The Election to End All Elections...for Wisconsin Treasurer?

According to WisconsinVote.org, Kurt Schuller is the treasurer-elect.

With 97% reporting:
Kurt Schuller has 53% and 1,073,600 votes.
Dawn Sass has 47% and 939,075 votes.

Conventional wisdom shows itself to hold true in Wisconsin, resulting in a massive sweep of Republican victories. Now with Republican majority in both the State Senate and State Assembly, a Republican governor, Kurt Schuller may very well be able to find the legislative support he needs to fulfill his plan to eliminate the Office of the State Treasurer and its burden on taxpayers.

Personal Prediction

Elections are tomorrow. It’s time for me to look back at the race and say who I expect to win. Although Dawn Sass is the incumbent, I pick Kurt Schuller to win.

In the primary election, more people voted for Schuller. Sass’s nepotism and expensive trips to resorts on taxpayer money will hurt Sass’s chances for re-election. Though small, the voter poll gives Schuller a large percentage of votes. Schuller has a number of endorsements and has support for his foremost plan on eliminating the Office of the State Treasurer.

Conventional wisdom also influences my prediction. The conventional wisdom predicts a Republican landslide across all the political races (article link). I believe this is true because a lot of people are unhappy with the current economy. People want change, and their votes will be to change the party in power.

Bipartisan Support for Schuller’s Plan

As I mentioned earlier, Tom Barrett supports getting rid of the Office of the State Treasurer. Scott Walker is also for eliminating the office (article link). Both the Democratic and the Republican gubernatorial candidates agree with Kurt Schuller. And if Schuller wins on Tuesday, having the support of the governor would be a big step toward “getting himself fired.”

Both Sides of the Argument

With election day almost here, clash between the candidates finally arises as Dawn Sass defends the validity and value of her office. Sass says that eliminating State Treasurer would not save money (article link). She stresses the significance of her responsibility of returning unclaimed property. During her term, Sass has returned roughly $100 million worth in property (article link). Unclaimed property includes inactive savings accounts, stocks, refunds, and unclaimed wages.

Dawn Sass also says that if she loses the election, it will cost Milwaukee $1.2 million in expected revenue from a 2012 conference. The conference would be for the National Association of State Treasurers, but if Wisconsin doesn’t have a State Treasurer, Milwaukee won’t host the convention.

Kurt Schuller responded to Sass, saying that Wisconsin would have a State Treasurer in 2012. The earliest he could remove the office is 2013 (article link).

I am not sure of Schuller’s ideas toward the job of returning unclaimed property. From what I understand, his goal is to get rid of the office of State Treasurer but have the duties absorbed by a different office. Essentially, Schuller would have one person performing two jobs.

Some Numbers and Endorsements

Searching to find who supports whom in the upcoming election, I could only find one modest voter poll. There were only 120 voters, all apparently from Fredonia. Such a small sample makes the poll insignificant and a weak predictor for the election. Still, for such a quiet race and there being so few voter polls, this survey in Fredonia holds some indication of voter opinions, if only in the slightest. Kurt Schuller received 78% of the votes, leaving Dawn Sass 22%.

One of the voters’ comments stated that Wisconsin Right-to-Life endorsed Schuller. Though I could not confirm this at the WRTL website, the endorsement would make sense since Schuller is conservative.

Schuller does have endorsements from two newspapers, Wisconsin State Journal and Wausau Daily Herald. Sass is being endorsed by Wisconsin’s Secretary of State Doug LaFollette and AFSCME, of which Sass is a member.

During an interview early this month, Kurt Schuller mentioned his following on Facebook. That piqued my curiosity to see how much presence he and Dawn Sass have on Facebook. Schuller currently has 1,389 friends. Dawn Sass has 171.

"It Doesn't Get Much Lower-Profile Than This"

One week remains until election day, and the campaigns for Wisconsin Treasurer couldn’t be quieter. Even Schuller’s primary plank to remove the office barely attracts any attention to the race. Dawn Sass acknowledged that “it’s a race that doesn’t get much attention.”

