WISCONSINREPORT.COM (07/23/2010) - It must be an election year. The Wisconsin GOP is accusing the camp of Wisconsin 7th Congressional District candidate Julie Lassa (D-Portage County) of carrying out a negative campaign against Republican Sean Duffy (R-Ashland County). They claim Lassa is using a thin link and flawed logic to cover up her track record. That record includes more than a decade of working on business and workforce issues.

“This is Dirty Politics 101. Instead of talking about the issues Wisconsin really cares about: jobs, runaway spending, government debt and the direction of our country, the Democrats are focused 100 percent on bashing Sean Duffy," Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Rance Priebus stated.

“It’s ironic they brought up the phrase ‘typical politicians,’ when their candidate is the one who has spent the last 12 years in Madison and was hand-picked to run in a behind-the-scenes, closed-door agreement," the GOP's Priebus said.

“No matter how much the Democrats try to blame, distract and lie, Julie Lassa was still the chair of the jobs committee in Madison while 100,000 Wisconsinites lost their jobs. Even Julie Lassa’s big-money donors might run out of breath trying to defend that one,” Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Priebus said.

Following a political career that has taken Democrat Julie Lassa to the Wisconsin Assembly, and now the State Senate, she is now seeking the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District seat from which David Obey is retiring. David Obey of Wausau has served in the United States House of Representatives since Melvin Laird of Marshfield vacated the 7th District position in favor of becoming Secretary of Defense in the President Richard M. Nixon Administration.

Julie Lassa was elected to the State Assembly in 1998 serving until 2003 when she won a special election to the State Senate. In the legislature she has focused on enhancing job creation, promoting small business, strengthening educational opportunities, and protecting children. Julie has a reputation for staying in close touch with the people of her district and working across party lines to find common sense solutions.

Even before her service in the state legislature, Lassa understood the important role that small businesses play in Wisconsin’s economy. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point she worked as Executive Director of the Plover Area Business Association. In that role she worked closely with local small business owners to promote the greater Plover area.

Lassa is also a member of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance, Portage County Business Council and Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

As the Chair of the Senate Economic Development committee Julie wrote the Wisconsin C.O.R.E. Jobs Act – an omnibus job creation package that was signed into law to help put Wisconsin back on the road to economic recovery. C.O.R.E., which stands for Connecting Opportunity, Research and Entrepreneurship, contains nearly twenty provisions that will help retain and grow existing businesses and assist entrepreneurs to build new small businesses to create good paying jobs right here in Wisconsin.

Julie Lassa also wrote a new law to pool the state’s allotment of unused federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds which has the potential of creating 600 new green energy jobs in central Wisconsin as well as spurring new job growth around the state. Lassa also authored the laws that created the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin and Farm to School programs.

Lassa has been an advocate for fiscal reform in government having written the law to create the Fraud, Waste and Mismanagement Hotline to identify and eliminate wasteful spending. She has authored legislation to require greater transparency and accountability in government through regular performance and management audits of government agencies and reform of the state’s contracting practices through the Truth in State Contracting Act.

Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District is the largest of Wisconsin's eight U.S. House of Representative districts, covering counties between Superior in the north to south of Wisconsin Rapids in the southern part of the district. It stretches from the central to the northern counties and includes the following counties: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark (partial), Douglas, Iron, Langlade (partial), Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida (partial), Polk, Portage, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Washburn and Wood.

It's getting closer and closer to election day and candidates for all kinds of elected positions throughout Wisconsin and political parties are stepping up their efforts to win votes.

This Saturday, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is officially launching its “100-Day Dash” to Election Day, with kickoff events at local Republican headquarters throughout the state. The GOP says an army of volunteers are coordinating to make 65,000 phone calls and knock on 6,500 doors on Saturday, its largest campaign effort to date.

“The excitement level is off the charts,” said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “People all across Wisconsin have felt the effects of the Democrats’ job-killing policies, and they’re fired up to go out and do something about it.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin says local victory centers in more than a dozen locations will be coordinating the efforts this weekend, and will continue to operate seven days a week until Election Day on Nov. 2.

“Up and down the ticket, Republicans are anticipating a big year,” Priebus said.

“None of it will be possible without a lot of hard work and time from our grassroots volunteers," Republican chair Priebus pointed out.

"The turnout thus far has been above and beyond expectations, but we need to keep the momentum going right up to Election Day,” Priebus said.

State Democrats, candidates and volunteers are also beginning to ramp up their efforts in winning various seats at different levels of government, both national and state. Many parades and local events throughout the state are seeing more and more candidates and volunteers, marching, handing out brochures, walking the parade sidelines, and shaking the hands of potential voters.