Editor’s note: Fort Atkinson Online has not endorsed any candidate running for any office. We accept press releases from all registered candidates running in races that affect our area readership. Tom Nelson is a candidate running for a U.S. Senate seat held by Ron Johnson. An election for the seat will be held Nov. 8 2022.
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson Tuesday sent letters to the relevant U.S. House and Senate committees seeking answers from Foxconn and the U.S. Postal Service as Oshkosh Defense sought a site to produce the next generation of postal vehicles, according to a recent news release supplied by the Nelson for U.S. Senate campaign.
According to the release, “The botched deal, reported Monday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, was brushed off by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has publicly shrugged his shoulders at 1,000 hometown union jobs moving to non-union South Carolina.”
But before then, the release continued, “according to news reports, Oshkosh Defense approached Foxconn about use of buildings in its failed 3,000-acre project in Mt. Pleasant, Wis., promoted by Johnson and now largely vacant and judged an unmitigated disaster.”
Nelson has been a vocal opponent of the Oshkosh move and what was described in the release as “the Foxconn boondoggle.”
In his letters (linked below) to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which already is seeking information from the Postal Service regarding the South Carolina move, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on which Johnson sits, Nelson asked for the committees to expand their inquiries to include the Foxconn deal.
Wrote Nelson: “At a time when the United States is struggling to make investments in our workforce and in developing a coordinated national industrial plan that grows our economy while tackling the existential issue of global climate change, understanding Foxconn’s and Oshkosh Defense’s treatment of public resources is vital for an informed public.”
In a separate statement, Nelson said, “It’s no surprise that Ron Johnson did nothing to help workers or Wisconsin and has no interest in why these jobs are going to South Carolina. But we need answers now to mitigate the twin disasters that are Foxconn and the Oshkosh Defense move out of Wisconsin. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to electrify our Postal vehicles while creating family-supporting union jobs. I hope Congress can get to the bottom of this mess so these corporations fueled with taxpayer money will do the right thing for workers and the planet.”
The letter written by Nelson to Sen. Rob Portman, U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is here: http://fortatkinsononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Foxconn_Oshkosh-Senate-Letter.pdf.
The letter written by Nelson to Carolyn Maloney, U.S. House of Representative Committee on Oversight and Reform, is here: http://fortatkinsononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Foxconn_Oshkosh-House-Letter.pdf.
Editor’s note: For context, following is information about the field of 2022 Midterm Election hopefuls.
Sen. Ron Johnson announced his intention to run for reelection in January. A story about his announcement is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/ron-johnson-announces-run-for-third-term-as-u-s-senator/. Johnson was first elected to his seat in 2010 after defeating then-incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold. The two faced off again in 2016, with Johnson, then the incumbent, retaining his seat. U.S. senatorial seats carry six-year terms. As of this writing, Ballotpedia lists 11 Democratic challengers, four Republican challengers, two Independent Party challengers and one challenger from the American Independent Party who vying for the seat. A primary election in Wisconsin is scheduled for Aug. 9.
Information, as presented by Democratic challengers on their campaign websites, includes:
Tom Nelson: https://nelsonforwi.com.
Mandela Barns: https://mandelabarnes.com.
Sarah Godlewski: https://sarahforwisconsin.com.
Alex Lasry: https://alexlasry.com.
Chantia Lewis: https://www.chantialewis4senate.com.
Steven Olikara: https://www.stevenolikara.com.
Adam Murphy: https://murphyforwi.com.
Peter Peckarsky: https://www.peckarskyforwisconsin.com.
Darrell Williams: https://ballotpedia.org/Darrell_Williams (Campaign YouTube video and personal Facebook page listed).
Kou Lee: https://ballotpedia.org/Kou_Lee. (No campaign website listed.)
Jeff Rumbaugh: https://www.jeffrumbaughforsenate.com
A complete list of challengers, as provided by Ballotpedia, is here: https://ballotpedia.org/Mandela_Barnes.
Tom Nelson
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