Dem AG Josh Kaul said he will run on his record as a prosecutor in his bid for reelection in 2022.
Kaul already has two declared Republican opponents — UW-Madison law professor Ryan Owens, and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.
Kaul knocked Owens in an appearance Sunday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.
“The Republican who is the fundraising leader right now has absolutely no prosecutorial experience whatsoever. So I think voters are going to compare our records and I feel confident about what they’ll decide,” Kaul said.
Kaul also said the state stands to receive around $65 million from a multi-billion dollar settlement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and the Sackler family, which owned the company. Wisconsin and 44 other states sued the company and the Sacklers, saying they downplayed the risks of the drug, which is blamed for tens of thousands of opioid overdose deaths.
“Those funds are going to go to communities throughout the state to help fight the (opioid addiction) epidemic, through things like treatment, prevention and recovery efforts,” Kaul said.
A federal bankruptcy court still has to approve the settlement, but Kaul said he expects that to happen.
In another segment, the head of the Wisconsin State Fair said the fair is still short for the 1,800 workers it needs to put on the 11-day event.
The fair is holding hiring events, with two more planned for Wednesday and Thursday, to staff up for the fair, which begins Aug. 5, said Kathleen O’Leary, CEO of the Wisconsin State Fair.
“Any concern you can’t pull this off?” asked “UpFront” host Adrienne Pedersen.
“At this juncture no. At this juncture no. But we’re going to have to make some changes,” O’Leary said.
Some of those changes include a later morning start time, and cashless entry points. O’Leary encouraged fairgoers to purchase their tickets in advance to speed entry into the fair.
Also on the program, Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson said the $626,000 settlement with former Police Chief Alfonso Morales is the “best outcome” for the chief, the police department and the city.
Morales filed a federal lawsuit against the city after the Fire and Police Commission demoted him last year. Morales alleged that his civil rights were violated.
“I’m just glad that we finally got to the point where we reached a settlement so that Chief Morales can go his way, the city of Milwaukee can go our way, we can move past the troubles we had in the past year, and now have some stability and leadership in the Milwaukee Police Department, which is what our citizens deserve,” Johnson said.
The settlement still has to be finalized by the Common Council, which will take it up later this month.
See more from the program:
http://www.wisn.com/upfront