Gubernatorial candidates differ on ethanol

Listen to this article

AB 15 hit the Senate floor Thursday, but three hours after session began, snators were still debating whether or not to indefinitely postpone a vote on the mandate. Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, encouraged not only further floor debate on the bill but also the bill’s passage. “I’m amazed how data has been manipulated and tossed around as fact,” he said. “The fact is we have the opportunity to embrace the cleanest, most environmentally friendly industry in the nation.” Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, seated to his right, would later rise and encourage postponing a vote, saying that the bill still had both voters and consumers confused.

Daily Reporter Photo/Paul Snyder

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker differentiated himself from Gov. Jim
Doyle and his Republican rival for governor by speaking out against an ethanol
mandate.

Walker, who’s facing U.S. Rep. Mark Green in the Sept. 12
Republican primary for governor, said Tuesday he opposes a bill requiring 10 percent
ethanol in some grades of fuel; Green and Doyle are both in favor of the bill.
The general election is Nov. 7.

Walker said he opposes the bill more because
of the government mandate than the use of ethanol as a fuel source. He said instituting
incentives for ethanol use would be better for farmers and the public than a mandate.

“While
I do not support the mandate, I do not have a problem with ethanol,” Walker
said in a statement. “Currently, we have a problem with big government in
Madison. On principle, I cannot support this proposal.

“It is clear
to me that a big government mandate is not the way to support the farmers of this
state,” he continued. “Central planning will not help our family farmers,
protect our environment or provide jobs. The free-enterprise system must drive
innovation to relieve our dependence on foreign oil, not mandates from the state
or federal government.”

Meanwhile, Doyle has been vocal in his pro-ethanol
stance, pushing the Legislature to vote on the ethanol mandate and vowing to pass
the bill if it makes it to his desk.

“Support
for ethanol is widespread,” Doyle said. “The Legislature should
follow the advice of countless Wisconsin farmers, energy experts and even President
Bush — invest in ethanol, and do it now. We can reduce our reliance on foreign
oil while helping our environment and our economy.”

‘Qualified
support’

Green also supports the mandate: “I have qualified support
in that I believe we have to create clear conditions so that the bill will not
impose any additional regulations on businesses. In Minnesota, ethanol has clearly
become an exciting industry opportunity. It’s created thousands of jobs and
boosted their economy, as I think it will for ours too.”

Doyle and
Green believe the country’s need for renewable energy sources and the possible
economic benefits of ethanol, which can be made from corn starch, demand the mandate.

“(The governor) can’t
understand why a state with such an incredibly strong agricultural base would
not wholeheartedly embrace the ethanol mandate, which would greatly help Wisconsin
farmers and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Dan Leistikow, director
of communications for Doyle. “We are already a strong ethanol-producing state,
and this is one more step along the way to becoming a leader in the industry.”

According
to Walker’s campaign manager, Bruce Pfaff, Walker prefers the state find
a more efficient use of renewable energy sources without imposing a mandate.

“We
agree that (the government) should continue to look for an alternative means of
fuel, but mandating that the state use 10 percent ethanol isn’t the way to
do it,” said Pfaff. “How can you justify the mandate when it is not
proven whether or not it will help gas prices, the economy or the environment?
We say let consumers decide what’s best for them and allow market forces
to provide alternatives.”

Pfaff noted that the ethanol mandate
is just one of several issues differentiating Walker and Green, but Green said
he and Walker “agree on 98 percent of the issues.”

“I’m
not fond of mandates, but I believe we are living in an extraordinary time,”
said Green, noting that the war in Iraq shaped his opinion on the ethanol debate.
“We import 60 percent of our oil, and a good deal of it comes from very bad
places, and I’m tired of paying the bills of my enemies. And with India and
China ramping up their oil consumption, there will soon be shortages. I agree
with the president that we are addicted to oil, and this bill is a small piece
of the answer. I come to the mandate reluctantly, but I really think there is
a national security imperative to wean ourselves off foreign oil.”