Representative Lisa Subeck (608) 266-7521
Representative Terese Berceau (608) 266-3784

MADISON – State Representatives Lisa Subeck and Terese Berceau today denounced a move by Republicans to call the Assembly back for an unscheduled session day tomorrow solely to appease one realtor who currently serves on the Town of Middleton Board. If both the Assembly and Senate pass the bill it could effectively take away the right of people who live in Dane County towns to vote on whether or not their towns opt out of county zoning.

“This petulant power grab is unnecessarily going to cost state taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.” Berceau explained. “The Assembly is going to meet tomorrow exclusively to fast-track legislation to pre-empt binding votes in eight townships that are already scheduled for later this month.”

“This move to change the rules in the middle of the game for town residents clearly shows the corrupting influence money has to alter the political process to benefit one person who was afraid things might not go his way if town residents were actually allowed to have a say in the process,” said Subeck.

“Town residents aren’t asking for this bill. In fact, yesterday they took the almost unprecedented step of waging a successful write-in campaign to oust the developer/town board member who is behind this state legislation,” Berceau said. “Frankly, it’s beyond me why Assembly Republicans would want to dirty their hands forcing through such an unpopular measure.”

“The town board supervisor leading the charge lobbying for the bill made it clear during the hearing, saying that if the town voters don’t like it they can vote him out. And yesterday, that is exactly what they did,” said Subeck. “The legislature should not be aiding and abetting this discriminatory effort to allow town boards in only Dane County to avoid the scrutiny and oversight of their residents.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email