To the editor,

He's got some audacity.

In June, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue filed a tax warrant against State Sen. Robert Stafsholt ordering St. Croix County to sell enough of his property to satisfy $40,978 in delinquent income taxes, plus interest and penalties. The bill totaled $78,424 by the time he paid up in August.

It wasn’t the first time Stafsholt has been in financial trouble.

In 2011, his mortgage holder filed a lawsuit to foreclose on his home. Stafsholt and his lawyers vigorously battled the foreclosure in a case that dragged on until March 2019. It involved a plethora of court filings, hearings, a three-day court trial and an appeal to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Stafsholt must have racked up a mountain of attorneys’ fees.

So I was amazed to read a statement from the senator supporting an audit of the DNR Fish and Wildlife Account, ordered by the Republican-controlled Joint Legislative Audit Committee. They’re wondering why there isn’t enough money to support hunting and fishing projects.

I can help them out. Hunting and fishing license fees for state residents, the main source of income for the account, haven’t increased in 19 years and license sales are in decline. To make matters worse, Republicans have been working to dismantle the DNR for the benefit of polluters. State tax funding for the department has dropped from $334 million in the 1995-97 budget to $197.5 million for 2021-23.

Here’s what I’d like to know: How did Stafsholt pile up $78,424 in tax debt? Who paid his attorney bills? Why did the Sierra Club give him a zero rating? Whose side is he on in the effort to force concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on communities in western Wisconsin?

Paul Hambleton, Stafsholt's opponent in the Nov. 5 election, better reflects the values of citizens of the 10th District.

Randy Hanson

Hudson