WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- Governor-Elect Tony Evers spent part of Wednesday afternoon in Wausau listening to residents regarding the upcoming state budget process.
The event at the Wausau Labor Temple featured concerned citizens, city and county leaders, school leaders, and others broken down into groups to discuss issues such as health care, economic development, and education. During a media availability afterward, Evers said all of those issues fall in line with what he would like to prioritize for the upcoming budget.
"We're going to focus on the issues we talked about during the campaign; education, transportation, and health care. That's what we are going to be following through on," he said. In addition to those key areas, Evers said they will be compiling the feedback from Wednesday's event and others held across the state to make sure the people have a voice.
"I know the joint finance committee goes across the state and has their input sessions, but that's after it's kind of baked. We are in the process of baking it [now], and we want the people to be part of putting the ingredients in that cake," he added.
Evers spent a portion of the time listening to the discussions at each pod in the room, while members of his staff led the discussions and documented the input received.
The Governor-Elect also continued his call for Governor Walker to reconsider signing a series of bills that many think are aimed at limiting the powers of his incoming administration. Evers urged Walker to think about his legacy when considering the bills.
"The bottom line is I think, I know the Governor is thinking about his legacy. He's been Tweeting about it, and the issues are going to be reflective [of] him for the rest of his career and public life."
When asked if there were some items he would like the Governor to line-item veto even if he does sign them to law, Evers didn't commit to any specific item. He did call the bills "141 pages of a hot mess, all of it needs to be vetoed."
Evers stopped just short of saying he would take legal action if the bills are signed into law as written. "Is that one thing that's on the table? Absolutely. But there are lots of other opportunities. We will know for sure once we see what it looks like."
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