State Sen. Wanggaard Calls Tele-Town Hall Meeting a Success, Despite Glitch

Using a new communiation tool doesn't always go as planned, and State Sen. Van Wanggaard's first try at a tele-town hall meeting was no exception.

The company that runs the teleconferencing system provided a toll-free number for residents and an access code that turned out to be incorrect.

"Our idea was for more access and that didn't happen as we'd hoped so the teletown people owe us another call," Wanggaard, R-Racine, said after the call. "I think it went well despite the code problems, and now that we know what to expect, we'll do it even better next time."

Approximately 7,000 citizens participated through an automated dialer out of Wanggaard's office that called residents and asked them to stay on the line. Of those callers, about 20 had a question answered and there were another 20 for which there wasn't enough time.

“I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s telephone town hall. It’s a unique opportunity to communicate with over 7,000 constituents at one time," Wanggaard said. "The questions were diverse, but there was one overriding theme throughout the call – growing jobs and the economy. That remains my focus in Madison."

And the questions did bounce around a number of issues and from various locations throughout the 21st District. Here's a sample:

• Grover from Racine asked how Wanggaard can benefit from collective bargaining with his pension from the police department even as he voted to curb those same priviledges. Answer: "I worked to preserve special protections for public workers in ACT 10 or I wouldn't have voted for it. What was happening in the public sector was an uneven playing field brought about by an economic inability to pay at the same levels, and there is a lot of blame to go around here; this isn't all the unions' fault."
• Hazel from Mount Pleasant wanted to know what Wanggaard was doing to help kids fresh out of high school get the education and skills they need to move into skilled labor careers if college isn't for them. Answer: "The vocational high school diploma addresses this very issue. By giving students the opportunity to get a jump on a career path like this, we're giving them the tools they need. But we also need to make sure classes are up to the standards business owners need."
• Karen in Wind Lake is a champion gunfighter who supports Conceal Carry, but questioned why competitive shooting safety training was removed from the final bill while hunter safety was retained. Answer: "The original language used Florida as an example and there, if someone in a competition shoots someone else, they can still obtain a conceal permit. I felt those rules were a little too loose and we had to tighten them up."
• Liza from Racine wanted to be sure her mother's prescription drugs would still be covered through SeniorCare since Medicare Part D was too expensive. Answer: "FamilyCare and SeniorCare are two very important programs that need to be preserved. SeniorCare was very nearly eliminated under Governor Walker's budget and I opposed that so I was happy to see it restored. We do have to apply for a waive from the federal government, but I think that will come through."

"We did pretty good bouncing around the district," Wanggaard added. "People had good questions and I tried to keep answers short but complete to try and get to more calls."

A recording of the call might be available. If it is, Patch will post it for citizens who couldn't get through because of the access code mistake.