Foxconn Winners Give Big to Walker

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou and Governor Scott Walker signing a memorandum of understanding. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

Owners and employees from six of eight companies chosen by Foxconn to construct a $14 million building at its future Racine County manufacturing plant contributed nearly $180,000 to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns.

Foxconn announced the winning bids on Tuesday. The project is a 120,000-square-foot, multi-purpose building that will be used as office space for the construction companies chosen to build the company’s $10 billion liquid-crystal display manufacturing plant. The building will later be used for research and development activities.

The Walker administration and local governments together awarded Foxconn $4.5 billion in tax breaks, grants, worker training, highway improvements, and other giveaways to locate the plant in Wisconsin.

The companies and their employee contributions between January 2010 and December 2017 to the governor are:

Pieper Electric, of New Berlin, about $128,330

Spancrete, Inc., of Waukesha, $33,410

Boldt Co., of Appleton, $16,250

Total Mechanical, of Pewaukee, $700

Otis Elevator Co., of Milwaukee, $400

Superior Masonry Builders, of Butler, about $310

The top individual contributors from these companies to Walker were:

Richard Pieper, of Mequon, board chairman of Pieper Electric, $127,760

John Nagy, of Hartland, a Spancrete sales executive, and his wife, Carol, $17,500

Thomas Boldt, of Appleton, owner of Boldt Co., $9,250