Janesville Notes: Council Member Suggests Using TIF For Blight

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I watched a short portion of Janesville's city council meeting held Monday night and for the first time in my recent memory, a council member suggested using TIF surplus money for ...wait for this ... for a blighted but promising downtown area property.

Why am I making a small deal over it? Well, THAT doesn't happen in Janesville. In Janesville, TIF Districts and their portable surplus funds are reserved strictly for sprawl building insiders, wealthy green field land owners and deep-pocketed large scale building developers. An old building that has seen hardship and left to decay does not fit Janesville's status quo TIF pattern. The suggestion was so rare, that the council member had to ask the city attorney if it was legal to use TIF funds in this manner.

Although the property is city owned, the condition, location and potential of the building is precisely the kind of property tax incremental financing was created for in the first place. So my hat is off to Council Member Matt Kealy on this one.

The building in question might still get hit by the city's wrecking ball, but to see someone in Janesville thinking in these terms was startling. I never thought I'd see the day. The possibility that TIF surplus might be used to remove blight by funding the restoration and re-invention of a poor old forgotten building. Who woulda' thunk it?

Janesville City Administration More Hostile?

On another note, Janesville's non-elected city staff seems to have taken a more combative and superiority tone towards those outside of their administrative sphere. I'm not certain of this, but it could be related to the managing style of Janesville's new city manager, Mark Freitag, a retired army colonel. There seems to be a greater "us against them" mentality.

This also could be a new authoritarian mentality trickled down from the state's single-party ruled "divide and conquer" legislature in Madison. So I'm not sure exactly where it gets its motivation from, but I lean more toward an in-house cause.

It's an observation I draw from the poor way several recent issues were handled during closed meetings, short public notices and the overall ramming pace of planning and decision-making. Much of it seems more predetermined than ever. Again, maybe it's just me and these early observations are only a few errant pixels of a larger better picture.

Only time will tell.

Nasty Choking Odor Near Palmer Drive and Beloit Ave

Just received an email from a Janesville reader telling me she had the “most horrible putrid-acidic choking experience” of her life, (quotes exact words) walking her two dogs near the Palmer Dr/Beloit Ave intersection over the past weekend.

She wrote that although a strong odor of horse or cow manure is found occasionally during spring and summer planting time in the area (uncertain if it comes from Rotary Gardens), this time it was “very very different.” She wrote that her dogs fought her to pull out from their leashed collars (never happened before) and when she went a few more feet into the walk approaching Dawson Park, she started choking and had to run out of the area. THAT doesn’t sound too good.

Coincidentally, two Wisconsin blogs posted stories at the same time on overhead manure spraying. Could this be the cause??

The Political Environment - Wisconsin DNR OK with manure - human or cattle - in the wrong places

Blogging Blue - Scott Walker’s Wisconsin: now with more liquid manure spraying!

Sen. Ron Johnson Would Rather Put More Money In Government Than In Workers Pockets

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I had to revisit this one.

In a Gazette article reporting on Sen. Ron. Johnson's "town hall" meeting, a Janesville resident asked Johnson if it would be better to raise the minimum wage.

JG Excerpt:
Johnson told Griffith he doesn't support a federal push to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. Instead, he said tax breaks, some for corporate entities and corporation heads, would keep capitol costs cheap and prevent corporations such as major fast-food chains from further automation and job cutting.

Johnson said that some analysts predict a minimum wage hike would cause the economy to shed 500 million or more jobs.

Johnson said the only minimum wage legislation he'd support is an immigration tax reform. He said it would create a minimum wage tax that would discourage companies from hiring migrant workers, which he argues lowers pay overall for lower-wage earners.

That was not only a perfect snapshot of Sen. Ron Johnson's mentality, but of nearly every "conservative" tool of the rich sitting in Congress. Ask any of them about raising the wage for the bottom and they fire back with tax breaks for the top. They call it trickle-down yet it never pours hard enough to ever reach or raise the bottom.

But Johnson's creation of a minimum wage tax on companies to "discourage" them from hiring migrant workers takes the cake. Almost in one breath, his first concern for high capital costs on businesses magically disappears so long as government can collect a special tax from companies that pay their workers at or below minimum wage.

Somehow in Johnson's twisted world, he believes it's better to put those "capital" earnings generated by the workers, not into their pockets, but in government's pockets - not to punish the company, but instead grant it license to pay low wages. How any of this lifts minimum wage worker's out of poverty is beyond me. It's as if that goal is not even a part of the equation.

