massive water condemnation from factory farms enabled by corrupt Republican officeholders and resultant political activity have led to a reckoning — November 6, 2018, Election Day.

Republicans often sound like clean water warriors, adopting the language of the citizens fighting for water in political messaging.

Reports Jack Healy of the New York Times in a dispatch from Armenia in central Wisconsin this morning: "The groundwater that once ran cool and clean from taps in this Midwestern farming town is now laced with contaminants and fear. People refuse to drink it. They won’t brush their teeth with it. They dread taking showers. ... [F]ears and frustration over water quality and contamination have become a potent election-year issue."

Increasing opposition to proposed massive CAFO in central
Wisconsin signals statewide, clean water sentiment.
- Photo by Mary Captain-Braund (creative commons)

Potent is correct.

Wisconsin citizens around the state are working to protect Wisconsin's abundant fresh waters, (Saratoga Concerned, Kewaunee County, U.S. DHS, Mal Contends, In These Times, Water Watch Wisconsin, Kewaunee Cares, Tri-Lakes Management District, Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors, Citizens Concerned about Lake Superior CAFOs, Farms Not Factories).

Republicans are fighting for the polluters.

It's that simple.

Residents in central Wisconsin are fighting a proposed
massive factory farm owned by the infamous
Wysocki corporation, (Saratoga Concerned). State
Rep Scott Krug (R) runs political interference for
polluting industry, and appears poised to pay
the price at the ballot box in the gerrymandered
72nd state assembly district.

Writes the Times Healy

As [Gov Scott Walker (R)] runs for a third term, his Democratic challenger, Tony Evers, has turned polluted wetlands and unsafe water into campaign slogans. In Lodi, north of the state capital, Ann Groves Lloyd is campaigning for the State Assembly with a tongue-in-cheek ad in which she tries to water her cows with plastic bottles and irrigate her fields with a water cooler strapped to a John Deere tractor.

Some voters who say they cannot drink from the taps or water their livestock without worrying about nitrates or E. coli bacteria say the state’s deregulatory spree has gone too far.

'I blame the government,' Jose Rangel said one afternoon as he sat in the living room of his trailer home, reviewing a letter confirming that his 27-foot-deep well had tested at double the federal safety limits for nitrates. 'We can’t do nothing about it. I’ll vote. I want clean water.'

Election Day 2018 will remembered as the day Wisconsin citizens did something about it; they voted out the water polluters' lobby seated in the capitol.

Clean Water Group Endorses David Gorski in Central Wisconsin Assembly Race

Wisconsin State Rep. Scott Krug (R) is a factory farm champ
who runs political interference for the Wysocki corp. proposing
a massive factory farm in central Wisconsin. The clean
water citizen group, Saratoga Concerned, dumped on Krug
and endorsed David Gorski (D), a water warrior.

Saratoga Concerned Endorses David Gorski (D) over Rep. Scott Krug (R)

Candidate Synopsis
Saratoga Concerned
Tue 10/9/2018, 7:55 AM
                   
Saratoga Concerned

72nd Assembly District Race
Candidate Synopsis

Friends and neighbors,

The Saratoga Concerned group does not associate itself directly with any political party.  Our leadership team consists of individuals on various sides of the political spectrum and together we work every day to create a balance within our beliefs and messaging to our supporters.  We believe it is everyone's responsibility to VOTE and now more than ever we also believe it is extremely important to know where your candidate actually stands on the ISSUES and not depend on what you believe their political party once represented.

Over the past 2 months, our Saratoga Concerned team has connected with candidates for the 72nd Assembly District with one sole purpose, to dig deep with questions and make them prove their commitment to protecting and preserving Wisconsin waters.  We understand our supporters have multiple issues that are important to them personally and you need to weigh all the factors before voting. For Saratoga Concerned our one and only focus is the issue of Water.

Our Saratoga Concerned team has poured hours into the candidate questionnaire project, checked and rechecked candidate responses fact-checking information provided and made every attempt to provide a non-biased resource to our supporters regarding where each candidate stands in protecting Wisconsin Waters. Below, you will find our synopsis of each candidate, sharing both positive and negative aspects of their responses.

