Roger Rivard

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Rivard became the subject of controversy and national media attention in October 2012 due to comments he made in December 2011 to The Chetek Alert , a small, northwestern Wisconsin newspaper. [20] [21] In the interview, Rivard discussed the case of a local high school senior who was being prosecuted for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old. He said he was considering initiating a Romeo and Juliet bill in the Assembly to protect teenage couples from prosecution for statutory rape. [22] [23] The newspaper reported that, "When he was a teenager, Rivard's dad offered a warning. 'Some girls rape easy' ... meaning they might give in and change their minds later, or someone might change their minds for them." [20] The Chetek Alert article came to wider public notice after a Democratic Party operative discovered it during election season—resulting in a mention in WisPolitics on October 5, and an article in the state's largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , on October 10. [24] Rivard told the Journal Sentinel that the remarks were being taken out-of-context and misquoted, and that he had been repeating a warning from his father who had said that after agreeing to sex and becoming pregnant, some underage girls will claim it was not consensual. [21] [25] Three hours after the Journal Sentinel article was published, Rivard issued a statement calling rape a horrible act of violence that unfortunately often goes unreported. [26] [27] The district attorney who prosecuted the case involving the two high school students clarified that the sex was not consensual and also criticized Rivard's December 2011 remarks that too many people were being required to register as sex offenders. [28]

Following the media attention to the statements about rape, a number of GOP officials quickly withdrew their endorsements of Rivard, including vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, Governor Scott Walker, US Senator Ron Johnson, former Governor Tommy Thompson, and State Representative Robin Vos, who is in charge of Assembly campaign efforts. [24] [29] The Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, the Tavern League of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, and the Wisconsin Grocers Association also rescinded their endorsements of Rivard. [30] However, he retained the support of several pro-life and business groups, and a county party rally including Rivard was held just two days after the firestorm of criticism began. [30]

Rivard has previously made strong statements: in 2012, he compared bureaucrats and politicians to cocaine addicts and in 2011, he called pro-union protestors "terrorists". [31] Later admitting that his comments about politicians were somewhat of an exaggeration, Rivard explained, "You look at history, anytime you lay money in front of a politician, they're going to spend it". [8] Rivard has also been criticized for working with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to draft state legislation, but called ALEC a "great think-tank" and denied charges that ALEC represents big business interests and not the interests of his district. [4]

Political positions

Rivard supports frac sand mining and believes it should be regulated at the state level by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as opposed to at the local level, because local officials impose unreasonable demands and conditions, and the DNR has over 60 years experience regulating sand and gravel. [4]

Rivard does not believe BadgerCare should be expanded to more people, and believes that "use controls" on those receiving free medical care are necessary to prevent abuses. [4] He does not believe government does a good job running large programs such as Medicare, Social Security and Amtrak. [4]

He supports voter photo ID laws. [4]

Rivard opposes same-sex marriage, but believes there should be some provisions in the law to recognize gay and lesbian partnerships for the purposes of medical care and inheriting property. [4]

He does not believe there is a right to collective bargaining because it is not in the Constitution. He also says that the state's prior budget problems were due in large part to high wages demanded by unions. [4]

He has said the best way to stimulate the local economy is for government to "get out of the way" and not over-regulate or raise taxes. [4]

For his positions, he has received an "A" grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund, 100% ratings from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and the American Conservative Union, a 66% rating from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, a 21% rating from the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, and 0% ratings from NARAL Pro-Choice and the Sierra Club. [32]

Campaigns

Rivard has said he first ran for public office because he was concerned for the future of his descendants and believed that a businessperson such as himself could better solve government budget problems due to his understanding of economics, business regulation and taxation. [4] In the 2010 election, Rivard was endorsed by The Chetek Alert as a common sense candidate who was locally funded and not obligated to special interests. [33]

He ran to fill a vacant seat in the state Assembly opened by the retirement of Democrat Mary Hubler. He competed in a 4-way Republican primary against Dari McDonald, Judith Wells Espeseth, and Don Quinten, winning the Republican nomination on September 14, 2010. [34] On November 3, 2010, he defeated Democrat Steve Perala by 415 votes, 9,950 to 9,535, or 51 percent to 49 percent. [6] [35]

Rivard announced in January 2012 he would seek re-election to the Assembly even if his real estate business suffered due to boycotts. [18] His opponent in the November 2012 election was Democrat Stephen J. Smith, a Rice Lake businessman and Shell Lake resident, who is the son of a former state representative for the 75th district, Patricia Spafford Smith. [4] [18] Despite the October 2012 controversy over the rape remarks, a number of groups continued their support of Rivard including Wisconsin Right to Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin and the National Federation of Independent Business-Wisconsin, [27] with Wisconsin Family Action, a family values group which opposes gay marriage as well as abortion, endorsing Rivard for the first time. [36] Wisconsin Public Radio reported that some voters in Rivard's district were unswayed by the rape comments and would be voting for or against him based on his platform. [37]

On November 6, 2012, he was defeated by Democrat Stephen Smith by 582 votes and with only 49% of the popular vote to 51%. [38]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2010, 2012)

