52nd Assembly District candidates O'Connor, Lavrenz have opposing views on abortion, gun violence, climate, inflation
FOND DU LAC – Republican candidate Jerry O'Connor and Democratic candidate Joe Lavrenz will vie for the 52nd Assembly District seat in the Nov. 8 election.
Each is seeking to replace Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, who announced in December that he wouldn't run again after representing the district since 2010.
The 52nd District covers central Fond du Lac County, including the city of Fond du Lac. Members of the Wisconsin Assembly serve a two-year term and are paid $53,000 annually.
Each candidate was provided a list of questions and was limited to a 100-word response. Answers have been lightly edited for style, grammar and length.
For more information on your polling location, how to register to vote and what's on your ballot, visit myvote.wi.gov.
Joe Lavrenz
Age: 42
Address: 280 N. Seymour St., Fond du Lac
Occupation and highest education level: I work tech support for Pitney Bowes and have a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Relevant experience: I have not held an elected position with the government before but am very interested in helping people and trying to make things better for people.
Jerry O'Connor
Age: 69
Address: N5964 Joseph Court, Fond du Lac
Occupation and highest education level: Retired banker and businessman; University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking.
Relevant experience: I have served as a community bank CEO and board chair; board chair for organizations in the banking sector, in economic development, service clubs and charity boards. These opportunities enhanced my leadership skills while dealing with both private and government sector activities. I visited Madison and D.C. to meet with legislators and discuss how we could reach better outcomes for citizens.
Why are you running for office, and why are you the best candidate in this race?
Lavrenz: I want to help people, and I like to listen to people and try to assist with problems they may be having. Ultimately, that’s the job of the government to make people’s lives better and help to make sure they’re safe, stable and content. Sadly, I do not think the other side is interested in this. They seem to sow fear and hatred, and we deserve better than that.
O'Connor: I am running for this office because I sincerely care about where we are headed as a country. I am deeply concerned with the direction the woke left is taking America. My proven experience in business, economic development, jobs creation, education and charity initiatives position me to have an effective voice in the state Legislature. My core beliefs are premised on traditional conservative principles for social, economic and rule of law issues. With my combination of life experiences and commitment to conservative ideals, I believe I am the person to best represent the citizens of the 52nd District.
What is the most pressing issue facing Wisconsin, and how would you address it?
Lavrenz: My normal response would’ve been health care, but the events of the last two years have really put a giant emphasis on democracy itself and the rule of law. We need to update laws that are out of date and protect the right to vote. We need to correct the gerrymandering that has corrupted the Legislature and caused an imbalance in the people’s voices being underrepresented in the Legislature.
O'Connor: The No. 1 issue is to get our state government working once again. The Republican Legislature passed a number of bills to address election integrity; economic, health care and school reforms; protecting citizens' constitutional rights, among others. Gov. (Tony) Evers set a record with more than 125 vetoes. The Republican Legislature did its job for the people. Our best solution to this major issue is to elect a governor who respects the overwhelming majority of the people’s elected representatives. The citizens want fair, effective, responsible, trustworthy government, not a dictatorial control. With Tim Michels as governor, we can overcome many issues facing Wisconsinites.
Would you vote to repeal Wisconsin’s ban on abortions, or to add exemptions to the law (such as for rape and incest victims)?
Lavrenz: I would vote to repeal. The government does not have the right to control a person’s body.
O'Connor: Unplanned pregnancies are a highly emotional circumstance, and I empathize with those facing this experience. In reality, many choices were made before the unplanned pregnancy came about. Three lives are involved: a mother, father and child. As a pro-life advocate, we are being asked to support the concept of terminating one of those lives. I do not support repealing current Wisconsin law. Instances of rape and incest are very rare, and I prefer those children to have a chance at life. To consider exceptions for those instances, I would want to see safeguards that would prohibit any exceptions from being abused.
Would you support policy initiatives to address the impact of climate change in Wisconsin?
