Jeff Stone received his pay off for delivering the Voter ID Law to Wisconsin for ALEC. It has been made clear by the Walker administration that ALEC has written and will continue to write Wisconsin’s legislation. Jeff Stone, a vaguely successful small (very small) businessman will finally get that plum government job that he spent his career criticizing. It appears that the mid-level pay off (the bronze medal) for the ALEC water carriers is a $94,000 government job. Jeff will surely stay in this position long enough to assure that his (well managed because of Progressive traditions in Wisconsin) Wisconsin State pension will be significantly higher than the pensions of those greedy teachers and other public employees.
As a result, his gerrymandered seat is open for another ALEC Republican to walk into. There are no real, traditional Republicans left in the party at this time in history.
Robin Vos has spent the last several weeks interviewing potential Republican candidates to replace Stone and maintain the ALEC control of the Wisconsin legislature.
ALEC has disenfranchised both Republican and Democratic voters and it is unlikely that this current Republican Party will put up a candidate that can truly represent the people of the 82nd Assembly district.
Therefore, the only way the 82nd Assembly district can elect a representative to the assembly who does not continue to carry water for outside interests via ALEC is to elect a moderate Democrat who understands both the law and the district.
One of the possible Democratic candidates for the 82nd Assembly seat is a young Greenfield Attorny, Matthew Kopf. Matt grew up in Greenfield. His father, a German immigrant, was a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service in the Village of Greendale for 30 years, and his mother works as a Quality Analyst at SC Johnson. Throughout Matt's life he has worked hard to gain education and experiences in order to help others, be a strong leader, and make a difference in the community.
He worked his way through high school and college by working for a local small business. Having been involved practically from the beginning, he experienced firsthand the expansions and contractions of the business as well as the joys of success and anxieties of the trying times. His business experience also includes work in the Legal, Banking, Manufacturing, and Gaming industries.
While attending Greenfield High School, Matt co-founded the annual Jam for Hunger event which helped to feed those in need while promoting arts and music among the youth in the community. He went on to graduate early from GHS and began his undergraduate work. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in Political Science with a minor in History. Matt has volunteered with the Racine Literacy Council as an English tutor and thereafter taught English for a year to school children in Daegu, South Korea.
This early commitment to the community is evident in his willingness to continue to serve as a member of the Wisconsin Assembly.
In addition to his degree from UWM, Matt graduated with honors from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan and holds licenses to practice law in Nevada and Wisconsin. Matt will work hard to use his education, knowledge of the law, business and life experiences to maintain excellent schools, foster job and economic growth, cut unnecessary spending, and make strong and safe communities in Wisconsin.
If you live in the 82nd district, please give Matt your vote. If you live in Wisconsin, please give him your support. Wisconsin needs a return to the traditional values that made us great. We were never destined to be a third world state, and must resist becoming one by getting ALEC, ALEC written laws and ALEC controlled legislators out of our state.