Schmidt gets input through listening sessions

Sparse attendance marked the first two listening sessions held March 6 by Rep. Peter Schmidt in Bonduel and Shawano, but he plans to continue the practice to further find out from constituents what they want him to do in the Wisconsin Legislature.

Although the wintry weather is what Schmidt suspects kept more people from attending the daytime sessions, he was able to hear in-depth from the few who attended about what concerns them about their government. Although much of the discussion addressed state issues, there were some federal issues discussed, and Schmidt said that whatever decisions he made would be ones that kept freedoms, not ones that take them away.

“In today’s world, we don’t have much freedom,” Schmidt said at the Bonduel listening session. “Government has way too much power, which we saw in 2020. It’s just human nature to acquire power at any cost.”

There is discussion in the legislature to make COVID-19 vaccines a requirement for school, the same as for measles, rubella and other ailments. Schmidt is against it, saying “That’s no good.”

“I don’t support mandating that,” Schmidt said. “You’ve always got the religious exemptions but you want a bill where it would be optional.”

Schmidt also pointed out that schools are required to be a lot of things already in society, including parents at some times. He blamed the diminishment of the family unit, and recommended reform take place so that teachers only have to worry about teaching.

“It’s important to have our family structures,” Schmidt said. “We don’t have a family unit. Mom and dad both work. The kids are home with the technology. They go to school, and teachers are responsible for them now like they’re parents.”

Schmidt said he is in favor of marijuana being legalized for medical purposes but not for recreational use. Currently, 37 states have legalized medical marijuana, and 21 of those have marijuana legalized for recreational use, as well, but it is still illegal at the federal level on both counts.

“My district won’t support full legalization,” Schmidt said during the Shawano listening session. “The reason why law enforcement is against legalizing marijuana is it’s being laced with other drugs, including fentanyl.”

A couple of women in attendance in Shawano asked Schmidt for his side of the story in regards to the rift between him and the Shawano County Republican Party. The GOP denounced him in the general election, claiming he lied to them about his criminal conviction for assaulting one of his farm workers.

Schmidt noted he is still censured by the county conservatives, even though he won the election, and he said he’s fine with that, because he believes partisan politics is what’s keeping things from being done at the state and federal levels.

“It doesn’t bother me one bit, because I stand for free speech,” Schmidt said. “When you apply for a job, do you tell your HR everything about yourself for that job? It’s the same thing running for office. What right do these people have that they should know every day of my life? Do I know everything they did?”

Schmidt noted the knowledge of what happened can be used to slander someone’s character, and he believes that his efforts going door-to-door earned him more respect because he was able to face someone individually.

“I volunteered with the Shawano County GOP for years and went to their events,” Schmidt said. “The people up here, they want people to do what they want. They use people to get what they want. If you look at the biblical standpoint, that’s not Christian.”

Schmidt expects he’ll go against the grain on a lot of things in office. He pointed out that he turned down the legislature’s health insurance, preferring to keep what he has through his farm in the Town of Hartland.

Schmidt brought up some points regarding election integrity, a hot button issue on both sides of the aisle. He noted in the Bonduel session that Gov. Tony Evers is only interested in reform if it expands voting rights, but he thinks some things should be tightened up, including going back to one-day voting with limited exceptions, something he admitted may not be realistic.

Schmidt said he’s against automatic voter registration when someone turns 18, but thinks that felons should have their rights restored once they’ve left prison.

“If you have more people vote, that makes it harder to cheat, harder to steal an election, and harder to corrupt things because you have more votes when you expand the base,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt held two other listening sessions in Pulaski and Seymour. He plans to hold four more on March 13.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com

AT A GLANCE

Future listening sessions with Rep. Peter Schmidt in Shawano County:

• 1-2 p.m. March 13, Tigerton Community Center, 221 Birch St., Tigerton

• 2:45-3:45 p.m. March 13, Gresham Village Hall, 801 Main St., Gresham