The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

Home /  News /  Local

RSS Feed

With deficit in mind, Jewish conference will fight for 'status quo'

By Leon Cohen
of The Chronicle staff

November 13th, 2008

The elections last week didn’t only make history for the country. Wisconsin as a state made some history of its own.

Michael Blumenfeld, executive director of the Wisconsin Jewish Conference, pointed out in a telephone interview on Nov. 6 that 2009 will be the first time in 22 years that Wisconsin’s governorship and both houses of its state legislature will be controlled by the Democratic Party.

That fact has implications for issues that are important to Wisconsin’s Jewish community, which it has been Blumenfeld’s job since 1987 to monitor and help influence in Madison.

“The big question for us,” he said, “with such a big change, is how proactive or aggressive an agenda will the Democrats have…. Will they move cautiously, making changes in line with their fundamental principles, or will they feel pent up energy to try to get things done quickly?”

Blumenfeld said there are two sets of issues of Jewish community concern: “hot button social issues” and matters involving state funding of programs.

The former are the ones that usually inspire emotions and get much of the press; but the latter may be more important for Jewish community functioning.

And the financial issues exist under a big shadow. The state government is operating with “the largest deficit [it] has ever seen,” Blumenfeld said.

‘Will color everything’

The Wisconsin State Journal daily newspaper in Madison reported on Nov. 5 that the deficit totals “at least $3 billion.” Blumenfeld, however, said that while Gov. Jim Doyle has been speaking about that figure, “I’m hearing or my contacts tell me that it may be closer to $5 billion.”

“That’s going to color everything,” said Blumenfeld. “In terms of anything that requires funding, that could be difficult.”

And that means the conference will “most likely be fighting for the status quo” on such issues, he said.

For example, the Family Care long-term care program for low-income seniors — a project that involves Milwaukee’s Jewish Family Services (see www.jfsmilw.org for more information), among other agencies — could be “on the table for possible cuts,” he said.

In another example, certain kinds of housing for seniors — such as some facilities operated by the Jewish community — are tax-exempt. But some legislators are considering ending that exemption because “the government needs more revenue,” Blumenfeld said.

“I’ve worked closely with the Milwaukee Jewish Federation to make sure our interests are protected” as members of both parties try “to work out some kind of compromise” on this matter, he said. “The important thing is that we are part of the discussion” in Madison.

On social issues like the death penalty and reproductive health, however, Blumenfeld said, “I think we will see less activity.”

One issue on which the Jewish community “may be somewhat divided” is the state “school choice” program, by which the state gives a tax-funded voucher to low-income parents to use to help fund their children’s tuition at a private or parochial school.

This program now applies only to the City of Milwaukee, where Yeshiva Elementary School is the only Jewish parochial school that participates.

This program has been sponsored primarily by state Republican legislators and former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson; and some of them have sought to extend the program beyond Milwaukee.

Most of the Jewish community, however, opposed the program, contending that it violated church-state separation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled it constitutional in 1998 and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review that decision that same year.

“Now that the Democrats are in control, they may want to revisit” the program, said Blumenfeld. “But my speculation at this point is most likely they will preserve the status quo or will be tinkering around the edges [of the program].”

Blumenfeld said that “the other general challenge” for the conference in the coming legislature “will be getting to know many new members” — 14 in the Assembly and two in the Senate.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the Democratic-Republican divide in the legislature is 52-46 with one independent in the Assembly and 18-15 in the Senate.