Bies seeks third Assembly term in rematch with Hermann By Kevin Boneske For News-Chronicle Seeking a third two-year term in the Assembly for Garey Bies is like "deja vu all over again." Although this is the first year the Sister Bay Republican hasn't had to run in a contested GOP primary, Bies, 58, finds himself in a general election against the same Democratic opponent from two years ago, Tom Hermann of Egg Harbor. "I never talk about my opponent," Bies said. "That's getting into a discussion of saying 'I'm this because he's that,' and I just don't believe in any talking about my opponent. "I've got a track record that people can look at. I'm conservative in thinking." While the incumbent lawmaker defeated Hermann two years ago by almost a two-to-one margin, Bies said he's not taking the 2004 campaign for granted. "I'm working as hard as I have in other elections," he said. "I don't take anything for granted, and (I'll be) out there everyday until election day talking to people, knocking on doors and doing what I have to do to present myself to the public." Bies said he is running for re-election because he wants to do more for the 1st Assembly District, which includes Door County, all of Kewaunee County except the town of Franklin, and the Brown County towns of Green Bay, Scott and Humboldt. "It's a great experience working for the people of the 1st Assembly District," Bies said. "I have a number of pieces of legislation that I've been working on that I want to continue to work on." If re-elected, Bies said he plans on reintroducing legislation to "give law enforcement a better handle on inhalant abuse," which had passed in the Assembly but didn't clear the Senate, and sponsoring a bill to redo rules on commercial fishing. During his past four years in office, Bies said he has handled a lot of constituent problems, such as with the expansion of Highway 57 to four lanes between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay. Bies lists, among his legislative accomplishments, a measure related to being able to transfer credits earned in technical college to the University of Wisconsin system. He also noted he sponsored legislation to change state Department of Transportation policy to make it easier to put up roadside memorials and supported a property tax exemption for the Peninsula Players in Door County. Once the state Legislature reconvenes next year, Bies said lawmakers face dealing with a budget deficit. "We have to get government to live within their means, to not spend more than what they take in, and to prioritize and find out what and where we can hold back, so we can stay within that," he said. "We don't want to be the number-one-taxed state in the country, and we're headed in that direction, again." But Bies said he doesn't believe there is support in the makeup of the state Legislature to be "voting for anything that resembles a tax hike." "You're going to see (lawmakers) looking for ways to cut (spending)," he said. While Bies described health care as being "more of a national issue," which is not likely to be solved at the state level, he said there might be some things the state could do to make health insurance more affordable. "We need to put some time in looking at those issues, and try to find some way of making a more viable deal for people in the state to afford health care," he said. After saying on election night two years ago he wouldn't run again, Hermann is making his second bid for the seat. "At the time (losing in 2002) I really felt that way," Hermann said. "But Jim Baumgart, who was defeated for the State Senate last time, was at a meeting I was at, and somebody asked him if he would run again, and he said, 'Boy, asking a candidate right after an election if he's going to run again is like asking a woman who had a 10-pound baby if she's planning on a bigger family.'" Hermann, 54, of Egg Harbor, stepped down this fall as the Door County Democratic Party chairman amid concerns raised by a county party member over the possibility of a conflict of interest related to being both a county chairman and Assembly candidate. "I think I have a better agenda, and I think I have a citizens' agenda," Hermann said. "I want to work on health care, better jobs, better ways to fund education and make education better, and I want to work on a better environment. And I don't see where the incumbent or his party have done much in that area." Hermann - whose employment history includes a variety of jobs, such as in shipbuilding, maintenance and landscaping - said he believes his life experiences make him qualified to represent the 1st Assembly District, which includes Door County, all of Kewaunee County except the town of Franklin, and the Brown County towns of Green Bay, Scott and Humboldt. "I've worked the jobs most of the people of the district worked for the wages they've earned," he said. "I have a sense of identification with that. I've faced the layoff notices. I've had to walk strike lines." If elected as a freshman representative, Hermann said he would lobby on behalf of the 1st Assembly District in the state Legislature. "This district has a lot of potential, I think, that's been kind of ignored," he said. "This whole area is often treated as a shirttail area of the state. It doesn't get the attention it deserves." The first order of business the state Legislature will be dealing with after the elections, Hermann said, is the biennial budget, while he opposes a proposed constitutional amendment to limit spending known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. "I afraid that the Republicans are going to make the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights intimately tied to the budget process," Hermann said. "They've already said as much - (Assembly Speaker) John Gard has said as much - and that's going to bollix up the works." However, Hermann calls himself a "small 'd' Democrat." While the majority of Democratic representation in the state Legislature is comprised of the "Milwaukee-Madison corridor," he said hunters and fishermen have been given a "bad rap" by those lawmakers. "My party isn't right on everything, either," he said. "I'm a Democrat because I dislike concentration of power, essentially. "I think that's what we've gotten in this state, and it's especially reflective in the campaign donations - in the way our current majority votes." Hermann has criticized Bies for voting in Madison along Republican Party lines. "My opponent, despite his talk of nonpartisanship, has a 99.5 percent voting record of voting with the majority leadership, (Assembly Speaker) John Gard," Hermann said. "And he's made the statement a number of times that people should take off their partisan coats when the get in the Assembly. Well, he hasn't done that." Biographical data Garey Bies Age: 58 Address: 2590 Settlement Road, Sister Bay Occupation: Current state representative. Retired in 2000 from the Door County Sheriff's Department after serving 30 years. Political experience: Completing second two-year term in the Assembly. Education: Associate Degree in Police Science, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College; Graduate of Manitowoc Lincoln High School. Community involvement: Served in the U.S. Navy, 1964-1969; Member, Door County Republican Party, Knights of Columbus, American Legion Post 527, Sturgeon Bay Noon Rotary; Board member, HELP of Door County, Northern Door Child Care; Adult leader, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts; Volunteer guardian for elderly and disabled people; Former trustee, St. Rosalia's Catholic Church in Sister Bay. Family: Wife Jean; Four children Tom Hermann Age: 54 Address: 6278 County T, Egg Harbor Occupation: Held various factory jobs; Worked at Bay Shipbuilding; Worked for a variety of tourism-related businesses, mostly as a maintenance person; Worked at Peterson Builders; Held other jobs as a landscaper and maintenance person. Political experience: Unsuccessful bid in 2002 for 1st Assembly District seat. Education: Bachelor's Degree in Art, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Graduate of Sheboygan South High School. Community involvement: Chairman of the Door County Democratic Party, January 2003-September 2004; Secretary of the Gibraltar Preservation Council; Secretary of the Jacksonport Planning Committee. Family: Wife, Jennifer.