SCOTT KRUG
Scott Krug has been the 72nd Assembly District representative since 2010.   In his early years of holding this position, Representative Krug successfully acquired funds to study and address phosphorus levels within Petenwell Flowage to address the blue-green algae issue.  As Wisconsin citizens watched numerous bad water bills come through our state legislature Representative Krug on occasion made attempts to bring forth amendments to make these bills more palatable to his constituents.   In 2013 Representative Krug formed the Citizens’ Water Advisory group which consisted of local citizens, farming interests, and environmentalist to work together to design an acceptable legislative bill addressing high capacity well pumping in the Central Sands.  Although the intent of this group was positive and proactive the overall progress was not. According to participants, meetings were often disorganized lacking a specific agenda, minutes of the meetings were not published, and in the end citizens did not have input on, nor did they see, a copy of the bill prior to it being brought forth by Representative Krug, resulting in lack of support for the bill by actual members of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee and their associated groups.  In 2017 Representative Krug successfully proposed an amendment and acquired necessary funds, for a hydrological analysis of the Central Sands to study the overpumping currently being allowed.  Although the amendment was accepted into the bill, the actual area currently being studied by the WDNR is much smaller than originally promoted to local constituents.  The High Capacity Well bill itself is horrendous and was highly contested by conservation, environmental, and citizens groups as a whole.  The amendment proposed and passed by Representative Krug, although limited in scope, was a small positive step for the Central Sands and is currently underway.

Representative Krug has made documented efforts to support water initiatives over his time as our local Representative, however, he has also voted AGAINST water protections and in favor of loosening protections.  Just this last legislative session alone found Representative Krug voting to support the following bad water bills that are destructive to our Wisconsin waterways:

    AB105 High Capacity Well Bill - limits the ability of the DNR to address groundwater overpumping and grants ‘forever’ permits for high capacity wells

    Special Session (SS) SSAB1 Exempting Foxconn from State Clean Water Protections - Creating a special district/zone, the bill eliminates state environmental protections for isolated wetlands, navigable streams, and lake beds within this zone. 

    AB547 Removing State Protections for Identified Wetlands - Removal of protections of over one million acres of wetlands in Wisconsin, allowing them to be filled in for development, leading to potential increased flooding in our communities and decreased water quality

    AB499 Industrial Acid Mining Bill -  Eliminates Wisconsin’s “Prove It First” mining law that protects public health and natural resources by requiring mining companies to show a demonstrated track record on protecting water quality before being permitted.

Closer to home, Representative Krug has repeatedly shared that he supports a compromise between the township of Saratoga and the Wysocki organization regarding the proposed CAFO to our community, “With the project in Saratoga, I made my position clear in 2014 and have worked to make sure neither side loses or wins 100% of what they want”.  Representative Krug does not support a limited moratorium on CAFO’s and believes new technologies will solve the pollution problems associated with them.

In conclusion, of the 13 questions posed to Representative Krug he directly answered 7 and received a “non-answer” status on 5 questions for talking around the given subject matter. 

DAVID GORSKI
Candidate Dave Gorski is running as a challenger to Representative Krug for the second time.  As a legislative challenger, Candidate Gorski does not have a voting record as an elected official for us to share among our supporters. Therefore our synopsis consists solely on responses received from Candidate Gorski and on documented actions we could verify through public records and accounts.

Candidate Gorski solidly advocated for the protection of our water and the environment which is voiced clearly and openly in his response to numerous questions posed. He is a strong outspoken advocate of the Public Trust Doctrine believing in the State Constitution that the waters belong to all of us. Candidate Gorski states he would like to work with fellow legislators on the problem of high capacity well overpumping of groundwater and believes there is a need for legislation that balances the needs of the citizens and agricultural interest for water usage.  Most importantly Candidate Gorski believes that environmental polluters should pay for the damage done to our environment and compensate the citizens impacted. He is also an advocate of the Great Lakes compact and voices that Wisconsin should honor the Great Lakes Compact using the water withdrawal for residential use and not for business interests as the compact was designed.

Candidate Gorski states many of these issues can be addressed/accomplished by returning local control back to communities and creating the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as an elected position by the Natural Resource Board and removing it as an appointed position by the sitting Governor.