Lavrenz: I would support initiatives to address climate change. Protecting clean water and clean air would be my highest priorities and then assisting with cleaning pipes to make sure everyone has access to clean water throughout all of Wisconsin.
O'Connor: Climate change is real and always has been! It is not settled science that we know how much of that change is created by man and how that will evolve over time. The drastic changes being proposed from the central government-leftist proponents will wreak havoc on our economy and the quality of life for all Americans. Those who will suffer the most from these proposals are the ones who can least afford to absorb these unproven concepts that continually fail to inform people of how their lives will change with these concept theories. My approach is simple: proceed with caution.
How should state government help Wisconsin residents combat the effects of inflation?
Lavrenz: Inflation is tough; there are no quick fixes that will clear it up completely. Some things that may help would be reducing sales tax or gas tax to help with that burden. We could also offer tax credits or incentives for companies that keep their prices lower for essential supplies like food or energy.
O'Connor: First, note that most of the inflation we are seeing today has been created by terrible policies from the Democratic leadership in Washington and the Federal Reserve. The primary drivers of inflation in the current cycle can be tied to Washington spending trillions of dollars in unsupportable initiatives and the Federal Reserve printing money out of thin air to support it. Further, the Fed has given us failed interest rate and money policies over the past 10-12 years. Their current course is equally disastrous. In Wisconsin, we can manage our part of the governing world with prudent, conservative, long-term economically sustainable principles.
What should Wisconsin do to protect the democratic process and ensure the integrity of its elections?
Lavrenz: I think updating the laws to prevent gerrymandering would help prevent one party from abusing their power to prevent or deter people from voting. We should also have strong laws against voter intimidation and give assistance to our poll workers. We have strong laws against voter fraud already but they could be updated to modernize the process.
O'Connor: There were numerous unauthorized initiatives by the Wisconsin Elections Commission in the last election that resulted in those actions being reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. WEC has proved to be a failed experiment. As such, I would remove the WEC Board and replace them with a model where legislative rules are enforced and carried out without unauthorized interference. Once again, Republicans passed multiple election integrity bills last session and the governor vetoed every single one. Why? Whatever model is agreed to in the next legislative session, we cannot afford to see another unnecessary conflict as we endured from the 2020 election.
Are the public schools in the district properly funded?
Lavrenz: They could always use more funding. Teachers are underpaid for the work they do and I feel like we should be investing better in our teachers and education system as a whole. Money could also be spent to improve the schools that we have and help fund after-school programs to help make students more well rounded. They could also use additional funding for assistance with students' mental health.
O'Connor: Within my district, public schools are facing budget challenges. Justifiable needs should be addressed. However, with declining enrollment, we need to define new long-term economically sustainable budget models. I support parental rights, universal school choice and school vouchers. I am aware this will place a strain on public schools. However, in every area of life, I witness how competition makes us better, more efficient and results in better outcomes. Taking all of these competing factors into account, I am committed to making all schools more effective at training young people with the skills needed to be successful.
What should state government do about gun violence and crime in Wisconsin?
Lavrenz: Ultimately, the only way to reduce gun violence would be to reduce the number of guns in society, but I don’t think that taking guns away directly is the solution. I would be in favor of a cooldown period between purchasing a gun and actually receiving it and of registration for firearms or at least an update to the tracking that is currently used. I think that we need to give help to law enforcement but they shouldn’t also be required to fix mental health issues and they should be given assistance with those cases.
O'Connor: This concern is a cultural issue we should take a deep look at. Let’s consider violence being glorified on TV, films and hundreds of video games. Then examine the impact of short-sighted government policies that result in broken families, children without fathers and broken social norms. Next, take a look at drug abuse, misuse and drug crime. The most recent government failures can be found in soft-on-crime policies and enforcement. Naturally all these factors contribute to the increase in crime. We need to find solutions to violence while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Wisconsin 52nd Assembly District candidates address inflation, climate
