Doyle stepping down when term ends
Wisconsin NewsWisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday that he won’t seek re-election when his second term ends next year.
- Gov. Jim Doyle at Kansas City Chiefs training camp at UW-River Falls
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday that he won’t seek re-election when his second term ends next year.
“I fully intend to serve my entire term,” Doyle said in a prepared statement. “Maybe I am old fashioned, but I believe strongly that when you run for a term, you serve that term,” he said, apparently referring to former Republican governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, who left her position mid-term.
“I am going to work as hard as humanly possible over this time to help the people of Wisconsin … I believe that without all the politics [of campaigning] we can get a lot done,” said Doyle.
He said he and his wife, Jessica, had originally planned that he would serve only two terms.
“As much as I love the job, as hard as I work at it and as much as my team and I have to contribute in a third term, I believe that a governor should limit him or herself to two terms,” said Doyle. While the president and many state governors are limited to two terms, this is not the case in Wisconsin.
“I think this national norm serves good purpose,” said Doyle. “It keeps the political world from becoming stagnant. It allows new leaders to develop. It gives the voters more choices. It allows us to draw new insights and inspiration from the wellsprings of renewal in each generation.
Doyle said he is already the longest serving Democratic governor. By the end of his term he will be the second-longest serving governor in Wisconsin history.
Former Republican governor Tommy Thompson served four terms.
Doyle said he wants to open the field so Democrats interested in seeking the state’s highest office could begin making plans.
Doyle, the first Democrat to be re-elected to the office since the 1970s, has had a difficult second term dealing with the recession and huge job losses in the state’s private sector, a more than $6 billion budget shortfall requiring state employee furloughs and deep cutbacks in funds to schools, and plummeting approval rating.
It didn’t take area elected officials long to react to the governor’s announcement.
“I have enjoyed working with him and wish him the best in the future,” said U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Third District, in a press release Monday.
Kind said people around the state have urged him to run for governor, but said he won’t make up his mind yet.
“I thank them for their support and I am considering it,” said Kind. “In the weeks to come I will make my decision.”
For now, he said, his focus will be “on my work in Congress to continue efforts to strengthen the economy, grow jobs and make health care affordable for all.”
“Gov. Doyle’s decision not to seek re-election, rumored for months, will create an open race at the top of the ticket not seen in decades in Wisconsin,” said State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls. “It should be exciting.
“While the governor and I disagreed on more issues than we agreed, he was helpful on key issues like the Crackdown on Meth Act that greatly helped our region. We have a lot of work to do in the year ahead, and while I anticipate the governor’s continued engagement in important issues, it is my hope he will also be responsive to public input.”
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, said he was sad to learn of Doyle’s decision.
“He has been a great governor with many outstanding accomplishments, from championing public education and expanding health care for children, to protecting SeniorCare,” said Kohl.
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