Saratoga Concerned was able to verify that Candidate Gorski works with numerous local and statewide environmental groups.  In 2016 he helped organize The New Peoples Environmental Summit in our local area, additionally, in 2016 he attended the Factory Farm Summit to learn about the impact of CAFO to communities across the country.  In 2017 Candidate Gorski attended the Citizens’ Water Lobby Day at the state capitol as well as attending numerous other water protection events such as Conservation Lobby Day and actively testified and spoke with legislators in Madison regarding water issues and proposed legislation. 

Closer to home Candidate Gorski has spoken out openly against the Wysocki Golden Sands CAFO proposal and supports a statewide CAFO Moratorium on new and expanding CAFOs until appropriate water and environmental protections are in place for Wisconsin citizens.  He actively attends and participates in our local meetings and has a clear understanding of what his potential constituents are vocalizing regarding water and environmental concerns.

In conclusion, of the 13 questions posed to Candidate Gorski he directly answered 11 and received a “non-answer” status on 2 questions for not answering the specific question completely.

FINAL THOUGHTS
It is imperative that we all exercise our right to vote.  It is also important that we step out of our former mindset of being either a Republican or Democrat voter and instead vote the issues.  Our area lakes and streams are in a state of decline and our control over our own environment is being taken away. That makes it all the more important to know what your candidate stands for on individual issues and vote based upon the issue.  Please remember you can access all our previous newsletters at the link provided www.saratogaconcerned.com/newsletter-subscribe.

After thoughtful conversation and reviewing answers provided by both candidates, Saratoga Concerned believes Candidate David Gorski will be the stronger water protector and support his candidacy for the 72nd Assembly District.

Water Warrior in Central Wisconsin Hails Women Voters in Assembly Campaign

Wisconsin water warriors seek office.
Pictured from left are Sarah Godlewski,
candidate for state Treasury,
Dave Gorski, candidate for the 72nd assem dist,
and Erin Stacy, candidate for the 42nd assem dist.
shown after participating in the Water Walk.

David Gorski, Democratic Party nominee for the 72nd state assembly dist, makes protecting water a central theme of his campaign.

Gorski faces State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa, Wisconsin) in a repeat of the 2016 general election.

The 72nd Wisconsin assembly district is gerrymandered to protect the Republican incumbent.

Krug is a champion of factory farms and polluters who made local infamy when Krug told a longtime Wood County resident to "quit your bitching" after she protested the region being ambushed by the proposed Wysocki corporation's factory farm in central Wisconsin in July 2012.

Krug and Republicans have been conning the region for some time now. The gig appears to be up.

"I can't tell you the number of woman voters who say they will never vote Republican again," said Gorski, reached by phone this weekend.
 
From Dave Gorski, attending the Water Walk this weekend:

Central Wisconsin Voters Signal Hell to Pay for State Republicans

Madison, Wisconsin — Citizen groups continue to fight to protect their communities from industrial agriculture and state Republicans, following a bitterly disputed Wisconsin Supreme Court decision last Spring.

Saratoga Concerned, Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors, and other affinity groups have amped up work this Summer targeting the Fall general elections.

Saratoga Concerned revealed the first of its Candidate Questionnaires this morning.

After some five and one-half years of fighting the proposed Wysocki factory farm, the reach and power of Saratoga Concerned has grown.

The organization now is a practical political player.

Saratoga Concerned  has become sufficiently powerful that even incumbent State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa, Wisconsin), who runs political interference for the Wysocki corporation and other Big Ag polluters, dares not skip the group's 13-question Candidate Questionnaire.

Krug is a no-show for several other citizen groups' forums and questionnaires, including traditional good-government non-profits such as the League of Women Voters.

Krug and the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party for the 72nd state assembly district, David Gorski's, answers are reproduced verbatim below.

From Saratoga Concerned:

Saratoga Concerned 72nd Assembly District Candidate Questionnaire

As explained in our most recent Newsletter, both candidates for the 72nd Assembly District, current Representative Scott Krug, and challenger David Gorski have completed our Candidate Questionnaire.  Over the next few months, we will be sharing their answers to the 13 questions asked in our Special Edition Newsetters.

We warned both candidates to directly answer the given question clearly and to avoid talking around the subject matter, as we believe the constituents of the 72nd deserve nothing less than straight, direct, honest, answers from both individuals.

