Republican Party of Racine County

Wauwatosa, Wis. – Keith Gilkes, campaign manager for Scott Walker’s campaign for governor, released the following statement upon news that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has entered the race for governor of Wisconsin.

“If you like the big spending, big taxing policies of Jim Doyle, then you’ll love Mayor Tom Barrett,” said Keith Gilkes, campaign manager for Scott Walker. “Barrett, aka Tom the Taxer, has been for big spending and big taxes at every step of his career from his time in the State Senate where he voted for the largest tax increase in Wisconsin history, to Washington where he supported the biggest tax increase in American history, and now as mayor of Milwaukee where he has increased city taxes by tens of millions of dollars.”

• In 1991 as a state senator, Barrett voted for the biggest increase in Wisconsin history to hike taxes an additional $856 million.
• In 1993 as a congressman, Barrett voted for the largest tax increase in federal history to hike taxes by $241 billion.
• In congress, Barrett voted against almost every effort to relieve taxes, including efforts to reduce and repeal the marriage penalty and death tax.
• Barrett has raised tax and fees in EVERY budget he’s presented since being elected mayor, including this year’s 4.4% hike to the property tax levy.

Gilkes continued, “Unlike Tom the Taxer, the eight budgets that Scott Walker presented have not raised the property tax levy and have reduced debt through creative solutions without cutting essential services, like firefighters and police officers. If the Obama-Doyle administrations were looking for someone to maintain the status quo in Madison, then they sure found a willing foot soldier in Tom the Taxer.”

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Paid for by Friends of Scott Walker, John Hiller, Treasurer.