MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Former Democratic state Rep. Brett Hulsey says supporting the next generation is his top focus for his campaign for governor.
During his time in the Wisconsin State Legislature, Hulsey made several headlines, including sewing Ku-Klux-Klan-style hoods, which he planned to pass out to Republicans and for bringing a box cutter to the Capitol for self-defense.
The following is an edited transcript of the conversation between Hulsey and Wisconsin State Capitol Bureau Chief Vanessa Kjeldsen. It has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Vanessa Kjeldsen: Why do you want to be governor?
Brett Hulsey: I want to be governor to make a better Wisconsin. Sorry, I get a little verklempt, but yeah, to make a better Wisconsin for my grandkids.
VK: What does that mean to you?
BH: Kids aren’t learning the way they should be learning… And this goes back to the cuts that Governor Walker and the radical extremists made to our education budget.
VK: Tell me more about your energy plan.
BH: You fly into Munich and every rooftop is covered with solar panels… I want to do that in a crash course on the thousands of government buildings… So I want to make all state buildings net-zero, but preferably net-positive.
VK: There are a lot of other Democrats running in this primary. Why would you be the best pick for the party?
BH: Well, I’m not going to make, as Ronald Reagan said, “my opponent’s inexperience and youth,” an issue in this campaign… I want to have an energy conservation corps for young people, homeless people. I’m hiring homeless people… Our goal is zero homelessness in Wisconsin by 2030. Last night I had five homeless people in my house. The wife of one of my homeless people who was– he was on the streets two weeks ago, and now he’s sleeping in my bed. So I had to sleep on my sailboat last night.
VK: When you were in the state legislature, there was a long history of headlines that you made. You brought a box cutter to the Capitol.
BH: At that time—
VK: You promised to pass out homemade KKK hoods at the GOP state convention.
BH: Those were Republican Party hats. But what happened there was the Republicans were considering a resolution at their convention to secede from the Union, to leave the United States… My great-great-grandfather actually fought in the Civil War for the South. And I’m here to fight that… I’ve seen the Ku Klux Klan firsthand. I’m not going to let that happen to Wisconsin and this country.
VK: Do you stand by the other actions that you did in the state legislature?
BH: Absolutely. My theme song is Tom Petty’s “Don’t Back Down”. And one thing, that whole beach thing, you know, that a lot of people ask me about. So I swim at the beaches all the time… I show up and this little kid was splashing two girls and there was no parent around. And I told him to stop. And I grabbed his– he was in like in a foot of water. I grabbed his floaty thing, told him to stop… And then they thought I was taking pictures of the kids at the beach. I wasn’t.
Click here to download the WMTV15 News app or our WMTV15 First Alert weather app.