Joel Brennan focuses on affordability and healthcare in Wisconsin governor’s race
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) — Joel Brennan, who is widely considered to be one of the more moderate Democratic candidates in the race, previously worked under Governor Tony Evers, and says his track record of getting stuff done makes him the most qualified candidate for the job.
Like most of the candidates in the race, Brennan says affordability is what he is consistently hearing about while on the campaign trail. He says he would start with healthcare first by-passing legislation to cap prescription drug prices.
“I have found nobody, over the course of the time that I have been on this campaign, who would defend pharmacy benefit managers who are kind of the middle between the manufacturers and pharmacists, and they are driving up costs and putting pharmacists out of business,” Joel Brennan, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor, said.
CBS 58's Meredith Hackler: “You’ve said that you would expand eligibility for Medicaid in the past. How exactly would that work and who would you expand it to?”
Brennan: “So, for instance, I would start by, we have about 7% of kids in Wisconsin who have no health insurance. I would increase the eligibility for kids to 300% of the federal poverty level. Start with insuring every kid in the state of Wisconsin.”
Brennan admits that expanding Medicaid will be difficult considering the federal government has cut funding to the program, but he says that if he is elected, he will make sure they are leveraging the federal resources that they have.
On the education front, he says there needs to be more investment to increase educational outcomes. He doesn’t see the schools voucher system ending anytime soon, especially in Milwaukee. The program uses state taxpayer funds to pay tuition for eligible students to attend participating private schools.
“Whether you are in private school, whether you are in a charter school, whether you are in a public school, we need to make sure we are holding those schools accountable for results and investing where we can to make sure we are getting the best outcomes possible,” Brennan says.
He would like to increase funding for schools by legalizing marijuana and overhauling some tax incentives that currently exist. He also wants to see the school funding formula have an overhaul.
“We are spending around $400 million on manufacturing and agricultural tax credit in Wisconsin,” Brennan said. “If we cap that or brought it back to where it was in previous administrations, we could be able to save a couple hundred million dollars there.”
As for data centers, Brennan doesn’t support a moratorium, but he says he would act on day one.
“What I would is make sure none of us, if we build data centers in Wisconsin, none of us are paying for the construction, the operation, the transmission and ultimate retirement of those data centers,” Brennan said. “Have real teeth in environmental regulations, make sure they are being built by Wisconsin Union Labor, and make sure there are no non-disclosure agreements.”
As for increasing taxes, he thinks the wealthy should pay their fair share, but he says Wisconsin needs to focus on growth and economic development.
“If we are going to grow, it has to also be through economic activity. We are getting beat by states like Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota,” Brennan said. “Wisconsin needs to be as competitive with them in business development as we are on the athletic field.”
Brennan says that transparency will also be a focus of his administration to make sure the public is always aware of the decisions being made.
If you would like to watch the full interview with Joel Brennan, you can watch it below:
We've reached out to each candidate running for governor. As we gather those interviews, we'll bring them to you on air and online.
You can watch our full interviews with the following candidates below: