A Large but Cordial Crowd Turns Out for Sensenbrenner Town Hall

A large but respectful audience turned out for U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s town hall meeting in Whitefish Bay on Saturday.

About 70 people assembled to ask the Menomonee Falls Congressman questions ranging from high-speed rail to the national debt. Security was increased for the meeting, with police officers stationed at various points around the room and in the hallways.

The increased police presence appeared to be in response to the ruckus at last week’s Wauwatosa town hall meeting, in which Sensenbrenner called the meeting early due to the crowd’s insistence to talk about the state budget bills with Republican host Sen. Leah Vukmir.

Sensenbrenner started the meeting stating Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) had a previous commitment and could not make the meeting.

At the Whitefish Bay meeting, Sensenbrenner clearly outlined procedures and protocol for the meeting, instructing the audience they were not allowed to wave signs and obstruct anyone’s view of the proceedings. There was only one man with a "Recall Darling" placard, and he sat quietly in the rear of the room.

In response to an opening question about the country's financial woes and international debt, Sensenbrenner replied, “It’s bad news for America.”

“We can’t finance the deficit,” Sensenbrenner said. “We can’t print more money to combat inflation. The last congress kicked the can down the road.  The last President to increase taxes during a recession was (Herbert) Hoover."

He said U.S. Rep Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) would soon be introducing a budget, which will call for cuts in entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“It won’t impact people over 65,” Sensenbrenner said. “It will affect people under 55 years of age.”

A Whitefish Bay resident asked Sensenbrenner if he would support an $80 millon effort to help the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be given a vote on that,” Sensenbrenner said. “We’ll have to utilize dynamic scoring. If diabetes is prevented, we’ll save on Medicaid and Medicare.”

Sensenbrenner affirmed his opposition to high-speed rail and said the money Ohio and Wisconsin returned will go to reduce the national debt. He said the train system would not have greatly affected business or students.

“The students have Badger Bus, which they can take for $10 or $12, which leaves them two blocks from the campus,” Sensenbrenner said. “The train was expected to reach a top speed of 59-miles per hour and most people can drive faster than that, without stops along the way.”

One of the more emotional moments of the meeting was when 8-year-old Beatrice Windorski of Whitefish Bay asked Sensenbrenner about the future of education in the state. Sensenbrenner basically politely told the girl that was a state issue and the audience applauded as the girl returned to her parents.

Toni Windorski of Whitefish Bay is very concerned about what is happening to education in the state.

“They’re talking about eliminating the Head Start Program,” she said. “When I came to this country, I learned to speak English through that program. They’re taking all the budget problems out on the teachers. They did this in a midnight deal.”

Toni’s husband Dave said their daughter Beatrice goes to Cumberland School in Whitefish Bay and thinks his daughter will be greatly affected by the budget.

“They’re doing this all to show the rest of the world what great Republicans they are,” said Windorski. “(They are) hurting education by taking away collective bargaining.”