Richard Ausman makes bid for 7th Congressional District

Richard “Dick” Ausman’s connection to the Medford area goes back decades to riding along with his stepfather and Medford firefighters to pick up a new fire truck in Iowa. Ausman was a young boy at the time and remembers the fog and of the jokes told on the trip. Ausman’s stepfather was a salesman who sold emergency equipment in this area.

Now, decades later, Ausman is looking for Taylor County’s support as he seeks to retire incumbent Rep. Tom Tiffany. Ausman stopped at The Star News recently to talk about his campaign for the Wisconsin 7th Congressional District seat. “Tiffany is hurting people,” Ausman said criticizing the incumbent’s opposition to price caps for insulin.

“Lowering the cost of insulin for diabetes is a huge issue in our district,” he said.

Ausman said residents are telling him about spending $3,200 per month in out of pocket costs on insulin and how some are even cutting their doses because they say they can’t afford their medicine. He said he has spoken to a nurse in Forest County who says there is medicine she should be prescribing for patients but doesn’t because they can’t afford to pay for it.

“How broken is the medical system when that happens,” he said.

Ausman said medical care and costs are a major concern of many in the 7th Congressional district, noting that 58% of all debt is medical debt.

“This is something huge that hangs over people’s heads,” Ausman said.

Ausman also went on the attack against Tiffany’s opposition to the federal Honor Our Pact Act which greatly expanded veterans benefits. He said while it includes those who were exposed to chemicals from burn pits while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, it includes those made ill from Agent Orange in Vietnam and radiation during the Korean War era.

“Our veterans have given everything for us,” Ausman said, criticizing Tiffany for voting against these medical needs.

“I have the utmost respect for the folks who have served this country,” Ausman said.

Ausman continued his criticism of Tiffany’s record citing Tiffany’s opposition to the formula funding bill which would have provided additional support to those on assistance programs to purchase infant formula.

Ausman also criticized what he says is Tiffany wanting to privatize Social Security. “I have not met one Republican who is in favor of privatizing Social Security,” he said.

Beyond pointing out where he says Tiffany is acting against the interests of his constituents, Ausman said what he would do better if elected to Congress.

“Social Security can be solved in one day,” Ausman said, explaining that under current rules when people reach $147,000 in income they stop having to pay into Social Security. “If you eliminate the cap it is immediately solved,” he said.

Ausman talked about his stand on gun control saying that he would not ban assault rifles, but would support limiting the amount of bullets that can be in a clip. He said he would support a permitting process for those feeling the need to purchase a larger clip.

He also supports universal background checks for gun purchases and of Red Flag laws which would allow family members or law enforcement to go before a judge to determine if someone suspected of being a danger to themselves and others. “When someone is no longer a danger, they will get their guns back,” he said.

Ausman said he supports women’s right to make reproductive health decisions. “We were established as a secular country,” he said, noting that while the founding fathers were faith-based they also believed that everybody has the ability to worship when, where and how they choose.

On the abortion issue, Ausman said there is general agreement in terms of viability and if a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. He said this common ground takes the heat out of arguments.

Ausman also stated his support of ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. “It offends me that women under the constitution are considered lesser citizens than a guy,” he said.

Ausman also pledged that if elected he would serve for 10 years. He said that by the time he is in his 70s he would be able to get ERA ratified as a constitutional amendment. “I will know I have done something good with my time,” he said.

In a similar vein he said he feels there needs to be term limits and a change in voting cycles for Congress. He said there should be a 12-year limit for members of Congress and that there be a move for Representatives to need to run for reelection every four years rather than every two years. “Every two years doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Ausman said his values come from his mother and small-town rural upbringing. He said his father died when he was seven and his mother worked multiple jobs in addition to getting food assistance from the county to support their family. “She defined who I am,” Ausman said, noting his mother’s lesson of don’t sit and complain, but do something to help your situation.

Ausman was born and raised near Merrill. He currently lives in Lac du Flambeau in Vilas County. “I know the importance of family, friends, neighbors, and faith, the importance of having some space to plant a garden, having access to a favorite fishing hole and to your deer stand, or to just spend some quiet time in nature,” he said.

After high school in Merrill, he attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he earned a degree in Business Administration. He also had the privilege of playing the bass drum in the Wisconsin Marching Band and serving on the band staff. He is the only person you will ever meet that has done complete somersaults strapped to a bass drum.

In his career, Ausman has been a leading executive in one of the world’s largest publishing companies and has also owned, operated, and been a delivery driver, circulation manager, business manager and publisher in smaller publishing companies. As the former publisher he said he realizes the importance of listening to others and of crystal-clear communication.

Ausman said he grew up in a staunch Republican family.

“Melvin Laird represented our district as a Republican for years and I received the Melvin Laird Youth Leadership Award while in high school,” he said. “I met Melvin Laird and Henry Kissinger at the youth conference at UW– Stevens Point. The event made a lasting impression on me, they were smart and dedicated people.”

Ausman also noted his father’s first cousin, LaVerne Ausman, was a two-term Republican assemblyman from Elk Mound who later served as the Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture and as the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Administration Bureau under President George H. W. Bush.

“He was so well respected that he was asked to continue his service by President Bill Clinton. At a family reunion a few years ago I asked him what he thought of the current situation, and with his typical smile, he said 2016 was the first time in his life he didn’t vote Republican for president,” Ausman said.

“I am now a Democrat because the moderate middleof- the-road GOP that I grew up with no longer exists,” Ausman said. “Folks like me who were raised with a sense of fairness for all and are middle-of-the-road moderates are no longer welcome in the Republican Party. But I have found a new home in the Democratic Party which is aligned with my personal beliefs and values.”