Plale casts key vote to kill employee contracts

Sen. Jeff Plale, who lost a September Dem primary to keep his South Milwaukee seat, said he voted against the contracts for state employees because he did not like the process.
Plale, D-South Milwaukee, and Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, were key votes in rejecting the contracts Wednesday night after they broke with their Dem colleagues to oppose them. The Senate deadlocked 16-16 on all 17 contracts that came before the chamber.
"This Legislature’s gone. We’re done," said Plale, who lost to Milwaukee County Supervisor Chris Larson in a contested Democratic primary in September. "It’s only going to be three weeks and there’s going to be a whole new crop of people around here who are going to have to do a budget, craft legislation, and I’m not going to be one of them. So why am I ratifying something that’s going to be binding the hands of the next Legislature?"
Insiders had expected Plale to vote against the contracts because they believe he wants to land a job in Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s administration, but he brushed off that possibility.
"I’ve got no prospects right now," he said.
Walker said the failure of the departing Dem-majority Legislature to approve 2009-11 state employee contracts means he’ll have “all options on the table” to tackle Wisconsin’s budget challenges.
“I plan to use the flexibility afforded to me to make the tough choices necessary to reduce state spending while still providing core government services,” Walker said.
Walker said there will be a need for shared sacrifice with the state facing a $150 million shortfall in the current fiscal year and $3.3 billion over the upcoming biennium. He also announced he’ll voluntarily begin covering the employee portion of his pension contribution beginning the first day he takes office.
– WisPolitics.com