By Heather Ruenz
Editor
Generally, primary elections are simply to narrow a pool of candidates to the top two – one from each party – for the general election. But one local primary race, for the State Assembly, will likely determine who will take the seat.
Cody Horlacher, of Elkhorn, Scott Johnson, of Jefferson, and Bill Lurvey, of Palmyra – all Republicans – will face off in the Aug. 12 primary ballot to vie for the 33rd District Assembly seat.
Because all three are running as Republicans, the candidate who garners the most votes in the primary will likely win the seat, barring an upset in the November general election by a write-in candidate of another party.
Steve Nass, of Whitewater, is giving up the Assembly seat to face off with Dan Kilkenny of Delavan for the District 11 Senate seat, formerly held by Neal Kedzie, of Elkhorn.
Here are profiles of the candidates in alphabetical order.
Cody Horlacher
Horlacher, an Assistant District Attorney in Walworth County and youngest candidate on the ticket for the 33rd District primary, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Business School and Marquette Law School.
After college, in addition to working five days a week, Horlacher volunteered in the Walworth County District Attorney’s office – and later in the chambers of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman – on the weekends.
“The seven-day schedule that I have continued since undergrad has served me well on the campaign trail. There is always work to be done. It is that drive and determination that I will put to work if elected to the State Assembly,” he said.
Horlacher said he’s been a “card-carrying member of the Republican Party since I was 18,” has worked on several campaigns, and chaired the Whitewater College Republicans. After college, he served as the secretary, vice chairman and eventually chairman of the Republican Party of Walworth County.
In his work at the DA’s office, Horlacher said he deals with misdemeanors, drunken driving and the juvenile delinquent division.
“I take great responsibility in what I do, and the decisions I make, and how they affect the public. I have to make sound decisions every time I step into the office and the courtroom,” he said.
Asked what differentiates him from the other candidates Horlacher said his “youth and enthusiasm. While I am half their age I have almost a decade of experience working for the conservative cause.”
Horlacher cited several endorsements including Reps. David Craig, R-Big Bend, and Samantha Kerkman, R-Powers Lake, Walworth County District Attorney Dan Necci, Walworth and Waukesha county sheriffs David Graves and Dan Trawicki, respectively, and the Walworth County Republican Party.
“Additionally, my experience in the legal system distinguishes me from my opponents. The State Assembly is responsible for passing the state budget and drafting state statutes. Statutes are laws that affect all of us as Wisconsinites.
Horlacher can be reached at (262) 470-7750 or at codyhorlacher@gmail.com.
Scott Johnson
“I think everyone knows that one of the greatest challenges we face is making sure we create more good-paying jobs by fostering a healthy business environment,” Johnson said in a campaign release. “I intend to use the skills I’ve learned in my 30 years of experience as a farmer and small business owner to bring conservative solutions to the Assembly to get that job done.”
Johnson, who was raised on a dairy farm east of Janesville, has farmed in the Town of Hebron in Jefferson County with his wife, Jill, for the past 31 years.
“Anyone who’s run a farm or a small business knows that you have to use fiscal restraint, and that you don’t spend money you don’t have. That’s the philosophy I’m going to follow to make sure we keep taxes low by fighting waste and fraud in spending,” Johnson said.
Johnson has served five terms on the Fort Atkinson School Board, currently in his 15th year of doing so and said in that role, he’s spent his time balancing budgets, enhancing curriculum and using innovative methods to save taxpayer dollars.
“That includes leading the fight to retrofit four of our schools with new energy conservation systems that have now saved the taxpayers of Fort Atkinson almost $300,000 since they went operational. I’ve always believed that keeping expenses low and saving money for my constituents should be my main job, and that’s going to be my primary focus for the taxpayers of the 33rd when I get to the Assembly,” he said.
His long-term experience on the school board and a life spent farming and running a small business, Johnson said, are what differentiates him from his opponents.
Johnson and his wife will be married 35 years later this year. They have a 21-year-old son, Eric, who attends the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a 22-year-old daughter, Julia, who is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Johnson can be reached by email at votescottljohnson @yahoo.com.
Bill Lurvey
Lurvey said his campaign focuses on “smaller government, lower taxes, jobs, pro second amendment and pro-life issues and helping Governor Scott Walker move Wisconsin forward.”
Lurvey has been on the Palmyra Village Board as a trustee for the past four years. He has been married for 36 years, has two children and two grandchildren, and is a member of the Siloam United Methodist Church. He has also coached several different levels of baseball in Palmyra.
“I have thought about running for the Assembly for at least a decade,” Lurvey said. “It is my hope to represent the people of the 33rd District by lowering taxes and downsizing government.
“I will also work to reduce overbearing regulation that gets in the way of job creation,” Lurvey said, “along with unfunded mandates that put stress on local governments and cause property taxes to go up.”
Lurvey said it’s difficult to separate himself from the other candidates but thinks his experience on the Village Board gives him “a leg up.”
“The village board deals with more things than a school board member or a prosecutor does,” he said.
Lurvey said running for the state Assembly seat “is on my bucket list, something I have always wanted to do. I hope people will embrace a 54-year-old newcomer.”
Lurvey can be reached by email at wlurvey@charter.net.
