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Swearingen, Bewley Differ On State Of The State Address

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Reaction continues to come in along party lines concerning Governor Walker's State of the State speech Tuesday.

Republicans, like Representative Rob Swearingen of Rhinelander thought Walker highlighted accomplishments...

"....a lot of energy in the room last night. I thought the Governor gave a great speech, talking about the strength of Wisconsin and how far we've come not only in this session(of the legislature) but the session before...."

Swearingen says one Walker's emphasis on broadband in rural Wisconsin was key...

"....I'm always estatic, and he mentioned it last night, was broadband expansion, especially in the Northwoods. To me, that is a huge priority issue...."

Democrats like State Senator Janet Bewley felt Walker's speech was far short on specifics. She felt Walker's emphasis on education was not truthful, given deep cuts in the U-W system as an example. She says schools at each level are having a difficult time...

"....he has proposed a few bills to distribute some nickels to the schools and to colleges but really do nothing to get us back to where we need to be...."

Bewley criticized Walker's speech on an issue that has caused a flash point: local control. Several measures in the past year have angered town and county officials over taking away their ability to make rules in the local communities. Bewley says she thinks an honest debate about state versus local policy issues need to be discussed. She says Walker's speech skipped over that issue...

".....Gov. Walker delivers a State of the State address that describes the superficial data points about our state without going deep into communities and understanding what is going on in local communities..."

Walker repeated that more residents are working than at almost any time in state history, mirroring the national economy. He says he will add three-million dollars in grant money to the Fast Forward program, to train students in fields with high demands.

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