Who is Scott Walker?
To understand Scott Walker, and to appreciate where he wants to help lead Wisconsin, you need to know where he's been.
Scott relies on his small-town values, no matter the size of the task before him. Until he was in the third grade, Scott lived in the rural town of Plainfield in northeastern Iowa. It has about 450 people and is located just down the way from the Little Brown Church in the Vale.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker |
|
|
|
In 1977, the family moved to Delavan, Wisconsin as Scott’s father, the Reverend Llew Walker, was called to a small church in town. About 6,000 people lived in Delavan then; and tourism, agriculture and manufacturing were the economic pillars of the area. Throughout the years, Scott was active in school, sports, band, church and Scouts (he is an Eagle Scout).
Twenty years ago, Scott Walker found his love for public service at the American Legion’s Badger Boys State program. He was selected to attend the weeklong session as a delegate from Delavan-Darien High School and went on to represent the State of Wisconsin at Boys Nation.
In the 1980s, Scott came to the Milwaukee area to attend Marquette University. He also worked for the IBM Corporation during school. Before finishing his senior year, Scott left to work full-time for the American Red Cross. Within a few years he and his wife, Tonette, had started a family.
Family is important to the Walker’s. Today Scott and Tonette live in Wauwatosa with their two sons, Matthew and Alex. Together, they are active with the kids’ sports, church and Scouting activities. After years of devoted Christian ministry, it was Scott's parents turn to move for the sake and benefit of the family, settling in Southeast Wisconsin to be near the grandchildren. Llew keeps active in the church and Pat runs a thrift shop at St. Jude’s Parish.
In June of 1993, Scott won a special election to the State Assembly. During his tenure, he was a leader on issues related to corrections and public safety, tax relief and spending, health care reform, election reform and financial institutions. He chaired several standing committees and lead the fight on many important issues. Scott was the author of the first bill to require voters to show photo ID at the polls, co-authored many pieces of important pro-life legislation, helped craft the privacy for health care records package, provided key leadership on Truth-in-Sentencing and was the creator of the LESS (Limit Excessive State Spending) plan.
Strong leadership and bold advocacy distinguished Scott’s career in the State Assembly and solidified his reputation as one of the Party’s rising stars. Scott’s efforts in the State Legislature earned him recognition from groups like the Wisconsin Medical Society, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wisconsin Right to Life and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau.
Scott is also an active Republican. In the early 1990s, he was chairman of the 5th Congressional district Republican Party and a member of the executive board of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. He served as the chair of the platform committee, and in 1998 he was the chair of the state convention. In 2000, he was the Bush/Cheney county chair and in 2004, he was one of the statewide co-chairs for the Bush/Cheney campaign. Scott appreciates the work of the grassroots, because Scott comes from the grassroots.
In 2002, he responded to the crisis facing his neighbors by giving up a safe seat in the legislature and instead took on the entrenched liberal political machine in Milwaukee. The people responded to Scott’s leadership by electing him to the position of Milwaukee County Executive, making Walker the first Republican ever elected to that post. Since that historic election, Scott has done what he said he would do by holding the line on taxes and reforming government.
He inherited a major fiscal mess yet refused to raise taxes. For three straight budgets, Scott froze the property tax levy and reformed county government. As the elected County Executive, he oversees a $1.2 billion budget and 6,100 employees. He appoints and steers an executive cabinet and wields veto authority – just like the Governor. However, unlike the current Governor, Scott knows you can’t tax and spend your way out of budget problems; rather, you prioritize and make tough decisions.
Driven by the small town values of hard work and fairness, strengthened by his faith, and supported by a loving family, Scott Walker has built an impressive record of public service. He is an experienced, decisive executive who has proven he can deliver results for Wisconsin’s families.
