State Rep. Scott Krug was able to knock off a loud and long-standing Democrat lawmaker, in part, by making a couple of major campaign pledges in 2010.

First, the Nekoosa Republican vowed "not to collect one cent of (legislative) per diem money ever" if elected. Per diems are the $88 daily payments that legislators receive for lodging, food and other expenses while working in Madison.

But records show that Krug, citing the success of Act 10, quietly reversed course last year, finishing in the top 20 in the state Assembly by collecting $10,560 in per-diem payments for 120 days of work in Madison. That comes on top of his salary of $49,943 per year.

Now another promise is falling by the wayside.

Late in the 2010 general election, Krug — who survived a tough GOP primary — decided to play the term-limit card. Two terms and that would be it.

"I'm for real," Krug said during a videotaped League of Women Votersof the Wisconsin Rapids Area forumon Oct. 20, 2010. "My kids are 11, 10, 9, 8, 7. If I went there for more than four years, they'd probably disown me.

"So even if I don't favor term limits," he continued, "I'm putting a term limit on myself right now for all the audience out there listening. Four years — done. Whoever else wants to come along, more than fine."

But Krug is not done. After narrowly winning a second term in 2012, he's back again this year, gearing up to run for his fifth and six years in the Legislature.

What happened now? Kids change their minds? Or was it Act 10 once again?

None of the above.

Krug suggested last week that he had become too valuable to the people of his district to walk away now.

"After serving in the Legislature for four years, I've learned that experience matters," Krug said in an email.

"In those four years, I've developed the experience needed to bring more jobs to central Wisconsin. Given the economic challenges families in my area face, I hope they will allow me to use that experience to continue working for them."

If you roll back the clock, you will hear Krug pooh-poohing his former opponent's suggestions that experience and institutional knowledge count for something.

But now that he's landed in Madison, Krug sees things differently.

Scott Spector, executive director of the liberal group Wisconsin Progress, called Krug's change of direction "shocking," especially given that he offered no qualifications and the remarks are on YouTube.

"But I guess that's what we can expect from struggling Scott Krug, a candidate who will say anything to get a vote," Spector said.

And it appears if Krug wins this fall, he will be back to run again in 2016.

That's because Assembly Speaker Robin Vos counseled fellow GOP lawmakers who are considering retirement to do it this year, a midterm election in which Democrats have historically not performed as well. Either leave now, Vos suggested, or wait until 2018.

"Knowing that Governor (Scott) Walker has strong support this year, the speaker did ask caucus members that if they were thinking of retiring to do so now," Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said.

Krug, no doubt, will gladly stick around.

Blame game

People have blamed Act 10 — the 2011 state law ending collective bargaining for many public workers — for a lot of things.

But here's a new one.

State Rep. La Tonya Johnson said last week that her bankruptcy filing is due in part to Walker's signature piece of legislation.

"It had a lot to do with it," the Milwaukee Democrat said Friday.

Records show Johnson filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in December, listing assets of $153,479 and liabilities of nearly $188,000. Under this type of bankruptcy, the debtor keeps her property while agreeing to pay back debts over a certain period

Johnson, 41, listed just under $62,000 in outstanding student loans, nearly $44,000 in unpaid state and federal taxes and a variety of medical expenses. Her financial troubles were first reported last week by the conservative website Media Trackers.

On Friday, Johnson said she ran an in-home day care center, Anointed Childcare Services, for about a decade. She was the local union chief for Milwaukee child care providers and an executive committee member for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 48.

As a result of Act 10, however, Johnson said the day care union was disbanded.

On top of that, she said, the state went from a policy of paying licensed child care providers based on the number of children enrolled at the center to one of paying only when the children actually attended.

"When Act 10 came through and busted our union — because the child care union was repealed — it affected our pay in the worst way," she said. "Before Act 10, things were bearable, and I could afford to pay my bills."

In 2012, she defeated three other Democrats and one independent candidate to fill an open Assembly seat. She said she lacked health insurance and reported making only about $13,000 in 2012. She closed the day care a little more than a month before winning the general election.

As a member of the Assembly, Johnson now is being paid $49,943 a year while also receiving state-paid health insurance and tax-free expenses.

Despite her financial troubles, Johnson was able to lend her campaign $1,625 in 2012. She said she could do this because she was so far behind on her mortgage that her lender wasn't accepting payments.

By filing for bankruptcy, the single mother kept her house on the city's west side. She also disputed some of the numbers in her bankruptcy filing, saying she owes only about $12,000 in unpaid taxes. She said she will be filing an amendment soon.

Johnson said her inability to manage her own finances shouldn't preclude her from spending the public's taxes as a member of the Legislature. She said her troubles, in fact, are not unusual.

"This is a district that's riddled with financial struggles," she said. "As a single mother, the simple fact that I owned a house, that I owned a business for 10 years, I don't think there's anything embarrassing or wrong with the fact that I had a financial hardship."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.