By Collin Roth

On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) endorsed Democrat Kathleen Falk for Governor in the anticipated recall election against Governor Scott Walker. Their endorsement reads in part:

“Kathleen Falk cares deeply about the issues that matter to Wisconsin educators,” Bell said. “She is committed to Wisconsin and has boldly come forward to lead the next phase of our grassroots movement.”

“Our members have raised their voices against Scott Walker’s divisive policies and will continue to engage their neighbors and communities in discussions about why recall is necessary to reclaim our state. Kathleen Falk has a proven track record in transparent and responsible government, and shares our belief in fairness and democracy.

The WEAC endorsement came as no surprise as Falk has been the most forthright in caving to any and all union demands including pledging to veto the budget if it did not restore collective bargaining rights for public employees. Democrat Tim Cullen who briefly considered running for governor against Walker was quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel saying:

“I said I could not make that promise and I did not think any serious candidate for governor could or should make that commitment,” Cullen said of a veto of the state budget. “It’s a $60 billion document.”

But just one day after WEACs endorsement of Falk, there are rumblings of dissension among the ranks. On the website Change.org, a petition quickly sprung up asking WEAC to “Reconsider the reccomendation of Kathleen Falk for governor.” The petition letter reads:

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: WEAC.

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Reconsider the recommendation of Kathleen Falk for governor.

You need to look to your members who all fought for a voice in this Wisconsin recall process. Let the WEAC members decide who you should endorse. Please do not throw our effort to recall Governor Walker away by endorsing a candidate that does not have statewide appeal.
—————-

Sincerely,

[Your name]

In an enlightening section where signatories could sound off on why they signed the petition, WEAC members voiced their outrage and concerns about Falk.

It will certainly be interesting to see if the criticism of Falk continues among WEAC members after the early decision to endorse was made on Wednesday.