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Wisconsin Assembly, District 38/Asamblea de Wisconsin, Distrito 38

Wisconsin Legislative BranchWisconsin’s legislature makes state laws. The legislature has two houses: the Wisconsin Senate and the Wisconsin Assembly. Proposed laws (bills) can originate from either the state senate or assembly. Both houses must approve the bill before it is passed on to the governor for signature or veto. The legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote in each house. The legislature controls the spending of state funds through appropriation.Wisconsin AssemblyThe Wisconsin Assembly has ninety-nine representatives. Voters elect representatives to represent their assembly district for a two-year term. There is no term limit.__________Poder Legislativo de Wisconsin La legislatura de Wisconsin produce las leyes estatales. La legislatura consta de dos cámaras: el Senado de Wisconsin y la Asamblea de Wisconsin. Las propuestas de ley pueden originarse tanto en el Senado estatal como en la Asamblea. Ambas cámaras deben aprobar el proyecto de ley antes de transmitirla al gobernador para su firma o veto. La legislatura puede anular un veto con un voto mayoritario de dos tercios en cada cámara. La legislatura controla el gasto de los fondos estatales a través de las leyes de asignación. Asamblea de WisconsinLa Asamblea de Wisconsin tiene noventa y nueve representantes. Los votantes eligen representantes para representar a su asamblea de distrito por un término de dos años. No hay límite de términos.Nota: Las respuestas de los candidatos que aparecen en español se tradujeron de las respuestas originales de los candidatos en inglés.

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    William Penterman
    (Rep)

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    Terri Wenkman
    (Dem)

Biographical Information

Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.

What do you see as the most pressing housing-related issue in Wisconsin, and what policies, if any, would you support to address the issue?

What redistricting process, if any, do you believe the legislature should put in place before the next national census to ensure fair representation for voters?

What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?

What guardrails, if any, would you support to protect our environment, health, property values, and household budgets from large projects such as hyperscale data centers and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)?

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Committee Terri Wenkman For WI Assembly District 38
Campaign Email wenkmant@gmail.com
Campaign Phone 9207282264
Campaign Mailing Address PO Box 148
Jefferson, WI 53549
Website http://www.voteterriwenkman.com
Facebook http://facebook.com/voteterriwenkman
Instagram http://instagram.com/voteterriwenkman
Education Bachelor of Science- University of Minnesota, Associates Degree Nursing- Cardinal Stritch, Bachelor of Science in Nursing- Viterbo University
Personal Pronouns She/Her
My priorities are Strong Public Schools, Access to Affordable Health Care, and Safe and Healthy Communities, with proactive AI legislation as a fourth. As a 12-year Jefferson School Board member I have governed budgets and fought for students firsthand. As a Registered Nurse with 20 years of experience I have watched families go without care and navigate a system that fails them. I bring a clinician's lens to health policy most legislators lack. I have lived in this district over 40 years. I know these roads, schools, and families. I am not a career politician. I am an everyday working Wisconsinite who has spent her life showing up for people who needed a strong advocate.
Housing affordability is a crisis even in rural Wisconsin. Remote work has driven up property values and rents in communities that historically offered affordable options. When the average age of a first time homeowner approaches 37 or 38 years old, something is broken. Young adults should not reach middle age before owning a single asset. I support state investment in affordable workforce housing, modernizing zoning codes, and incentive programs that make new construction viable for working families. Fixing Wisconsin's school funding formula would also reduce the property tax burden on working and middle class homeowners.
Wisconsin deserves fair maps drawn by an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission. Neither party should gerrymander. Fair representation comes from earned trust and proven leadership, not manipulated maps. I am a progressive Democrat running in a heavily Republican district. There are places Republicans will hold the majority and that is democracy. What matters is that candidates show up, knock doors, and have real conversations. Voters agree on far more than our politics suggest. Representation should be earned, not engineered.
Public schools are required by law to educate every student, including those with disabilities and unique learning needs. That commitment deserves to be fully funded. I will fight to rebuild Wisconsin's outdated 1993 funding formula with automatic inflationary increases, raise special education reimbursement to 100%, and stop the expansion of a voucher program that siphons taxpayer dollars to private schools that do not share the same legal obligations. As a 12-year school board member and Registered Nurse, I have seen firsthand what underfunding does to classrooms and to children with the highest needs. Every child deserves the opportunity to discover their strengths and be challenged to grow, regardless of zip code, income, or ability.
Large scale projects like hyperscale data centers and CAFOs carry serious risks to our water, land, and community character that demand strong guardrails. Not all farms are the same. Small family farms operating on razor thin margins deserve support and reasonable regulation to stay viable. CAFOs are a different scale entirely and should be held to a proportionally higher standard, particularly around agricultural runoff threatening rural drinking water and watersheds. I support mandatory public hearings before large project approvals, enforceable community benefit agreements, and holding corporations accountable for environmental cleanup. Data centers should pay full energy and water costs and meet clean energy standards.
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