Roger Rivard
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 75th district
In office
January 3, 2011 –January 3, 2013
YearElectionDateElectedDefeatedTotalPlurality
2010 Primary [39] Sep. 14Roger Rivard Republican 2,07640.06%Judith Wells Espeseth Rep. 1,92937.23%5,182147
Don Quinton Rep. 71713.84%
Dari McDonald Rep. 4518.70%
General [40] Nov. 2Roger Rivard Republican 9,95050.98%Steve Perala Dem. 9,53548.85%19,518415
John Schiess (write-in) Rep. 80.04%
2012 General [41] Nov. 6 Stephen Smith Democratic 14,45651.02%Roger Rivard (inc) Rep. 13,84148.85%28,334615

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References

  1. ↑ Representative Roger Rivard, Wisconsin Assembly. retrieved October 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ Eileen May Rivard, Barron News-Shield, April 26, 2011.
  3. ↑ Rep. Rivard biography, Wisconsin State Legislature, retrieved October 14, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Zufall, Frank. 75th candidates take questions in Turtle Lake, Spooner Advocate, October 10, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Roger Rivard Archived 2013-12-20 at the Wayback Machine , Wisconsin Blue Book 2011-2012, Chapter 1, Biographies, p. 69.
  6. 1 2 3 Rivard wins in 75th; Jauch defeats Deutsch, The Chronotype, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, November 4, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Walters, Steve. "First-term Assembly Republicans drove history-making changes", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 25, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Conservatives eager to flex legislative muscles, Winona Daily News, Associated Press, 18 November 2010.
  9. ↑ Rivard named to Assembly committees, The Chronotype, Rice Lake, WI, December 23, 2010.
  10. ↑ Smith, Paul A. "Wolf-hunting bill introduced in state legislature", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 27, 2102.
  11. ↑ Seely, Ron. Wolf hunting bill goes too far, scientists tell lawmakers, Wisconsin State Journal, February 01, 2012.
  12. ↑ Rivard helps introduce mining reform bill, Barron News-Shield, December 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Rivard Leads Mining Reform" (PDF) (Press release). Wispolitics.com. 12 December 2011.
  14. ↑ Quirmbach, Chuck. Gogebic Mining Bill Process Leaves Some Agog, Wisconsin Public Radio, December 15, 2011.
  15. ↑ Rivard passes first bill, The Chetek Alert, April 13, 2011.
  16. ↑ Assembly Bill 2, 2011-2012 Wisconsin Legislature, retrieved October 15, 2012.
  17. ↑ "How They Voted", Winona Daily News, February 25, 2011.
  18. 1 2 3 Freshman State Representative to be challenged by Rice Lake businessman, KUWS, BusinessNorth.com, January 28, 2012.
  19. ↑ Simonson, Mike. "Freshman Republican Says In Spite Of Threats, He's Running Again", Wisconsin Public Radio, January 26, 2012
  20. 1 2 Zimmerman, Anita. "Rivard talks problems with rape, registry laws" Archived 2013-09-03 at the Wayback Machine , The Chetek Alert, December 21, 2011.
  21. 1 2 Marley, Patrick. Rep. Roger Rivard criticized for 'some girls rape easy' remark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 10, 2012.
  22. ↑ About Us, ChetekAlert.com: The Chetek Alert is a weekly newspaper published in the City of Chetek, Barron County Wisconsin, since 1882.
  23. ↑ Martin, Adam. "Todd Akin Has Made It So Hard for Republicans to Talk Crazy About Rape", New York Magazine, October 10, 2012.
  24. 1 2 Carver, Jack. "Madison Politiscope: Republicans hesitated to rebuke Rivard over rape remarks", The Capital Times, Madison WI, October 16, 2012.
  25. ↑ Wisconsin lawmaker explains 'easy rape' comment, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, October 11, 2012.
  26. ↑ Cavaliere, Victoria. ‘Some girls rape easy’ quip leads Paul Ryan to withdraw endorsement of Wisconsin lawmaker, New York Daily News, October 11, 2012.
  27. 1 2 Wisconsin: Rivard's rape comment disputed by Barron County district attorney, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Associated Press, October 16, 2012.
  28. ↑ Marley, Patrick. Prosecutor says sex case Rivard discussed was not consensual, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 15, 2012.
  29. ↑ WisPolitics staff. Republicans withdraw support for Rivard over rape comments, WisPolitics, October 12, 2012.
  30. 1 2 Marley, Patrick. "GOP rally will go on despite rebukes of Rep. Roger Rivard", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 October 2012.
  31. ↑ Reeve, Elspeth. 'Rape Easy' State Rep. Roger Rivard Is an Accidental Troll, The Atlantic Wire, October 11, 2012.
  32. ↑ Assembly Member Roger Rivard's Special Interest Group Ratings, Project Vote Smart, retrieved October 18, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Rivard to return common sense", The Chetek Alert, September 10, 2010.
  34. ↑ Republican candidates to debate and rally, The Chronotype, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, August 26, 2010.
  35. ↑ 2010 District Vote for Representatives to the Assembly, Wisconsin Blue Book 2011-2012, Chapter 8, Elections, p. 908.
  36. ↑ Group endorses lawmaker who made rape comment, Fox11Online.com, Associated Press, Madison, WI, October 15, 2012.
  37. ↑ Kremer, Rich. "Some voters unswayed by Rivard's rape comment", Sawyer County Record, October 17, 2012.
  38. ↑ "75th Assembly: Smith Edges Rivard", Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, 6 November 2012.
  39. ↑ Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/14/2010 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. October 4, 2010. p. 57. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Wisconsin Historical Society.
  40. ↑ Results of Fall General Election - 11/02/2010 (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. p. 27. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Wisconsin Historical Society.
  41. ↑ Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 26. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Wisconsin Historical Society.
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