07/10/06 Green Party Fields Slate Of Candidates

The Capital Times
Monday, July 10, 2006

By David Callender The Capital Times

A longtime state employee and former Dane County supervisor will run as a Green Party candidate for governor.

Nelson Eisman, 61, said he will enter the race tonight to help restore citizen control of state government.

"Like a lot of people, I feel state government has deteriorated over the years," he said in an interview. "Participation in politics has declined, and state government has become a much more partisan endeavor."

A 30-year state employee who now helps run the BadgerNet system for the Department of Administration, Eisman said the state's tradition of a government run by independent civil servants has been weakened.

"People are very suspicious about how state employees are hired," even though the civil service process is supposed to be free of political influence, he said.

Eisman also said he would seek to rein in the governor's powers, which have expanded significantly over the past three decades. He would allow citizen advisory panels to help select Cabinet secretaries.

Eisman served on the Dane County Board from 1992 until 1995, where he was a member of the Airport Commission, the Public Works Committee, and the Dane County Regional Planning Commission.

The Green Party will also field candidates for the U.S. Senate and for all statewide offices except attorney general.

The candidates include: Rae Vogeler, U.S. Senate; Leon Todd, lieutenant governor; Mike LaForest, secretary of state; Winston Sephus Jr., state treasurer; Bob Levis, Congress, 5th District; Mike Miles, Congress, 7th District; Jill Bussiere, Wisconsin Senate, District 1; Claude Vanderveen, Wisconsin Senate, state Senate District 7.

\ E-mail: dcallender@madison.com