Cate Riedl says she tried once or twice a day, then every few days. In all, the rural Walworth County resident reckons she called the office of Gov. Scott Walker more than 20 times in recent weeks. But the number (608-266-1212) was always busy or else no one answered.
Last week, Riedl got through for the first time and spoke to a young man named Tristan. She wanted someone to explain Walker's divisive assessment of the close Supreme Court election: "You've got a world driven by Madison, and a world driven by everybody else" in Wisconsin.
She noted that plenty of people all over Wisconsin did not support the GOP-favored candidate, David Prosser, remarking, "When [Walker] makes statements like that, it's offensive."
At this, she says Tristan laughed. He said he'd pass her comments on, never asking for her contact information to provide the explanation she requested.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie, asked about this episode, says "we have been increasing the number of individuals who help answer the governor's main office phone line." He adds that contact information is typically taken when people call with questions.
Riedl thinks the process is a "charade," and her call was not handled in a professional way. "The feeling I got was they really don't care about anyone else's opinion."
On the other hand, Werwie atypically responded to a contact from Isthmus. That's progress.
