Brett Hulsey PHOTO:WRN
A state lawmaker admits he’s been involved in what some consider to be strange circumstances over the past year, but he insists that, in some ways, he’s a victim. In an interview with WIBA radio, Representative Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) discussed a number of incidents, including bringing a box-cutter to the Capitol to – he said – teach an aide self-defense.
Hulsey said that was in response to the Capitol Police Chief saying female workers should punch a protester if they felt threatened. “I’m trained karate, judo and aikido, and I know how to take a knife away from somebody” said Hulsey. He said he had “set up the time, we reserved a room,” for self-defense training, “and then the chief got nervous.” Hulsey said he was sorry that a staff person – who no longer works for him – did not feel comfortable. “I did not feel comfortable working in a place where the chief of police tells people to go punch citizens, especially without training.” Hulsey said he’s undergoing counseling.
AUDIO: Brett Hulsey (:50)
Hulsey also discussed being given a citation a year ago for an incident involving a young boy at a Madison city beach. Hulsey has claimed the citation was politically motivated because the boy was the grandson of an aide to Madison’s mayor.
Hulsey has been in the news recently, with reports that he is considering a run for governor, and had spent $1,200 and $89.39 from his campaign fund on a red convertible and a triathlon registration fee. And he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Mary Burke, a Madison school board member and former state official who’s also considering a run for governor, has the “personality of a turnip.”