GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – In less than a month, voters in Green Bay will be voting for their preferred candidate for mayor, with the top two vote getters advancing to April’s general election.
If campaign money raised is any indication, two candidates already have a significant edge.
Incumbent Eric Genrich raised $62,465 in the latest reporting period and has $98,483 total cash for his campaign.
Brown County Director of Administration Chad Weininger raised nearly $108,855 and has $128,373 in total cash available for his campaign.
Jane Juza and Paul Boucher will also be on the ballot, but neither have reported any campaign fundraising, according to the city’s website.
By state law, Green Bay’s mayor isn’t supposed to operate as a Democrat or Republican, but the recent campaign finance reports filed for the race seem to show Democrats are pushing for Genrich to keep his job and Republicans want challenger Weininger to take over.
FOX 11 asked Genrich and Weininger if it is fair to call this a partisan race.
“It’s similar, I think, to the state Supreme Court race where there are partisan interests involved and acting in the way they see fit,” said Genrich.
“Listen, this is supposed to be a nonpartisan race,” said Weininger. “I have a donation that is going to show up from a former Democrat treasurer for the county because I’m a non-partisan person. I have Democrat support that is supporting me.”
Of the $62,465 Genrich raised over the last few months, most of it came from one donor: the Democratic Party of Wisconsin with a donation of $50,000.
“I’m really proud of the fact the Wisconsin Democratic Party is supporting my candidacy,” said Genrich. “I received that support last time around, and I truly believe that the Wisconsin Democratic Party is one of the most pro-democracy forces in the country at this point.”
“I think it should be troubling for a lot of folks in Green Bay,” said Weininger. “Why are political bosses in Madison trying to control our election up here in Green Bay?”
Weininger, who served as a Republican in the state Assembly eight years ago, doesn’t have a donation over $2,100 with 85% of his $108,855 raised in the latest reporting period coming from individuals within Brown County.
His donor list includes recognizable Republican names from the county party and from out of the area, like $1,000 donations from former U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde and former State Rep. John Nygren.
“They’re business leaders, they are folks that are concerned about the direction of the city of Green Bay,” Weininger said of his donors. “I was able to raise $108,000 because a lot of folks are worried about it. He was able to raise $12,000 in the city of Green Bay. I think that speaks volumes.”
Four years ago, Genrich, a former Democrat in the state Assembly, defeated county supervisor Pat Buckley in another race that was mostly viewed as partisan.
Despite receiving financial support from the left, Genrich vowed to operate in a nonpartisan manner.
FOX 11 asked Genrich: From your first term, is there one thing that you would say is the clearest indication or proof that you approach this position in a nonpartisan way?
“I think the way I approach all kinds of development questions demonstrates that I’m operating in a nonpartisan way,” said Genrich. “The other thing is the job of mayor is just so practical; it’s not philosophical. It’s not like serving in the state legislature or in our federal congress. The way you fix a road or the way that you pick up garbage doesn’t have any kind of partisan lean to it.”
FOX 11 asked Weininger: What did he (Genrich) do during his first term that is proof that he had a partisan edge to how he did the position?
“One of the things is he did use his position to take a shot at a sitting president,” said Weininger. “He’s also accepted these dollars that, unfortunately, show he’s not nonpartisan.”
Even if the candidates vowed to not accept money from political groups, a large amount of partisan money is bound to make its way into the race. State law allows political action committees to pour money into campaign ads without coordination from candidates.
We saw out of state groups put tens of thousands of dollars into Green Bay’s city council races a year ago and the outside money is bound to be back in the weeks leading up to the April 4 election.
