Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany released a new campaign ad Monday targeting Democratic opponent David Crowley over his record on taxes and his recent admission that he is open to toll roads and increased transportation fees in Wisconsin.
The new ad, titled “Imagine,” highlights Crowley’s positions on property, income, and sales taxes, while drawing attention to his comments during last week’s gubernatorial debate.
As previously reported by The Heartland Post, Crowley expressed openness to toll roads and new user fees as potential sources of transportation funding during Wednesday’s debate. Tiffany, meanwhile, rejected tolling, higher registration fees, and indexing the gas tax to inflation.
The latest ad builds on months of attacks from Tiffany over Crowley’s tax record as Milwaukee County executive.
Crowley has approved five county budgets that increased the property tax levy and successfully pushed for an 80% increase in Milwaukee County’s sales tax, raising the rate from 0.5% to 0.9%. As a state legislator, he also voted twice against Republican-backed income tax cuts.
In September, Tiffany released an ad highlighting Crowley’s previous assertion that the sales tax increase would not be a burden on Milwaukee County residents, as well as his decision to celebrate its passage with cake.
More recently, Tiffany criticized Crowley’s proposed 2027 county budget, which includes higher property taxes and increased fees for services ranging from parking and airport transportation to cremation permits.
“Wisconsin families are already struggling to make ends meet, and David Crowley wants to take even more money out of their pockets,” Tiffany said in a statement announcing the new ad.
“Higher income taxes, higher property taxes, higher sales taxes, and now David Crowley supports charging you tolls to drive on Wisconsin roads. David Crowley sees every paycheck, every purchase, and every drive as another opportunity to collect more of your hard-earned money.”
Crowley has defended Milwaukee County’s sales tax increase as necessary to address pension obligations and preserve county services.
Tiffany has made affordability a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign, proposing a 10% income tax cut for working families, eliminating state income taxes on tips and overtime, ending the 400-year property tax increase, and returning Wisconsin’s approximately $3 billion budget surplus to taxpayers.
The new ad comes as the candidates enter the final full week of campaigning ahead of the November 3 election.
