Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary lined up to blast her Wednesday after audio was released of her pledging to craft the next state budget ‘behind a curtain’ with little to no public input.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary wasted no time in ciriticizing her Wednesday for promising an audience in Janesville last week that, if elected governor, she would craft the next state budget “behind a curtain.”
“I will say that I have committed to having a budget done before I swear in, and we are going to do this, we are going to do our negotiations behind a curtain so that we are not doing a circular firing squad within the Democratic Party, because we have got to make a difference in people’s lives. We have got to be on the same page,” Rodriguez said in audio obtained by WISN 12 News.
“Latest reminder to everyone that sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Democrat gubernatorial candidate Kelda Roys said in a post on X. “Backroom deals are NOT the way to deliver progress for Wisconsinites. Democracy delivers best when it’s transparent and inclusive of everyone in the state. That’s how we deliver transformative change.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley concurred, posting on his X account that Rodriguez’s comments were “unacceptable.”
“As the only person in the race with experience creating budgets, this sounds like hiding from the people, and that is unacceptable,” he said. “I have never created or signed a budget in secret. I have done it in the open with town halls, public input, and real transparency because it is your money and you deserve a say.”
Joel Brennan, Governor Evers’ former Administration Secretary, similarly leaned on his own experience in writing budgets to blast Rodriguez.
“I helped build two budgets with Governor Evers, and I can tell you, it’s one of the hardest and most important things a governor does. You’re balancing the demands of every state agency and every community across the state, all while the clock is ticking and people are counting on you to get it right,” he said. “You don’t get a good budget by hiding it from the people it’s supposed to serve. As governor, that’s how I’d approach it.”
The controversy is the latest sign that the Democrat primary is starting to heat up. Earlier this week, Rodriguez criticized socialist candidates Francesca Hong and Mandela Barnes by questioning their electability.
Recent polling shows Rodriguez running a distant third behid Hong and Barnes in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination.
