GROUP'S ACTIONS SHOW IT IS NON-PARTISAN

I must dispute Rep. John Gard's assertion that the group that
sponsored the Sept. 18 Rolling Thunder social justice rally is
"anything but non-partisan."

According to my dictionary, a "partisan" is "someone devoted to, or
biased in support of, a single party or cause." WISDOM is devoted
neither to a single party nor to a single cause, and it does not
endorse candidates. It encourages voters to support public officials,
regardless of party, who have enlightened views on matters such as
treatment instead of prison, educational equity and immigration reform.

An example of the non-partisan character of WISDOM is its campaign for
community-based treatment for non-violent drug and alcohol offenders.
Treatment instead of prison legislation was introduced by Republican
Sen. Carol Roessler earlier this year. The bill was supported
energetically by WISDOM, received bipartisan support and was approved
unanimously by the state Senate. Unfortunately, the Assembly, of which
Gard is speaker, failed to bring the bill to a vote.

WISDOM's actions refute Gard's charge of partisanship. WISDOM urges
all of us to "value our vote - and vote our values" based on a
thoughtful analysis of what we, as people of conscience, believe is
best for all people regardless of color, social status or party
affiliation. That's not partisan - it's simply good public policy.

Mark Doremus,

Waukesha