At the same time, Johnson's support for a new tax on minimum wage companies is a direct admission that they CAN afford to pay their workers better and even if Congress were crazy enough to entertain Johnson's ideas, they would have to be in addition to raising the minimum wage substantially - not in place of it.

Was Senator Johnson's Town Hall Meeting a Bogus Event?

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Sen. Ron Johnson was in Janesville on Friday to host a town hall event for constituents. But is that the whole story?

According to the Janesville Gazette, he was in town to meet with the red state business group Forward Janesville. Yet this article in the Gazette makes no report on that meeting or where it was held. Instead, the newspaper reports on the open town hall meeting where about a dozen constituents gathered to ask the Senator some questions.

Was his meeting with Forward Janesville held during the open town hall meeting, or was it behind closed doors? Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the open meeting to answer those questions for myself.

On the other hand, the notice for this "Town Hall" meeting got extremely light publicity for a sitting senator and with the ALEC-like Forward Janesville recently announcing they will be offering "cover" for lawmakers who are willing to earmark funding for their interstate expansion, one can surmise that this town hall meeting provided cover for Johnson's meeting with Forward Janesville.

On the issue of the minimum wage, Ron Johnson not surprisingly stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan.

Johnson wants the federal minimum wage to stay at $7.25 and said he would rather charge companies a minimum wage tax to discourage them from hiring migrant workers.

Apparently, Johnson would rather companies take advantage of workers so long as they pay an extra tax that he insists the companies can't afford to pay more in wages. Whew! He also said corporations and corporate heads should be getting bigger tax breaks. What a complete trilogy of embarrassing politicians we have representing the state of Wisconsin.

Read the Gazette story here.

Sen. Ron Johnson Holding a Town Hall Meeting in Janesville

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Late notice here but check this out!

Sen. Ron Johnson ...yes, that Ron Johnson, will be holding a listening session ...a ... a sermon ...well no, it's being billed as a town hall meeting but it begins with a presentation on his perception of the nation's fiscal challenges. So it sounds like the typical Paul Ryan/Heritage Foundation skit we've seen a dozen times before in Janesville, but maybe Johnson will be using different charts.

Anywho, here's the official post from the Janesville City Website.

City Of Janesville Excerpt:
The community is invited to join U.S. Senator Ron Johnson for a Town Hall meeting on April 25, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at the Janesville Municipal Building, 4th Floor, Council Chambers, 18 N. Jackson Street. The meeting will begin with a presentation by Senator Johnson on his perception of the fiscal challenges facing our country today. Following the presentation, Senator Johnson will take questions from the audience.

Local Walker Cartel Gear Up To Provide "Cover" For Political Cronies

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On the news that state taxpayers can expect huge deficits ballooning in the near future seeded by Gov. Walker's re-election-deferred $700 million shortfall in the next biennial budget, Walker's local business cartel, Forward Janesville, is now preparing to provide "cover" for politicians who are willing to step up and provide intravenous feeding (higher taxes and new tax mechanisms) for their interstate expansion donor club.

At least that's how it's spelled out in this recent editorial by Forward Janesville's media tool, the Janesville Gazette.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Cunningham is right to suggest repealing gas tax indexing was a terrible mistake. No funding option is perfect, he notes, and Forward Janesville is working on recommendations.

I'll bet they are working on funding "recommendations" day and night.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
“The choices are all lousy,” Cunningham admits. “However, we’ve got to come around to a point of view that sometimes it’s OK to pay for this sort of stuff. One way I’m interested in is giving a little bit of cover to lawmakers who are willing to step up and make some tough choices that maybe are not all that popular.”

But doesn't that mean more and deeper tax cuts and less spending are in order? After all, isn't that what courageous pro-growth "conservative" politicians do? I mean Laffer Curve.

Oh wait, not this time though. Because they need to fund the local Hendricks-JPCullen-Rock-Road-Ryanoligartopus with real hard cash - not unicorn money from Lafferland. Why certainly it's OK to pay for THAT stuff. Why didn't you say so the first time? LOL.

Of course what Cunningham (FJ's VP) means is exactly that. They want new government collectivist tax shifts, hikes and fees to provide for increased revenue to pay for their pet project. Because THIS time it's different. They're looking for real "tough" politicians to ignore the politics and back those revenue increases ...this time.

