Democratic candidates react to GAB verifying recall signatures

WISCONSIN (WFRV) - The Government Accountability Board confirmed Thursday they have enough signatures for a recall of Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.

Local 5 spoke with two the democratic challengers in the governor's race, who say the verification of more than 900,000 signatures comes as no surprise.

Kathleen Falk told voters at a Green Bay candidate forum that they deserve a better leader. The Dane County Executive threw her hat in the recall race back in January, and said the GAB's findings send a clear message.

"It means we're going to have this recall election," Falk said. "It's now in just a couple of months. People are ready to vote. This historic number of signatures shows that people want a change."

State Senator Kathleen Vinehout said she's thrilled the recall race is moving forward. The Monroe County democrat announced her candidacy last month, and said she can get Wisconsin back on track.

"We're ready to begin the campaign," Vinehout said. "The horse is at the starting gate and I can't wait to get out in front."

After scanning the hundreds of thousands of recall petitions, the GAB only deemed just over 30,000 signatures invalid. Both candidates believe that's due in large part to the efforts of the volunteers.

"I know a lot of people put a lot of effort into making sure those signatures were valid," said Vinehout.

"I saw all the volunteers get trained," added Falk. "They were so careful because there's so much at stake here and they were careful and followed the rules."

Even though he has yet to announce whether he will run for governor, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was originally scheduled to appear at the forum, but had to cancel. Barrett said he'll make his decision before Tuesday's mayoral election.