By Terrence Dopp – Nov 30, 2011 10:37 PM GMT+0000
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-30/wisconsin-governor-walker-says-citizens-effort-to-recall-him-is-serious-.html
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican who last year limited the bargaining rights of some public-sector workers, said he views the attempt by unions to oust him as a credible threat.
“Do I take the recall seriously? Absolutely,” Walker told reporters today at a meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Orlando, Florida. “Unions spent $40 million on six state Senate recall elections in my state. I spent $13 million running for governor. So if there’s that much outside influence, I’m going to take that seriously no matter what.”
Walker, 44, who took office in January, drew the wrath of unions and faced protests after pushing through a measure restricting collective bargaining for public employees other than police and firefighters. In August, voters ousted two Republican state senators in recall elections aimed at lawmakers who backed Walker’s legislation.
The governor’s opponents said Nov. 28 they had collected 300,000 signatures of the 540,208 they need by Jan. 17 to force a recall election next year, the Associated Press reported.
Walker said he doesn’t see a parallel in Ohio, where voters last month overturned Republican Governor John Kasich’s legislation restricting unions.
“Every day, every week and every month that goes by, the voters of my state will more clearly see the benefits of the reforms,” he said. “People have a clear choice.”
