Raising Their Voices

pro-Confluence group opens office, calls for debate

Tom Giffey, photos by Nick Meyer |

James Hanke, chairman of Voices for Growth, speaks at a pro-Confluence press conference Feb. 28.
James Hanke, chairman of Voices for Growth, speaks at a pro-Confluence press conference Feb. 28.

Under the projected image of a clock counting down the days until the April 1 election, a group created to rally support for the Confluence Project opened a campaign office in downtown Eau Claire Friday. Voices for Growth, a nonpartisan referendum action committee, will use the office, 306 S. Barstow St., as a base of operations for its efforts to urge residents to vote against a city referendum and in favor of a county one pertaining to the proposed development, which would include a performing arts center and a multiuse commercial/residential building.
“It gives us a great opportunity to be more engaged civically than we ever were before,” James Hanke, chairman of Voices for Growth, said of the office and the campaign as a whole. The office, located across the street from the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, will serve as a hub for campaign volunteers, the distribution of literature and yard signs, and other elements of the campaign. Efforts also extend online at voicesforgrowth.org.

“We did not ask for this referendum,” Hanke said. “We went to the polls and elected people to represent us, and they did.” Hanke noted that both the Eau Claire City Council and the Eau Claire County Board voted overwhelmingly to pledge funding toward the public-private project. However, County Board members made their $3.5 million pledge contingent on voter approval, while the City Council’s $5 million pledge could be blocked if a separate referendum on performing arts projects passes. (For the full text of both referendum questions, see page 13.)

In recent weeks critics of the Confluence Project have launched their own campaign effort, dubbed Voters with Facts, and a website, ConfluenceReferndum.com. At the press conference, Hanke urged Confluence opponents to agree to take part in a public forum at which voters would be able to hear arguments from both sides.

The Confluence Project has been proposed by a mix of public- and private-sector partners, namely the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council, UW-Eau Claire, and Commonweal Development. “At UW-Eau Claire, we see this project as an opportunity … mostly rooted in collaboration,” said Jake Wrasse, a UWEC student senator and a member of Voices for Growth. Voices for Growth is taking steps to engage students in the issue: On Monday, March 10, at 3pm, Grammy-winning musician (and Blugold alum) Justin Vernon will take part in a pro-Confluence rally at the Davies Center on campus.