Change Address

VOTE411 Voter Guide

Wisconsin Assembly, District 51/Asamblea de Wisconsin, Distrito 51

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.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon. To rank a candidate, click the "rank" button.

Ranked Candidates

{_getRcvHelpLabel()}

All Candidates

  • Candidate picture

    Ben Gruber
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Todd Novak
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    Nathan Tataje
    (ASP)

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)?

Rank this Candidate
Rank this Candidate
Committee Friends of Ben Gruber
Campaign Email ben@ben-gruber.com
Campaign Phone 6085757786
Campaign Mailing Address PO Box 143
Arena, WI 53503
Website http://www.ben-gruber.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BenGruberforAssembly
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/bengruberforassembly/
Personal Pronouns He/Him
I look forward to working to fully fund public schools and our vital community services. In my hometown, we closed our school in 2019, which led to closing our village police department in 2024. I’ve worked as a firefighter, law enforcement officer and in EMS, and I see the effects of the state’s neglect on the basic functions of local government. I will put the needs of our neighbors and our communities first, as I have my entire adult life. I also believe we need to fix healthcare, so that small businesses and farms have a reliable and affordable option for healthcare in order to be able to focus on building a successful business without the fear of going bankrupt due to healthcare costs.
Housing has shifted from a basic utility for people to another commodity in which the ultra-wealthy and private equity are able to exploit at the cost of working people across Wisconsin. I will support policies that promote local ownership and control of housing, not private equity. Additionally, in rural Wisconsin, it has become unprofitable for developers to build housing and I will support public investment in building rural housing projects that will help support rural economies.
Gerrymandering must be addressed at the Federal level. Voters should choose their representatives, politicians should not choose their voters. I support Wisconsin joining a nation-wide independent redistricting compact that returns the political power to the voters.
I would move to immediately make a plan to end private school vouchers and return that funding to our public schools. I would work to build a robust school funding model that recognizes access to great public education is a right for every student in Wisconsin, and that would include sum-certain special education funding. Fixing the public school funding crisis is my day-one priority.
We need our government to effectively govern by developing, and enforcing, regulations that protect us from corporate exploitation while promoting good jobs that provide long-term positive community impacts. There needs to be community benefit, not just community cost and corporate profit, to any development project. There must be accountability for corporations who pollute our environment and poison our water for profit.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Powered by League of Women Voters Education Fund