Difference between revisions of "Scott Walker"
m (→Early life) |
|||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
The same year he graduated high school, Walker entered Marquette University, and he would be a student there until the spring of 1990.<ref name="Bio"/> Walker was very active in student government, and he unsuccessfully ran for student president in 1988.<ref name="Timeline"/> Walker earned good grades, had a clean record, and was only 34 credits away from graduating, however he voluntarily dropped out after he received a well-paying job at American Red Cross.<ref name="Barbour"/><ref>Viser, Matt (February 11, 2015). [https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/02/11/scott-walker-dropped-out-marquette-but-his-education-campus-politics-set-him-ambitious-path/m41BjqIY9xAltlCgR6z5CM/story.html Scott Walker’s political ambitions fostered at Marquette]. ''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved October 20, 2016.</ref> Liberals tried to mock him because of this in 2015, but Marquette made clear that he was "a senior in good standing when he voluntarily withdrew".<ref name="Bio"/> | The same year he graduated high school, Walker entered Marquette University, and he would be a student there until the spring of 1990.<ref name="Bio"/> Walker was very active in student government, and he unsuccessfully ran for student president in 1988.<ref name="Timeline"/> Walker earned good grades, had a clean record, and was only 34 credits away from graduating, however he voluntarily dropped out after he received a well-paying job at American Red Cross.<ref name="Barbour"/><ref>Viser, Matt (February 11, 2015). [https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/02/11/scott-walker-dropped-out-marquette-but-his-education-campus-politics-set-him-ambitious-path/m41BjqIY9xAltlCgR6z5CM/story.html Scott Walker’s political ambitions fostered at Marquette]. ''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved October 20, 2016.</ref> Liberals tried to mock him because of this in 2015, but Marquette made clear that he was "a senior in good standing when he voluntarily withdrew".<ref name="Bio"/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Early political career== | ||
| + | In 1990, Walker unsuccessfully ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly.<ref name="Timeline"/> In 1993, he was successfully elected to the state assembly in a special election.<ref name="Barbour"/> He was re-elected four times, serving until 2002.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Timeline"/> As early as his first election campaign and his tenure as state representative, it was clear that Walker was a solid fiscal and social conservative.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Timeline"/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2002, the Democrat Milwaukee County Executive, Tom Ament, decided to retire rather than face a recall election due to a pension scandal.<ref name="Timeline"/><ref name="Barbour"/> Walker won the election in a historic victory, becoming "the youngest person and first Republican [ever] elected to the position"<ref name="Timeline"/> in a liberal county.<ref name="Barbour"/> As Milwaukee County Executive, Walker again showed his strong conservative values by shrinking the government workforce by 20 percent, by cutting over $44 million in proposed spending through his veto powers, and returning $370,000 of his government salary back to the county, among many other decisions.<ref name="Barbour"/> Walker was re-elected to the position in 2004 ad 2008.<ref name="Bio"/><ref name="Timeline"/> | ||
==Governor of Wisconsin== | ==Governor of Wisconsin== | ||
Revision as of 03:41, October 21, 2016
| Scott Walker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Governor of Wisconsin From: January 3, 2011 - Present | |||
| Predecessor | Jim Doyle | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Tonette Walker | ||
| Religion | Evangelical Christian | ||
Scott Walker was Conservative of the Year 2014
Scott Kevin Walker (born November 2, 1967 in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is the current conservative Republican governor of Wisconsin and a candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Previously he was executive of Milwaukee County and a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and while in college he ran a student pro-life organization.
Early life
Walker was born on November 2, 1967 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[1] His father was a Baptist minister, and the Walker family moved to Plainfield, Iowa and then to the small town of Delavan, Wisconsin when Walker was nine.[1][2] Walker was active in school sports and other activities as a kid, and he was an Eagle Scout.[3] In 1985, he was one of two boys chosen to represent Wisconsin for the Boys Nation, an event in Washington D.C. sponsored by the American Legion.[1] At the event, Walker was able to meet United States President Ronald Reagan, "who he said inspired him and became his role model",[1] and he has stated that the even gave "him the political bug."[3] Walker graduated from Delavan-Darien High School in 1986.[2]
The same year he graduated high school, Walker entered Marquette University, and he would be a student there until the spring of 1990.[1] Walker was very active in student government, and he unsuccessfully ran for student president in 1988.[2] Walker earned good grades, had a clean record, and was only 34 credits away from graduating, however he voluntarily dropped out after he received a well-paying job at American Red Cross.[3][4] Liberals tried to mock him because of this in 2015, but Marquette made clear that he was "a senior in good standing when he voluntarily withdrew".[1]
Early political career
In 1990, Walker unsuccessfully ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly.[2] In 1993, he was successfully elected to the state assembly in a special election.[3] He was re-elected four times, serving until 2002.[1][2] As early as his first election campaign and his tenure as state representative, it was clear that Walker was a solid fiscal and social conservative.[1][2]
In 2002, the Democrat Milwaukee County Executive, Tom Ament, decided to retire rather than face a recall election due to a pension scandal.[2][3] Walker won the election in a historic victory, becoming "the youngest person and first Republican [ever] elected to the position"[2] in a liberal county.[3] As Milwaukee County Executive, Walker again showed his strong conservative values by shrinking the government workforce by 20 percent, by cutting over $44 million in proposed spending through his veto powers, and returning $370,000 of his government salary back to the county, among many other decisions.[3] Walker was re-elected to the position in 2004 ad 2008.[1][2]
Governor of Wisconsin
Walker faced a liberal-promoted recall election on June 5, 2012, but won it by a landslide.[5] By late May liberals were already beginning to blame each other for Walker's lead in the polls: "Top union officials are lashing out at Washington Democrats, claiming they haven't done enough to help them unseat Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin's recall election."[6]
Scott Walker became a leader of conservatives nationwide when he supported and then signed into law a repeal of the collective bargaining rights of most government workers. Walker took this historic step to prevent the State from continuing on a path of financial ruin.
Perhaps due to bad political advice, Walker first focused on union issues first and accomplished virtually nothing meaningful on the abortion issue in 2011, despite having overwhelming majorities on his side in the legislature. But in 2012 Walker began signing into law pro-life legislation, which earned him the support of many in the working class, and he then swept to a massive victory in the recall election. Scott Walker was reelected again in 2014.
Walker announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election on July 13, 2015.[7]
Budget deficit
When Scott Walker took office, Wisconsin had a budget deficit of more than $3 billion. Instead of raising taxes, the governor has set out on a mission to reduce costs across the board and to make Wisconsin a business-friendly state. The state's labor unions were in an uproar and protested Walker's decision to end union collective bargaining and force employees to fund part of their pensions, as well as to contribute to their own health and life insurance.
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Scott Walker. Biography.com. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Stein, Kate (July 19, 2015). Timeline: The life and career of Scott Walker. Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Barbour, Clay (October 24, 2010). From preacher’s kid to front-runner: Scott Walker’s small-town roots led to reputation as fiscal hawk. Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ↑ Viser, Matt (February 11, 2015). Scott Walker’s political ambitions fostered at Marquette. The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ↑ Fox News: Wisconsin's Walker survives recall by wide margin (June 5, 2012)
- ↑ http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/229485-unions-angry-with-washington-democrats-over-lack-of-help-in-wisconsin
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/13/walker-announces-2016-white-house-bid/