Rep. Elijah Behnke is running for his fourth term in the Wisconsin Assembly, facing a challenge from Shirley Hinze.
Behnke, a Republican who is moving into a home in the Town of Angelica after two years in the Town of Chase, is looking for a second two-year term representing the 6th Assembly District, which includes most of Shawano County, all of Menominee County, and segments of Oconto, Waupaca and Outagamie counties.
Hinze, a Democrat and Shawano resident, had previously challenged Behnke for the seat on the assembly two years ago.
NEW Media sent questionnaires to Behnke and Hinze to ascertain their stances on topics affecting people in the state of Wisconsin. Their responses to two of the questions follow. The remaining questions will be published in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election. Answers to previous questions can be found at www.newmedia-wi.com.
The cost of living continues to be a problem not only in the 6th Assembly District, but also throughout the state and country. What are your solutions to help your constituents be able to afford things again?
Behnke: I would like to return the surplus through property tax relief. That’s No. 1. I don’t mind the state income tax, as well. I wish we could say that, once you retire, you don’t even have to pay property taxes anymore. I’d like to introduce that style of legislation. I know there’s sales tax weekends for back-to-school supplies; maybe we could get sales tax exemptions on other essentials. It is hard to get consensus between 51, 52 Republicans and then you are also going to have to get the other side of the aisle to agree, and that’s why this gets so polluted with 132 different opinions.
Hinze: Three key things because this is a question that cannot be answered in 100 words or less.
Raise the minimum wage. It’s not enough to live on, forcing people to work more than one job to survive.
Redirect government spending, not only state but encourage county/city boards to tighten their belt on corporate handouts. Right now the economy is not stable enough to be doing capital projects that will add a tax burden on voters.
Regulate corporate real estate. They’re price fixing homes and rents, buying land to build apartments causing a loss of land for affordable housing. Shawano County is one of the highest overpriced home values in the country, according to realtor.com.
There are billions of dollars in surplus in the state coffers. What can the money be used for, in your view?
Hinze: To use the surplus, I’d like to set up a board similar to a board that oversees grant applications that communities can apply to for capital projects. The goal will be to offset the expenses so taxes wouldn’t be raised in that county to fund it. Right now, due to lack of funding, many municipalities have had to raise taxes do that, including Shawano County.
Behnke: I think there’s going to have to be a compromise. I think the Senate will come back with Democrat control. I think we (Republicans) have a very narrow lead in the Assembly by one or two votes, and I think we’re going to win the Tom Tiffany race. With divided government, there’s going to have to be a compromise with the surplus, and I will be fighting for local communities to get more money through shared revenue. I would support property tax relief.
