Scott Walker Isn’t A Candidate, But Looms Large In County Executive Contest

The shadow of Scott Walker continues to loom over next month’s race for Milwaukee County executive.

Chris Larson, a state senator from Milwaukee, is challenging incumbent Chris Abele for the position — both of them Democratic candidates in what’s officially a nonpartisan election. In the leadup to the spring primary, Larson frequently criticized Abele for working with Walker and Republican legislators during his six years in the executive’s office, a message that may have helped him narrowly top Abele in the February election.

Walker himself served as Milwaukee County executive from 2002 through 2010. He remains popular in conservative areas of the county, but not so much in most of the city of Milwaukee and a few suburbs.

Since the February election, Abele has gone to the airwaves, trying to link Larson to Walker.

“Larson turned his back on his party and voted with Scott Walker to give special treatment to Wall Street and the wealthy,” asserted one TV ad, juxtaposing sepia tone images of Walker and Larson next to each other.

That ad about Larson’s legislative vote on a credit card bill quickly became controversial: The Abele campaign said the commercial is true, but Larson said the Wall Street claim isn’t.

At a recent news conference, he called the ad “desperate” and asked the executive to take it down. He said that the bill didn’t help Wall Street, although he acknowledged it did help a local community activist and Larson donor. Larson said he didn’t know the man worked for a Wisconsin bank, and said the individual hadn’t asked for the legislation.

The same day, Abele spoke to the news media while attending a job fair for veterans. He tried to put some distance between himself and the governor, saying that from Jim Ryan in the 2002 county executive race to Mary Burke in the 2014 gubernatorial contest, he’s consistently supported Walker’s opponents. Abele also stressed that on many issues, he himself is no Scott Walker.

“I’m pro-choice, pro gay rights, pro-rational gun control, pro same-day registration,” he said. “I put millions more into child support.”

The argument between Abele and Larson over Walker may very well continue until Election Day next month. During a televised debate, Larson broke down his plan to increase the Milwaukee County sales tax by 1 percent to pay for deferred maintenance in county parks and for transit. Larson said some other counties want the same thing.

“Under Walker’s leadership and the Republicans, they have cut off local funding and local control across the state,” he said. “The majority of the counties have utilized the sales tax available to them, and they’re starving for new revenue.”

Larson said he would reduce property taxes with some of the sales tax funds.

Abele, however, said the governor and Republican-controlled Legislature would block Milwaukee County from raising the sales tax over a current state cap. He said there are other ways to fix parks and fund transit, mainly by paying down county debt and reducing interest payments.

“I’m not simply going to say I’m angry at the people who are the cause of this, and anger my way through it. I’m going to use the tools I have,” he said.

Abele is wealthy, and is expected to boost his spending in the final weeks of the campaign, while public-sector unions and progressive groups are trying to help Chris Larson. The election is April 5.