As someone who was born in the Fox Valley and graduated from Hortonville High School, it’s been my pleasure to serve the 56th Assembly District in the Wisconsin Legislature. I’d like to share what we’ve been doing since the new legislative session began on January 6th and what my priorities are going forward.
Right out of the gate the Legislature went to the floor and passed a measure that would enshrine our photo ID requirement for voting in the Wisconsin constitution. Voter ID has served our state well. A recent Pew Research Center Poll shows 81% of Americans favor voter ID. We’ve had it in our statutes for more than 10 years and it works well.
My Democrat colleagues argue requiring voter ID disenfranchises the poor and minorities. That’s not true. A 2024 Gallop Poll found that 80% of people of color support “requiring all voters to provide photo identification at their voting place in order to vote.” No one can dispute that having a photo ID in our society is a benefit, and because of our voter ID law state IDs are now free, which they were not before.
This measure to enshrine our voter ID in our constitution will now go to you, the voters, on the April 2025 ballot. Please vote yes.
Next, during my time in the State Assembly I’ve been a champion of free speech, especially on our college campuses. In late 2022, a free speech survey of roughly 10,500 students from 13 UW campuses was conducted. As the Chairperson of the Assembly’s Colleges and Universities Committee the results troubled me. Almost 70% of right-leaning students said they stayed silent because they feared reprisal from their classmates or instructors. That’s wrong. College campuses should be bastions of free thought, free expression and intellectual diversity. This session my committee will hear and pass a bill that ensures the free expression of diverse thoughts on UW college campuses.
On the topic of higher education, I also want to work to bring costs down and make college more affordable for students. And when I say bringing costs down for students, I don’t mean shifting the costs to others by asking someone else (i.e. the taxpayers) to pay for it. I mean truly bringing the cost down by making the UW System more efficient.
A recent study by the MacIver Institute shows there are way too many administrators in the UW System. This is called “administrative bloat.” Too many administrators means tuition money is not going into the classroom; it’s going toward often unnecessary – or corrupt – administrators. Indeed, just this week the University of Wisconsin moved its chief DEI officer to another position due to “concerns about financial operations and fiscal judgments” in the division he ran. I plan to hold hearings on administrative bloat and work to reduce the actual costs of higher education.
Finally, last session I introduced a constitutional amendment that would truly ensure fairness in hiring by all governmental entities in the State of Wisconsin, including the university system. Under our laws, this amendment has to be passed by two consecutive legislatures. I am confident it will be passed a second time this legislative session and will then go to you, the voters, on an upcoming election ballot. Please vote yes on this measure as well. This amendment will bring back true merit-based fairness in public employment, education, contracting and administration.
As always, I am here to serve you. If you ever have a question or concerns, please feel free to call my office at 608-237-9516 or email me at [email protected].
