Stone distances himself from Walker

Milwaukee County Executive candidate Jeff Stone continues to distance himself from Republican Gov. Scott Walker as opponent Chris Abele tries to join the two at the hip.
Stone, a GOP state representative from Greendale, said this week at a Milwaukee Press Club luncheon that he disagrees with Walker on public transportation and that, if elected, Stone would make improving transit a top priority.
"The governor has proposed cutting aids to transit," said Stone. "I have worked for a decade on saying how do we get to renew our efforts on transit. I have supported the KRM (Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter train). I supported a regional approach to transit. … I believe that is key to our future ecoomic activity in the Milwaukee region."
Abele’s campaign, meanwhile, put out a new TV commercial tying Stone to Walker.
The 30-second spot, titled "Same Old," features three county residents ripping Walker’s tenure as county executive and criticizing Stone for praising Walker as a "template for county executive" and supporting the governor’s controversial budget repair bill.
"Jeff Stone is Scott Walker," says resident David Crowley in the ad.
Stone, who voted for Walker’s controversial budget measures in Madison, said at the luncheon that he was neither 100 percent for or against Walker, but somewhere in the middle.
Stone called Walker’s move to curtail collective bargaining among public sector workers "a tool you need to have," but Stone said he would have handled it differently by focusing on changes to the mediation and arbitration process.  "I had a different approach for over a decade," he said.
Stone said little about Abele, except to say he disagreed with Abele’s campaign ads disparaging Walker. "Attacking the governor and anyone who works with him and saying that’s a negative, I don’t see how that benefits anyone in Milwaukee County," said Stone.
Abele addressed a Milwaukee Press Club luncheon last week:
http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/2011/3/17/county-executive-race-heats-up.
– WisPolitics.com