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Tony Palmeri For 54th District Assembly |
Underheim Again Sides With Gard Over Constituents
Contact: Tony Palmeri 920-203-9749 Tony@TonyPalmeri.com
Assembly District 54 candidate Tony Palmeri today expressed shock that his Republican opponent Gregg Underheim was one of 51 representatives to the assembly who signed a letter saying they supported the passage of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). "Representative Underheim has been told repeatedly by local government officials, educators, and Oshkosh citizens that TABOR will lower the quality of life in our community," said Palmeri "yet once again Underheim's allegiance to Speaker John Gard outweighed his responsibility to his constituents."
Palmeri said that Underheim's senior status in the legislature made his behavior especially troubling. "For a 17 year veteran of the legislature like Mr. Underheim to be intimidated by Speaker Gard into participating in the hyper partisan, politics as usual posturing of this latest TABOR proposal is appalling. Mr. Underheim should be one of the leaders in the assembly lambasting the legislative leadership for trying to pass a potentially devastating constitutional amendment without even allowing for public discussion."
Palmeri contrasted Underheim's following of his boss's marching orders with the actions of other Republicans such as former governor Lee Dreyfus and Neenah Senator Mike Ellis. Governor Dreyfus on Tuesday made radio ads and phone calls telling Wisconsin citizens how the legislature was "trying to pull a fast one" on us and sneak TABOR through with no discussion. Sen. Ellis told the Senate Republican Caucus that he would not vote for TABOR because his constituents had not sent him to Madison for the past 34 years to engage in political gimmickry but rather to make the tough decisions that need to be made about state spending.
Palmeri pledged to go to Madison and stand up for the people against politics as usual. "Our community is on the brink of being severely harmed in large part because of the partisan rubber stamping displayed by Mr. Underheim. As a Green, I will not rubber stamp the Republicans and Democrats but instead will take the lead in stamping out politics as usual."