Campaign Phone #
(920)334-1390
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Campaign Phone #
(920)946-3767
Campaign Phone
4143124227
Education
Ph.D. in Educational Administration, Marquette University, 1995 M.A. in Educational Administration, University of Houston, 1987 B.A. in Psychology (minor: Business), Michigan State University, 1981 B.A. in Multidisciplinary Social Science Secondary Education, Michigan State University, 1981
Personal Pronouns
He/Him/His
The bottom line for anything to get done in the Legislature is to find a way to identify and to work tirelessly to find common ground for our common good. I understand that will be difficult. However, in my twenty years as superintendent of the Sheboygan Area School District, I did just that: helping to create a “we mentality” among all staff. In fact, Forbes magazine just ranked the SASD as the 35th best workplace in Wisconsin, acknowledging the power of the “we mentality" to create an excellent workplace.
Other priorities will include a defense of, and expanded rights for women to make their own health care decisions. I support Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s current lawsuit before the WI Supreme Court to find a constitutional right to an abortion.
Because of my background, I will fight for expanded funding for our public schools and reduced funding for voucher schools. Residents in the 26th Assembly pay more than $6 million in their tax dollars for private school vouchers. We simply cannot afford to fund two school systems!
Environmental issues are complex, but demand full attention from the Legislature. The time is long past to stop playing politics with Wisconsinites’ access to clean water and clean air. We also need to accept Medicaid expansion from the federal government now.
I will have much to learn in my first term, but my extensive experience in working with others will serve our district well.
The city of Sheboygan (all within the 26th Assembly District) has been a leader in identifying and addressing a serious lack of housing that impedes our community’s economic well-being and family prosperity. A recently commissioned housing study found that there is a realistic need for five thousand new housing units—both rental and single-family homes—in the coming years.
I will support all the municipalities in our county that work to solve this complex problem. My two years as executive director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation after my retirement from the school district educated me well on the relationship of business expansion, worker recruitment, strong schools and community well-being. And I am proud of the house building project that was started more than twenty-five years ago in the SASD that pairs our students with skilled construction workers to spend the school year designing and building wonderful single-family houses. It has been a tremendous success, and one that I am proud of. It is just another example of how residents in our community can work together for the common good.
I believe that politicians should not be choosing their voters. Voters should be the ones choosing their elected officials. In 2011 the city of Sheboygan was cut in half and placed into two gerrymandered district maps (District 26 and District 27) to ensure that Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly would be in the majority in the Legislature.
When Governor Evers was elected in 2018 he made a promise to fight for fair maps that are representative of ALL Wisconsinites. Thankfully in February of 2024 Governor Evers signed fair maps – the maps he submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court – into law. The city of Sheboygan along with the Town of Wilson and most of the Town of Sheboygan are together again in District 26. On November 5th Wisconsin voters will be given an opportunity to elect accountable, representative, and balanced legislature for the first time since 2011.
I believe that Wisconsin needs a permanent, independent, nonpartisan redistricting process. No political party should be put in charge of creating their own special gerrymandered maps that allow them to choose their own voters. We need to learn more about the best practices utilized by other states and then put forth legislation to ensure that Wisconsin has an independent, nonpartisan redistricting process that fully supports the will of all Wisconsin voters.
Wisconsin’s wonderful natural resources—clean air, clean water—need ongoing support and protection. For more than a decade, our legislature has failed to protect our water supplies from chemicals like PFAS contamination, failed to act on clean energy, and failed to fund important conservation projects.
The Legislature must allow the state’s administrative agencies, including the DNR, to work sensibly and powerfully to address environmental issues. The political gamesmanship in the past four or more years has seriously hampered our ability to deal with pressing issues, particularly water contamination.
The entire 26th Assembly District borders Lake Michigan. One of my top priorities is protecting this incredible body of water and all our natural resources.
Public schools are the backbone of our society. We must change Wisconsin’s school funding formula to ensure schools have the resources to educate our kids. This means ALL of our kids including those with disabilities.
Our wonderful public K-12 schools receive less money from the Republican legislature than they did a decade ago. Wisconsin’s spending for our students used to rank 11th in the nation. In 2024, we are ranked 23rd. Our kids deserve better, and they should go to schools that have the resources they need to succeed.
Local taxpayers are also spending millions of dollars on private school vouchers. Those vouchers now provide higher levels of spending per student than public schools. We cannot afford two school systems. As former superintendent of the Sheboygan Area School District, I will fight for adequate public school funding for our students.
