MILWAUKEE- Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Kevin Nicholson says the best way forward for Wisconsin is a completely new way forward.
During an interview during WTMJ 2022 with Steve Scaffidi, Nicholson said said he favored a bail reform system that would set mandatory minimums for violent offenders & tearing down the state budget and rebuilding it from zero.
Nicholson also put down the idea that adding more police to the streets and ‘surging’ the state patrol would deter crime and noted that it would put a fiscal hardship on communities struggling to pay police pensions.
“That’s just throwing a number at people and a talking point,” Nicholson said. “These are unserious proposals coming from a member of that Republican Madison machine that’s shown a complete inability to address these problems structurally for the long term.”
Nicholson also embraced his ‘outsider’ status, taking issue with Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who urged Nicholson not to run against Rebecca Kleefisch.
“I call myself anti Madison Machine. Good things were done going back 10 years in the state legislature, we put forward important progress and proposals in Act-10. Everyone recognizes that on the conservative side of the ledger,” Nicholson said. “What people know, as we watch the dissolution of society, is that not enough was done.
When asked how he’d address a rise in violent crime, especially in Milwaukee, Nicholson said he’d push to fire Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm & embraced a Republican-backed plan that would add mandatory minimum bail amounts for repeat violent offenders.
“We are seeing the release of violent criminals in a way we’ve never seen in modern society and it’s having a catastrophic effect on our state,” he added.
In a wide-ranging interview, Nicholson said he would also like to tear down the state budget and rebuild it on an organization-to-organization basis, before deciding how to best spend the nearly $4 billion surplus.
You can find all of our WTMJ 2022 coverage here.
