In This Issue | 1. Election Results
2. Referendums
3. GAB Bull
4. A Sloppy Kiss
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Election Results
 Wisconsin Supreme Court
In a stunning upset, voters selected Burnett County Judge Mike Gableman over incumbent Justice Louis Butler for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In choosing Gableman, voters rejected the philosophy of judicial activism Butler had displayed in his short tenure on the Court. Gableman is the first candidate to knock off a sitting Supreme Court justice in over 40 years. Gableman's victory now gives conservatives a 4-3 advantage on the Supreme Court when the Court will be deciding cases involving lead paint and asbestos liability. Justice Butler and the current majority have written several decisions increasing liability for Wisconsin manufacturers, and just a few days ago, the 4-3 liberal majority made another far-reaching decision increasing liability for building and construction contractors. Gableman's win also represents a major defeat for the State Bar's Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee, which was stacked with Democrats favorable towards Butler and the Governor who appointed him. The WJCIC, headed by Bar President Tom Basting Jr., failed in their attempt to shut down criticism of Butler's record. In the coming weeks, Wisconsin citizens will be hearing a call for the end of judicial elections in Wisconsin. Newspapers and left wing activist groups alike will call for the so called merit selection of Supreme Court justices, thus taking the ability to select judges out of the hands of voters and placing it in the hands of the politicians and lawyers. In the meantime, they will call for publicly financed judicial campaigns and a ban on free speech by groups like the Wisconsin Club for Growth. They will say that last night's historic defeat of a sitting Supreme Court justice is proof that such reform is necessary, but the election was neither reinforcement nor repudiation of negative advertising, it was a repudiation of the current court's liberal judicial activism.  Frankenstein Veto
Voters overwhelmingly approved new limits on the governor's veto power. Dubbed the "Frankenstein Veto," the governor will no longer be able to stitch together words from different sentences to create new laws that were never intended by the Legislature. The most egregious example of such a veto occurred in the 2005-07 budget, when Governor Jim Doyle took an 800 word section of the budget and vetoed it down to a 20-word sentence that spent over $400 million.  Milwaukee County Executive
In Milwaukee, voters again approved of County Executive Scott Walker's commitment to low taxes. Walker beat challenger Lena Taylor easily, winning 59% to 41%. In Taylor's concession speech, she said that she "didn't lose, she made a statement." Actually, it was the voters who spoke, loud and clear.
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Referendum Results
 Following is a list of school referendums on Tuesday's ballot. The Department of Instruction will provide additional results as they become available throughout the day. Click here for updates.
Alma Center - $1.2 million
Belmont Community - $1.75 million YES
Beloit Turner - 2 questions, total $8.6 million YES to $6.1M NO to $2.5M
Bonduel - $5.8 million YES
Boyceville Community - $5.825 million YES
Bruce - $1.5 million
Cameron - $1 million YES
Cassville - $3.9 million YES
Chetek - $1.2 million NO
Cumberland - $5.9 million NO
Durand - $1.2 million NO
Elcho - $2.5 million NO
Ellsworth Community - $5.7 million NO
Elmbrook - $62.19 million YES
Germantown - $16.5 million
Glendale-River Hills - $3.75 million YES
Greenfield - 2 questions, $6.385 million
Hartford - 2 questions, $25.545 million NO
Iowa-Grant - $1 million YES
Jefferson - $45.6 million NO
La Crosse - $55.875 million NO to Building /YES to $4.7M
Lake Mills - $1 million YES
Luxemburg-Casco - $18.5 million
Manawa - 2 referenda, $4.995 million
Middleton-Cross Plains - $3.9 million YES
Montello $2,95 million YES
Monticello - 2 questions, $5.34 million YES
Pecatonica - $350,000 YES
Plum City - $1.05 million NO
Portage Community - $2.3 million YES
Poynette - $13.41 million NO
Racine - $3.3 million YES
Rhinelander - 4 questions, $35.934 million NO
Rice Lake Area - $29 million
River Ridge - 3 questions, $2.34 million YES on 2 NO on 1
Royall - $1.4 million
Sauk Prairie - $2.2 million
Sevastopol - $1.8 million
Shorewood - $9.65 million YES
Somerset - $35.434 million
Stockbridge - 2 questions, $872,000
Washburn - $900,000 YES
Washington - 2 questions, $300,000
Waupun - $10 million NO
Weston - $644,000 NO
Weyerhauser Area - $1.875 million
Winneconne Community - $2.64 million
Wisconsin Heights - $800,000 NO
Total Proposed: $452,854,000
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Government Accountability Bull
 The State Supreme Court race was so competitive it actually provoked the newly created State Government Accountability Board (GAB) to claim that they could shut down political speech during elections. Last week, the GAB voted to regulate advertising by anyone outside of an official campaign committee. Unfortunately for them, they legally have no authority to "regulate" any kind of political speech, according to state law.
UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein independent expenditures actually help voters understand races better, and involve more voters in campaigns. According to Goldstein: "Talking about people's records and people's weaknesses I think is perfectly fair game when we talk about the important things that are at stake in elections. It's actually the very definition of a representative democracy. People certainly like to complain about them, but the evidence also shows they learn from them. Everyone thinks negative ads are these mudslinging personal things. They are sometimes, but most of the time negative ads are about policy issues and so they're verifiable claims." Yet the GAB, an unelected group of political appointees, thinks any discussion critical of incumbents should be shut down. This not only would deprive voters of knowing anything about the candidates, it would make it nearly impossible for challengers to win against incumbent elected officials. Often times, incumbency is so powerful a challenger needs to outspend and out-advertise the incumbent to even have a shot. But shutting down political speech cripples a challenger's ability to mount an aggressive campaign. Eventually, the goal of the GAB is to have elections where they decide the timing and content of speech - and in doing so, essentially decide who gets elected.
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Sloppy Kiss for the Trial Lawyers
 To demonstrate the need for Gableman on the bench, the Supreme Court this week expanded the amount of damages and attorney fees for which a home improvement business could be held liable. As a result, home remodeling will now be more expensive in Wisconsin, as the whole process of building becomes fodder for trial attorneys. Deb Jordahl has details at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute website.
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