Because remember, when it is political, Forward Janesville supports Scott Walker and the legislative agenda of the state's republican party. FJ cheered and toasted flutes of champagne to their every move. And, who can forget the higher revenues reportedly coming in and all the recent tax cuts paid for by the state budget "surplus?" So how can there be shortfalls and who needs revenue increases under those circumstances unless ...unless the surplus and increased revenues are just, pardon my french ...all political bullshit for Walker's re-election? Another LOL.

Also, don't forget it was Forward Janesville who earlier needed "tough" lawmakers to snooker taxpayers by defunding local roads and pushing enterprise zone credits, TIF district slush funds and portable tax gimmicks for themselves. They now want lawmakers again to make the "tough" tax hikes on everybody else because this time it's not political ...it's for the oligarchy. It only figures.

And, you know what? There is nobody to stop them. The Big Club seems to always get what they want while the folks are too busy watching Badger sports and pounding down beers and brats. Make no mistake, I'm not trying to pretend some democrats haven't been on Forward Janesville's bandwagon while looking the other way. Because they have.

But Wisconsin is a single-party ruled GOP majority state now, so we should at least make sure that any new taxes, fees or hikes are sponsored and passed with a majority of GOP caucus votes in each state house. Afterall, they own it.

ADDITIONAL:

TPM - Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy Really? You don't say.

RNR - Politically, Republicans Own Everything. But Local Newspaper Finds Blame For Democrats

RNR - Janesville, Is the I39/90 Expansion Worth an $80 Annual Vehicle Tax?

The Anti-American Thug

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A lot of people don’t realize that the war on our government, the concept of government, our Constitution, Post Office, libraries, public utilities and labor unions including the attacks on many of our social and cultural constructs such as public education, marriage and community is not a natural progression of free will, but an active hostility that originates from the mesmerized supporters of a destructive ideology created by the anti-American hypocrite, sociopath and thug: Ayn Rand.

Want Secession? Get Ready To Pay Your Share Of The National Debt

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With all the crazy talk about states seceding from the USA, I wondered how much a state the size of Wisconsin would owe to the federal government for it’s share of the national debt if indeed the state decided to pull out. Even though a secessionist state would no longer be responsible for future U.S. debt, its current and unpaid share of the debt including it's share of Social Security would still be an outstanding liability.

I first looked at some numbers from the U.S. Senate Republican’s Budget Committee where they have a built-in calculator to measure individual’s share of the national debt based upon date of birth and long-term debt projections. According to their calculator, a person born Jan.1, 1955 owes a lifetime (as of today) share of $132,408. Born Jan.1, 1980 owes $428,423 and born in 2000 owes $940,396. With moving targets like that, it obviously could get fairly complicated figuring the exact amount how much the entire state owes.

A recent Harvard Study pegged an individual’s share at $106,000. That number seems realistic, but it includes projected debt of which a seceding state would no longer be subjected to.

The Debt Clock Web page puts the average figure at $55,278 for every man, woman and child in the USA based on the country's current real-time debt. That one makes it easy for this posting.

So it’s pretty simple.
$55,278 X 5.72M population of Wisconsin = $316,762,160,000.

That’s $317 billion. That’s the amount without including interest, Social Security or other outstanding debts and its' equal to about five state budgets. But remember, paying off debt is not the same as funding a state budget.

$317B is also about half the amount needed to pay off Greece’s total debt. But Greece's population is nearly double that of Wisconsin so the debt load per capita would be practically identical.

Think about that one. Wisconsin's debt would be equal to Greece's and with no chance of growing ourselves out of the debt. Wisconsin would go bankrupt to pay it's bill.

Is Scott Walker Running Scared From The Party's Secession Position?

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JS online Excerpt:
To secede or not to secede.

That will be the question for Wisconsin Republicans at next month's convention.

Earlier this month, the party's Resolutions Committee voted in favor of a proposal that says the state party "supports legislation that upholds Wisconsin's right, under extreme circumstances, to secede."

This is where extremist Governor Scott Walker proves his mettle with the Tea Party. But so far, it looks like he's running scared.

Gov. Scott Walker, the leader of the state party, distanced himself from the resolution last week.

"I don't think that one aligns with where most Republican officials are in the state of Wisconsin — certainly not with me," Walker said at a press event on Friday.

