Jauch tours southwest district with Republican senator

This week state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, joins Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, in a two-day tour of Schultz’s southwest Wisconsin senate district.

Jauch said he is making the 350-mile trip from northern Wisconsin to learn about the unique needs of southwest Wisconsin and demonstrate a willingness to work across partisan lines in addressing the challenges of citizens across the state.

Earlier this year, Schultz spent a weekend in Jauch’s northern district and participated in a well-attended community forum to discuss the need for greater civility and bi-partisan cooperation by elected officials.

Jauch said he was pleased to travel to Schultz’s district to build upon earlier efforts by Schultz and Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, who held “common ground tours” of their respective districts to demonstrate a non-partisan collegial commitment to the citizens in their respective districts.

“Families across this state are facing some significant challenges and it is incumbent upon us to understand those challenges and work together to help,” Jauch said. “The problems in this state are neither Republican nor Democrat, and we need to demonstrate that our priority is not furthering a political divide but fostering a cooperative effort to find solutions to address those problems.”

The lawmaker pointed out that the southwestern and northwestern districts are rural and the citizens, local leaders, hospitals and school districts face almost identical challenges. The respective local economy in both is heavily dependent upon agriculture, tourism and small businesses.

“Remote and sparsely populated regions face shared concerns that affect their incomes and economic opportunities but they also are populated by citizens who are committed to the common good. They are hard-working citizens who value the land and maintain a commitment to their neighbors,” he said.

Jauch said he was particularly interested in touring drought stricken areas to learn more about the economic impact of the crop loss and offer support for farmers struggling through historic dry season.

“Whether it is the record flooding in northern Wisconsin or the crop killing drought in southern Wisconsin elected officials must combine our efforts to allocate resources to help citizens and businesses impacted by these natural events,” he said.

“Neither Dale nor I believe that spending time in each other’s district will solve all the problems, nor does it mean we will agree on everything. However, our willingness to spend time together outside of our district demonstrates that we are committed to a standard of public service that puts people above politics and that is a pretty successful effort in its own right.”

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