One reason is how little Sass and Schuller spend on their campaigns. Neither “raised more than $5,000 during the first half of the year, according to campaign finance reports.” Prior to the primary elections, Schuller spent only a few hundred dollars.

This information was taken from Fox 21 News, AP, and Wisconsin State Journal.

A Look Back at Dawn Sass's Term

If Schuller and others are looking to eliminate the 12 million dollar Office of the State Treasurer, how has the current State Treasurer spent her time and money?

Though the state constitution only expresses that the treasurer be on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which manages parks, forests, and development, Dawn Sass is involved in much more. She is also on the Wisconsin College Savings Program Board, which runs EdVest, which creates bank-managed investment plans for education costs. Sass is on the Wisconsin Insurance Security Board, which keeps an eye on insurance companies.

Dawn Sass also manages the custody and records of all unclaimed property.

"I am the one person who is really the true public servant," said Sass. "I am answering to the people. I go out there and try to find them. I'm actually out there working for the people."

However, Sass has receieved criticisms during her time in office. She's been accused of excessive travel expenses and of nepotism since she hired her niece.

This information on Dawn Sass and more can be found in this article by Todd Richmond.

No More State Treasurer! Schuller's Plan

"Tea Party Patriot Working to Streamline Government" heads Kurt Schuller's campaign website. And Schuller's most significant plan on streamlining government? Abolish the government office he's running for.

"I want to get myself fired," said Schuller.

To get rid of State Treasurer, state legislatures and Wisconsin voters would have to pass a constitutional amendment. This might seem like a tall order, but Schuller isn't alone in this. Tom Barrett has shown support. State Rep. Scott Suder has already written an amendment to end Wisconsin's Secretary of State and State Treasurer.

Why? Money. The only duty of the Treasurer expressed in the constitution is to be a member on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. When Suder first proposed the amendment, 2.1 million dollars went to the State Treasury budget. However, 12 million taxpayer dollars now go to the State Treasurer budget.

As State Treasurer, Schuller hopes to save Wisconsin money. He hopes to do this by being the last Wisconsin State Treasurer.

Kurt Schuller: A Brief Bio

Kurt Shuller was born in Milwaukee. He earned an Associates Degree in Management and Communications from Concordia College.

Schuller was the owner of Wolfendale's Restaurant from 1996-2005. Schuller is actively involved in Relay For Life. He considers himself a Reagan Republican.

This information about Kurt Schuller can be found at his campaign site:

http://www.schullerfortreasurer.com/about_kurt

Kurt Schuller's biography focuses on Schuller as a family man, and he has 10 years of experience operating a restaurant.

Dawn Sass(I): A Brief Bio

Dawn Sass has been State Treasurer since November 2006.

Sass was born in Milwaukee, and in 1994, she earned a BA in History and Political Science from UW Milwaukee. Sass has worked as a probation officer, a child welfare worker, and a custody placement specialist.

Before being elected to State Treasurer, Sass was a treasurer for Wisconsin Electrical Contractors Corporation for 18 years and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for 7 years. She has been a member of AFSCME for 28 years.

Sass is also a member of the State Board of Commissioners of Public Lands; State Depository Selection Board; Insurance Security Fund (Board of Directors); State of Wisconsin Investment Board; Wisconsin Retirement Fund; Wisconsin College Savings Board.

This information about Dawn Sass can be found at her site for re-election: http://www.sassforstatetreasurer.org/sass/About.html

Dawn Sass's biography definitely emphasizes her work experience. She has 29 combined years as a treasurer.

Sass v. Schuller

The results of the primary for State Treasurer:

The Democratic incumbent Dawn Sass won at 67% with 129,537 votes. Sass competed with one other candidate.

Kurt Schuller won the Republican primary with 37% and 169,276 votes. There were two other Republican candidates.

Sass had the bigger win, but Schuller had more votes. I am excited to see how this plays out.