Less than four years ago, Scott Walker boasted that he was the original Tea Party in Wisconsin. He was swept into power on the shoulders of the radical tea party craze in 2010 and even wrote a farcical book titled "Unintimidated," about how he courageously stood up against "union bosses," a favorite tea party target. But now Walker is refusing to align himself with one of the Tea Party's top issues - state sovereignty and the right of secession? That's odd.

Yeah I know it's a big election year and Walker is also laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run in 2016, but Walker has built himself up a tea party facade of standing against D.C., Big Government and against some imaginary political machine. In the eyes of the confederate base of the Tea Party, seceding from the United States Of America is the last and final resolution to everything that defines them and their cause.

Also, if there's one issue that helps draw a clear contrast between Tea Party candidates and non-tea party candidates other than the TP's phony fiscal crisis of convenience - secession rights is it! Literally, they are indescribable and lost without it.

Despite that, my hunch ...and it's only a hunch, is the Wisconsin Republican Party will NOT add the revised secession resolution to their official platform during their state convention. Even if my hunch is correct, it still doesn't absolve anyone of their stated position on the issue.

So, why is Walker running away from it? Perhaps drawing that contrast is precisely what Walker doesn't want to do with a affable challenger like Mary Burke. That wouldn't be surprising. On top of backing away from the tea party on the secession issue, he won't commit to anything on fracking or the Kenosha casino either. Yet his party stooges demand that Burke holds full tilt press conferences on all her plans and positions.

So what's going on here? I mean, Walker is Mister Unintimidated and all that jazz. Right? Or he's just another indecisive political hack in a long line of indecisive political hacks. It's one or the other.

ADDITIONAL:

Cog Dis - The Crazy Is Concentrated

Politicususa - Tea Party Extremists Pushing Wisconsin Republican Party To Support Secession

Wis Dems - Tea Party Extremists Cannibalize Wisconsin Republicans

JS Online - State GOP gets to vote on secession at convention

TPM - Wisconsin Republicans To Vote On Right To Secede

Master of Dependency And Deception Only a Matter of Degrees

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This is pretty typical of Gov. Scott Walker.

There have been recent reports that Walker is considering the UW's new Flexible Option program for his own path to a college degree. As it goes, Walker himself was a supporter of the new government funded UW program. It received $2 million for start-up costs from the state government.

But, it does seem a little strange in this case that it happens to be Scott Walker, mister pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps "we measure true compassion by helping people no longer require the assistance of the government," who is turning to a government program himself to access the system for acquiring a college degree.

For Walker, it appears there was no other way before and so it is 24 years after quitting college and the timely creation of a new government program that he is only now considering an advanced degree.

And why not? Because I think anyone, including Gov. Walker, getting government help to finish their college education 10, 20 or 30 years later ...is great news. It reminds me of the fictional story, The life Of Julia." I say go for it.

But, it doesn't end there for Scott Walker. The Flex Option program it turns out, is geared to college degrees in fields for jobs available today and those expected in the years to come. That is a problem for the governor.

Chippewa.Com Excerpt:
Walker, who is widely considered to be a 2016 Republican presidential contender, didn’t give a timeline for working toward his degree or offer a specific major he hopes to pursue, saying it would likely be related to one of the areas he previously studied, such as political science.

“Right now, the flex option as we currently have it is really focused on the key industries: engineering, some related to health care, and others out there. As it expands, I’d certainly be interested in doing it,” Walker said. “Right now, it doesn’t have the areas I’ve specifically studied.”

Apparently, Walker hasn't been paying much attention to his own workforce development program. It's no longer about earning a degree in the pursuit of your own happiness. It's about getting training and earning degrees for a guaranteed placement into somebody else's idea of happiness - the state's workforce. Obviously, earning a degree for the purpose of entering the state's private sector workforce isn't one of Scott Walker's top priorities. And ...

Chippewa.Com Excerpt:
He said pursuing a degree wouldn’t be about meeting any requirements — such as being governor -

So, it's not about earning a degree to update his skill set for his current job either.

Obviously, there's a different reason for his "special" degree and get this ...he's going to wait out for the program to expand to cover his degree in a field that, according to the state's current workforce expectations, is not in demand and not part of the program.

Finally, Walker said pursuing a degree, "would be ultimately to send a message encouraging others. I think it’s a good thing to encourage others to do."

But which part? The one about pursuing a college degree to satisfy the state's happiness or encouraging others to wait out and depend on government expansions, policies and programs - to pursue your own?

