Madison protests: Wisconsin governor candidates speak on unrest

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin voters will decide in just five days the primary for Wisconsin governor. FOX6 asked the candidates about the Madison protests, arrests and the encampment that took over an intersection for nearly two weeks.

This week – Madison police cleared the encampment that sprung up after police fatally shot Corey Ruiz.

Candidate statements

What they're saying:

State Rep. Francesca Hong

The frontrunner in the Democratic primary, State Rep. Francesca Hong, posted to X:"I am deeply disappointed that the situation ended with police intervention and arrests rather than the voluntary, community-led resolution that so many of us had worked toward."

"The city must be transparent about what happened this morning, including the circumstances surrounding every arrest and the tactics used by law enforcement. Officials must treat impacted individuals with care and ensure that personal belongings and memorial materials are protected and returned. While the intersection has been reopened, we can not move on from Corey Ruiz’s death. The independent investigation must continue; the community deserves full accountability, and we must follow through on the deeper work of strengthening civilian oversight, expanding non-police crisis response, and ensuring everyone in Madison has access to housing and care," added Hong.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley

"My immediate reaction is making sure that there was nobody put in harm's way, making sure those individuals get whatever attention that they need," Democratic candidate and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley told FOX6.

"All of this sucks. Let's just be honest, right? The tensions are high, but it's important that we allow all the facts to come out. We need to be focusing on how we can lower the tensions, how we could prevent more violence, but more importantly, you know, make sure that all of the facts come out so we can really see what happened, not just during this encampment, but also with Corey's death. And, so, I don't want whatever happened today to overshadow the fact that we need answers and we need them quickly," he added.

State Sen. Kelda Roys

"This is a very sensitive situation and I think it is important for community leaders to proceed with some understanding of that and some respect for the challenges. Obviously the best-case scenario would be for there to be a community decision that we are going to allow this intersection to reopen and residents and businesses to be able to retain and restore access to their homes and businesses. And have a better place where we can have some kind of memorial for Corey's family and loved ones to gather and for those of us who are obviously upset by what's happened to come and protest. And that's the optimal outcome here. And I think that, you know, it's important for everyone who's in a leadership position to be using their voice, not to inflame tensions or to throw more fuel on the fires of divisiveness, but to say we need to work together toward a solution," said State Sen. Kelda Roys.

Joel Brennan

Nonprofit leader and former Evers administration secretary Joel Brennan posted about the Ruiz death and protests on July 22.

"The Madison community deserves a full, transparent, and independent accounting of what happened. No family should have to wait for answers, and no community should have to wonder whether the truth will come out. The Wisconsin DOJ investigation must be allowed to do its work completely and without interference. To the family, to the community gathered on Williamson Street tonight, and to everyone who is hurting right now — you are not alone. Wisconsin is with you," Brennan posted on the day of the fatal shooting.

Andy Manske

Medical services technician Andy Manske is a Republican candidate for governor.

"The people who were arrested, I mean, why were they arrested? The police give them plenty of time to get out. They tell them, hey, we're going to arrest you. They warned them like a bajillion times," Manske said.

"The mayor has heard you at this point, right, and you can keep pressing and pressing, right. And there's more to do behind the scenes. There's going to be meetings. There's going to be way more follow-up. These are where people need to show up at. I mean you can block a street all day and night, Mansek said. "But at the end of the day, we want the body cams in Madison. We want it universally across the whole state and every county for all the police. I think it's very good to rebuilding trust in the police, but push for more at your local meetings, push for more with your representatives."

Rep. Tom Tiffany

"I want to thank law enforcement and city workers for clearing the illegal encampment in Madison. Reopening the streets and restoring order was the right decision," stated Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany.
"Wisconsin needs a governor who will provide steady leadership. We cannot allow lawlessness to disrupt our neighborhoods, businesses, or people’s livelihoods. While I believe action should have been taken sooner, we must continue maintaining order and ensure our streets remain open for families, businesses, and emergency responders," added Tiffany.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

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