UW-Madison leadership center to honor Gov. Tommy Thompson

MADISON - A leadership center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will carry the name of former Gov. Tommy Thompson, honoring the longest-serving head of the state on the 30th anniversary of his taking office. 

Gov. Scott Walker, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) announced the center at the Capitol Tuesday, saying they would seek $1.5 million a year in taxpayer funding for the initiative, with $500,000 of that set aside to sponsor speakers at UW campuses around the state.  

The public money will come before lawmakers soon as the Joint Finance Committee takes up UW-Madison funding in the state budget. Though the GOP leaders stressed that the center would be bipartisan, it was clear that Republicans are pursuing it in part as an antidote to what they see as the university's left-leaning slant.

"This is really a reflection of who Tommy Thompson was as a governor and leader, and that was to bring people together to have serious public policy discussions regardless of your perspective," said Vos, who worked closely on the proposal. "And that's really what we want on college campuses. Far too often we feel like there is only one legitimate viewpoint on campus. This is just going to make sure that we have diversity of thought."

The Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership would be overseen by a board including the director, a member named by the Thompson family foundation, a former Thompson aide and two people each suggested by Vos and Fitzgerald. 

The center comes out of an idea from Ryan Owens, a political science professor and attorney who formerly worked in Thompson's gubernatorial office. Owens said he'll seek to serve as the director of the center, though he cautioned that there's no guarantee he would be chosen by campus leaders for the role. 

"I think we've got a leadership vacuum around the country," Owens said. 

Owens said he's been working with the University of Wisconsin Foundation to seek private funding for the center. Potential sources include deep-pocketed groups such as the left-leaning Joyce Foundation of Chicago and the conservative Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee — a group that has long supported Thompson causes such as the overhaul of welfare programs.

"Objectivity and credibility is the key here," Owens said. 

The Republican governor had a storied career that stretches back a half century — from his hometown of Elroy to the statehouse to Washington, D.C. 

Thompson served as governor of Wisconsin for a record 14 years, winning four elections and leaving only to become federal Health and Human Services secretary under then-President George W. Bush. 

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Thompson was elected to the Assembly in 1966 and served as the body's minority leader until beating Democratic Gov. Tony Earl in 1986 and then winning re-election in 1990, 1994 and 1998. Along the way, Thompson won lopsided victories that may no longer even be possible for statewide candidates in a polarized era.

Thompson went on to remake much of state government in his image, passing a welfare overhaul that influenced national policy and ushering in the private school voucher program in Milwaukee that has now gone statewide.

During Thompson's time as governor, the number of jobs in the state rose by nearly 780,000.

As governor, he approved scores of tax cuts, though he also approved some increases such as four bumps in the cigarette tax. The state's overall tax-to-income ranking from U.S. Census figures stayed at about No. 4 or No. 5 during the period, while its ranking from the Tax Foundation fell from No. 2 in 1987 to 7 in 2001.

But the state also doubled its spending during Thompson's long tenure and added more than 8,500 full-time state workers.

The budgets and other laws signed by Thompson increased spending of state tax dollars from its main account from $5.34 billion in fiscal year 1988 to $11.19 billion in 2001. That was 39% higher than the rate of inflation.

As a candidate in 2012, Thompson lost a bid for U.S. Senate to Democrat Tammy Baldwin.