Reminder: Janesville Forum ‘Voter Suppression in Wisconsin’

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Voter Suppression in Wisconsin’

Speakers:
Analiese Eicher, Program and Development Manager of One Wisconsin Now (see more below).

Rep. Debra Kolste, 44th Assembly District

When:
Wednesday, April 9
6 PM-6:30 PM cheese & cracker reception (nonalcoholic potluck)
6:30 PM- 7:45 PM, speakers & discussion

Where:
**Basics Food Cooperative
1711 Lodge Dr.
Janesville, Wisconsin

(**This is an independent event not affiliated with Basics)

Analiese Eicher is the Program and Development Manager at partner organizations One Wisconsin Now and One Wisconsin Institute where she primarily works on two programs: fighting the trillion dollar student loan debt crisis; and protecting the right to vote. Ms. Eicher is a nationally recognized expert on voter suppression efforts in Wisconsin and is involved in first of its kind research and groundbreaking polling on the issue of student loan debt and its effects on Wisconsin and the nation's economy.’

Ms. Eicher lives in Sun Prairie and is a Janesville native.

Directions: from Madison route 90 until 1st Janesville exit, south on Route 26 past route 14, look for Toys R Us on the right, right on Lodge Drive, on right across from Toys R Us.

The Community Room is to the left when you come in.

RockCountyProgressives. org, also on Facebook

Video: Elizabeth Warren Has a Few Words For Paul Ryan and Wall Street

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Wow. Elizabeth Warren has got it all together. No need to rehash her remarks. Just watch it:

Today's the Last Day To Vote In March Badness

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Sorry for the late notice but this is the last chance to vote before ProgressNow crowns the new champion on Tuesday. Gov. Scott Walker has reached the final round so he will at the minimum finish second. Go to this link and vote for him.

Let's help Scott Walker win this tournament!!

Was Journal Times Editorial On AFP An Endorsement Or Alarm?

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I know its title, "Americans For Prosperity involvement in local races isn’t bad" sure sounds like an approval for Koch's political army to inject itself into local elections, but after reading it twice I'm convinced its author was looking for whatever paddle or fuel they could find that can spark greater voter interest in their community.

The editorial starts out with a genuine complaint about low voter turn-out in Racine County in Tuesday’s election. Only 13,193 people bothered to cast a ballot out of 111,593 registered voters and that at just under 12 percent they write, is pretty pathetic.

Yes, that is pathetic.

But the last paragraph was the most telling ...

Journal Times Excerpt:
But the bottom line is, residents who make it to the polls and vote are ultimately the ones who determine how our government is run. If groups like Americans for Prosperity can help create more awareness for the issues and turn out more voters, then more power to them or any other group trying, as long as they are willing to disclose who they are.

Again, that does sound like a concession to the Koch Brothers. But in truth, any group can come into any community and operate a get-out-the-vote program. Of course that's not only what Americans For Prosperity does. But at least according to my last recollection, we're still a free country to do so.

My concern here would be how the Racine Journal Times has handled any initiatives, political or other, orchestrated by locals in their part of Wisconsin in the past. Have they promoted those just the same?

In Janesville for instance, if a small band of local residents or the local labor or teachers union would get involved in elections or in the issues, the Janesville Gazette and their army of anonymous trolls would make every effort to smash mouth and squash them in the newspaper as partisans, union thugs or worse. The Gazette was and still is in full control of the narrative.

But see, here's the problem. Those people the Gazette attacked were local residents, local taxpayers with homes or renters raising families donating to local causes and supporting local businesses. They were not outsiders. But that never mattered to the hardcore partisans running the Gazette printing presses. Any local movement to organize or express a "different" opinion from the establishment was and is demonized as negative, power-grabbing or political.

Now, I realize Janesville isn't Racine and Racine isn't Janesville, but people will be people and I'm sure the same political dynamics are at play in both communities. Despite all the hay we make over money in politics and how it distorts views and outcomes, it still comes down to the voter.

With that, in my view the Journal Times editorial is screaming, "PEOPLE, IF WE DON'T ORGANIZE AND COME TO THE DEFENSE OF OUR OWN COMMUNITIES, SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, JOBS, WAGES, PENSIONS AND PROPERTY - THE KOCH BROTHERS WILL TAKE IT ALL!! AND IF THEY DO, THEY WILL HAVE EARNED IT. DON'T BLAME ANYONE ELSE. DON'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER OUTSIDE GROUP TO DEFEND US OR DO OUR BIDDING - THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

So if the Journal Times editorial on American For Prosperity wasn't meant to be an alarm, it sure sounded like one to me.

