Standing before a crowd of small business men and women, Gov. Scott Walker told the crowd it felt like it had been seven years since he stood in the same room at Country Springs Hotel celebrating his election night victory over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to win the gubernatorial election.
But it’s only been months – albeit rocky months.
Walker’s few months as governor has brought severe criticism, especially because of his hard approach to public employee unions, looking to eliminate the majority of collective bargaining for those employees.
Despite protestors gathering at the Waukesha hotel several times during the past few months when the governor appeared there, Monday was one of the few times that there was not one chant to recall Walker.
Still, Walker told those in attendance at a SCORE meeting Monday afternoon that he is confident that those reforms will make government better.
SCORE is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Small Business Administration. SCORE's motto is "Counselors to America's Small Business,” according to a news release from Walker. SCORE’s members help counsel business owners.
Walker said during his address before SCORE in Waukesha that the legislation in the budget repair bill bring reforms that will require employees to rewarded or disciplined based on merit – not seniority or tenure.
“We are going to give every school district and local government in the state the ability to do what you all do in the private sector – to hire and fire based on merit and to award based on performance,” Walker said. “Everywhere else in life we pay for performance. Isn’t it about time we do it in education where it matters the most out there? Isn’t it a fundamental change we deserve?”
Ultimately, Walker said he wants Wisconsin to be a state that awards excellence as the state lawmakers move toward balancing the state’s budget. Walker urged the local business men and women at the SCORE meeting to spread the word about business in Wisconsin.
“We want to make it more attractive to do business in the state,” Walker said.
Encouragement to the private sector in the early months are key to increased jobs, and today's announcement of more incentives will drive the needle further into the black. There is a new dawn in our state now that after the incredible mismanagement of the past eight years, Wisconsin is again OPEN FOR BUSINESS.