A Correction to “What Would Tommy Do?”
I wrote here recently to suggest that the transportation finance impasse now stalling the state budget would not have occurred under former Governor Tommy Thompson.
But a report from veteran Capitol journalist Steve Walters shows I got it wrong. Describing current support for a gas tax hike from former legislators David Prosser and Mike Ellis, Walters noted they were in the Legislature in 1995 “when the budget for highways was separated from other state spending and finally passed on Nov. 16.”
The 1995 Legislature was controlled by Republicans, just as it is today. So, in this regard, the healing powers I attributed to Thompson were off-base.
My only excuse is a lame one. I was 100 percent invested in the historic expansion of school choice that was part of the budget adopted in 1995. I obviously paid no attention to the fact that the transportation aspect of that budget produced a protracted delay.