If you liked that one, you might like to read this:

RNR - While You Were Away

Walker Signs Crony Class Kickback Bill In Janesville

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This is one of the bills (SB449) Gov. Walker's local donor club, Forward Janesville, and their media tools at the Janesville Gazette campaigned for over the past few years. The Gazette, for their part, published at least six maybe seven promotional articles dedicated to its passage with at least two articles demonizing and labeling opponents of the dubious bill as anti-jobs and anti-business.

I of course have written several times of my opposition here about this "tax transfer" charade. But the bill passed unanimously 100-0 or whatever in the state's legislature. bravo

This is a bill that in the end sets up procedural gimmicks to allow profitable businesses for no other reason than being a crony of another business that qualified for tax credits but did not file enough profits to claim the credits, to stake a collectivist claim from a dedicated pot of unclaimed tax revenue. You read that right.

In this case, the dedicated pot is a 3-year $15 million slush fund. It's like saying, "there's free money on the table ...somebody please come and get it!"

Except, that "somebody" is not just anybody. It's only for a few select members of the Big Club.

Outside of the fact that the bill's intention is to reward an entity that created zero new jobs, one of the strangest things about the "free market small government conservatives" promoting the bill including Walker who signed it, is that the bill under the guise of job creation, requires a larger (not smaller) role for government and abstracts of collectivism to coerce businesses and the free market to act or behave in a conforming way. But ...that's IF and only if the credit indeed worked and played a role in creating jobs, which of course it does not.

Most folks would call sponsors of this bill "statists" for the perceived government meddling in the free markets. But in truth, the bill pretends government is acting to create jobs and simply maintains a status quo to allow special people (crony collectivists) to double-dip into the state treasury for free money. Yet, they're called job creators. Go figure.

Walker signed this bill at the Forward Janesville office in Janesville soon after he returned from participating in the Las Vegas Sheldon Adelson Primary.

You can read the local propaganda version here.

Local Election News Mixed: School Referendum To Exceed State Imposed Revenue Caps Approved

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If at first you don't succeed on a referendum, try, try, try, try and try again.

After failing to approve four of the last five referendums for new construction/renovations that would eventually lead to a new junior/senior high school in Orfordville (Parkview School District), voters finally approved a $17M referendum. On the operational side, Parkview voters also chose (they had two referendums) to over-ride Walker imposed austerity caps.

JG Excerpt:
The referendum to swap the grade levels at the Orfordville schools passed 1,146 to 1,120.

A second referendum to exceed the state revenue caps for operating expenses passed 1,230 to 1,044. That vote approved spending an additional $350,000 annually for three years.

The district anticipates a $2.2 million deficit over the next three years, Superintendent Steve Lutzke has said.

In other local election news, challenger Jason Dowd won his first term in the 16th district (covers part of Beloit) for the Rock County Board by defeating four term Incumbent Phillip Owens. Rock County board races are non-partisan.

Incumbent county board member Rick Richard (District 9), a republican, defeated challenger Lyman E. Elliott III of Edgerton.

Challenger Wesley Davis defeated Incumbent Mike Rundle (District 20), covers the eastern part of Janesville and southern part of Harmony Township.

Incumbent Brian Knudsen defeated challenger Russell Rucker in a landslide. Rucker ran as a republican in the 2012 primary for the 45th WI assembly.

Challenger Yuri Rashkin was unable to displace entrenched County Board Chairman Russ Podzilni in District 22 (Covers portion of north-eastern quadrant of Janesville).

Incumbents will be returning to the Janesville School District Board and Janesville City Council. But each board will be picking up a new member to fill open seats.

Newcomer Mark Bobzien won a seat on the city council. He will be replacing Kathy Voskuil. She did not seek re-election.

In the school district, Dale Thompson, a former school board member from the 1990's, returns to win the open seat on the school board. Of note here, incumbent school board member Bill Sodemann, a Tea Party supporter - barely survived to keep his seat. Except for Kevin Murray who had strong support, the Janesville school board race was very close for participants.

By the way, voter turnout in Rock County was only 16.4 percent.

Rock County Election Results - April 1, 2014

United Wisconsin - 13 Wisconsin cities vote YES to overturning Citizens United