At the close of each question, you will find our FactCheck and Scorecard section where we will briefly comment on our determination if the question was answered directly and fact check any information that was questionable, misleading, inaccurate, or warrants further explanation for clarity.  Enjoy!

Saratoga Concerned Question One

Nitrate poisoning of our groundwater is a major issue facing all of Wisconsin.

Given the background of the Public Trust Doctrine, what legislation would you propose to allow agriculture to continue while protecting the general public from increasing Nitrate levels?

SCOTT KRUG

The well compensation program needs more updating. We increased the compensation amounts and we have to keep working on the qualification method for families.

This session I worked with Senator Cowles and Rep Kitchens on Senate Bill 168 which will better provide for safe and clean drinking water to residents in areas where contaminated wells and failing septic systems lead to challenges. The bill will allow for an increased grant amount for well replacement from $9,000 maximum to $12,000 maximum. The bill also creates better options to municipalities and residents alike to replace failing septic systems that can also elevate nutrient levels in groundwater.

I also worked on an amendment to a democrat bill this session to allow owners with wells containing nitrates over 40ppm to be compensated under the program. My amendment would have made sure those with 20ppm instead of 40ppm would be eligible for this compensation. I think the combination of qualification and compensation amounts will lead to a program that will allow agriculture to continue and keep residents feeling more certain that they can access clean and safe drinking water no matter what happens.

 ---

DAVID GORSKI

Response: Agriculture is a leading industry in Wisconsin and very important to the overall health of our state economy.  It is in the best interests of all in our state to resolve the issue of rising Nitrate levels.

I would propose legislation that would better enable our county Land and Water Conservation offices and the DNR to improve nutrient management plans and help farmers with expertise and funding to implement better groundwater and watershed protections.

Additionally, we need to hold polluters accountable for damages done to private wells, streams and lakes.  Our state has recently passed a law that provides financial assistance for residents who need to redrill their wells due to high nitrate levels.  This is good, but it pushes the cost of pollution clean up onto the taxpayers. We also need polluters to pay for the cost of clean-up.

As the Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine states, Wisconsin waters belong to all of us, and we only have a reasonable right to use these waters.  So, while we all have the right to use state waters, we also have the responsibility to protect them.

FactCheck - None necessary for this question

Scorecard

Krug - Non-Answer
Provided details on compensating residents with contaminated water.  Did not answer the direct question of what legislation he would propose to protect citizens from increasing nitrate levels

Gorski - Answered the question directly

Saratoga Concerned Question Two

In the 2017 legislative session, State Representatives considered legislation (AB544) that would legalize the purchase of water utilities by out-of-state corporations and change existing law to make public referendums on such purchases optional instead of mandatory. This was done against massive public outcry.  The proposal eventually failed.

What is your stance on the privatization of Wisconsin’s water as proposed last legislative session?

SCOTT KRUG
There was no bill passed in the 2017 session. I feel that if a referendum remains a requirement residents can make the choice on a local level if a private company should manage their local utility.

---

DAVID GORSKI 
I clearly remember when AB 544 was being debated.  I was shocked that AB 544 was even being considered. Obviously, many other Wisconsinites felt the same way, and the authors of this bill got the message.  My guess is the authors of this bill were hoping that the public was not paying attention.

The Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine clearly states that water belongs to all Wisconsinites.  Allowing in-state, out-of-state, or foreign private parties to gain ownership of our water supply violates the spirit of the Public Trust Doctrine.

I understand that some cash-strapped communities with poor water quality may not have the resources to effectively treat their water.  These communities may need to contract with companies to effectively treat their water and make it potable. However, in these cases, it must remain mandatory that community members decide if they want to have a private party profit off their water. So, having a referendum on this issue needs to be mandatory.

Additionally, I see this as just one more attack on local control and democracy. The more public input we have, the more democracy we have.

FactCheck

Correction - Water Privatization bill was pushed during the 2016 Legislative session
Assembly passed the bill Jan. 12 and a Senate committee approved it on a Jan. 28.  It did not make the Senate floor for a full chamber vote.

Rep. Krug voted in favor of this bill which did include the option of a referendum as he stated in his stance above
Stipulation included - no referendum would occur unless opponents gathered signatures of 10 percent of voters

Scorecard

    Both candidates answered the question directly.

#

Wisconsin Rep Attacks Citizen Groups, Says Spreading "Misinformation"

Clean water activists in Saratoga, Wisconsin fight for
water and oppose the siting of a proposed factory farm

An impressive feat the last six years during Wisconsin's lost decade is the organization of citizen groups around the state to defend clean and abundant water.

The citizens' worst enemy are the state representatives who should be working for citizens.

In central Wisconsin, local representatives run political interference for Big Ag which pollutes and depletes ground and surface waters. [State Rep. Scott Krug, (R-Nekoosa), threatened this site with a libel suit in 2014 when I noted Krug running this "political interference," a threat Krug dropped after I advised him truth is an absolute defense against defamation actions, among other defects in Krug's threat with respect to libel law, (Mal Contends), (Capital Times), (Crooks and Liars).]

Defiling Wisconsin's waters has the political support of local State Rep. Scott Krug, (R-Nekoosa) and State Sen. Patrick Testin, (R-Stevens Point) who represent the gerrymandered districts drawn to elect Republicans. These legislators also lend their support to the proposed Wysocki factory farm. 

Wysocki and his family bankrolled State Sen. Testin with $10,000 in contributions for his successful 2016 run. Krug's 2016 campaign received heavy funding from Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Ron Vos Gov. Scott Walker and other Republican interests aligned with Big Ag, (Wisconsin Democracy Campaign),

After Krug and Testin helped ram through the Big Ag-supported Senate Bill 76 last week, Krug complained in his current constituent newsletter that, "The misinformation campaign by several area groups make this sound like a massively different bill than it is. I am happy to sit down with anyone and walk through the actual bill."

The groups Krug complains about include: Rome-Saratoga Friendly, Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors, Central Sands Water Action Coalition, Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network, and the Citizens' Water Coalition of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 76 "is good only for the handful of really large growers, [Big Ag], who have as much concern for their fellow farmers as they have for others who need access to clean and abundant water - none!," notes Saratoga (Wisconsin), Concerned last year, (Facebook).

Scott Walker will sign Big Ag's Senate Bill 76 soon.

Of note is the fact clean and safe water groups increasingly work in concert statewide. As noted by Criste Greening in the Green Bay Progressive in late April, clean water citizen groups include the following:

Citizens' Water Coalition of Wisconsin
Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network
Wild Rivers Chapter Trout Unlimited
Friends of the Central Sands
Frac Sand Mining Awareness
Crawford Stewardship Project
Protect Wood County & Its Neighbors
Save The Hills Alliance
Kewaunee CARES
People Empowered Protect the Land (PEPL) of Rosendale
Green County Defending Our Farmland
Central Wisconsin Nature Foundation
Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative
Facing Forward Vernon Our Wisconsin Revolution
Inland Sea Society
From the Earth
Indivisible Fond du Lac
Protect Our Water
Friends of the Kinni
Concerned Rome Citizens
Rome Saratoga Friendly
Indivisible Winnebago
Central Sands Water Action Coalition
Forward Kenosha
Rinehart Lake Association
Farms Not Factories
Spirit Creek Water Protectors
Indivisible Milwaukee ~ South Side
Bad River Watershed Association
Frac Sand Sentinels
Indivisible Solon Springs
Indivisible DeForest
Concerned Citizens of Princeton
Citizens for a Better Environment Lake Mills
Emerald Clean Water For All
Penokee Hills Education Project
Penokee Hills Light Brigade
Water Protectors of Milwaukee
Friends of the Eau Claire Lakes Area
Citizens for Environmental Stewardship
Indivisible Ashland
Heartland Land Creations
League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield Counties
LCO/Sawyer County Dems
Preserve Waupaca County
League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi RIver Region
Crystal Lake Club
Friends of the Tomorrow /Waupaca River
Waupaca Commoners Caucus
Constituents Only
Defending Our Ixonia Countryside
Vernon County Democratic Party
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
Gaia Coalition
Concerned Citizens of Easton
League of Women Voters/Greater Chippewa Valley
Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin
Organic Consumers Association
Blue Jean Nation
Wisconsin Resources Protection Council
Echo Valley Hope
Madison Action for Mining Alternatives
Reedsburg Area Concerned Citizens