Committee
John E Fons Election Committee
Campaign Phone
608-628-1313
Education
BA Religion; Master of Theology
Property taxes affect every aspect of life in community. In crass terms, it's the money. With it you do what you can afford. Without it, you can't do much. Taxes have the power to force people out of their homes, deny them simple pleasures or plan a future of their own. Taxes drive away commerce and make everything more expensive. I advocate property tax reform and with it a devotion to public education that merits the investment made with the full knowledge that unless our children learn and discipline themselves to learning the future holds no promise. Specifically, I would re-introduce Assembly Bill 1 which allocated $300,000,000 for special education, plus tax rebates to all Wisconsin workers and no tax on tips or overtime wages.
Affordable housing is a convenient turn of phrase, but without jobs and commerce to provide income and a financial foundation for workers in Wisconsin, Affordable becomes a word used to disguise the more accurate term which is Subsidized. Where does the money come from? It is ground out of taxpayers and emptied from their wallets. Investors may seek high returns on their real estate developments and promoters may enjoy lucrative commissions, but eventually without the jobs and the companies and the work it takes to sustain an economy Affordable Housing becomes a House of Unaffordable Cards that falls to the ground.
When engineers design roads, when surveyors lay out sections and townships, they do so in a systematic and orderly fashion. Politics turn geography into a crazy quilt and boundaries are drawn and redrawn to satisfy the expedience of power. Districts should be established on geographic lines and benchmarks and remain so despite other factors which change as frequently as the weather.
Children don't ask much. They go to school to learn. They go to be guided and given the tools they need to go into life reasonably prepared. I have attended local school board meetings where discussion lasted over an hour on the subject of student cell phones and less than thirty minutes on a budget involving hundreds of millions of dollars. I have had the privilege of knowing international students who simultaneously carry two full course loads, one here and one in their country of origin, students who study sixteen hours a day, students who enjoy international careers because they are fluent in two or more languages and none of them require deluxe school accommodations. They require inspiration and high ideals.
If you don't want Data Centers or Commercial Feed Lots nearby just say so. The only sure way to keep things nice and tidy or preserve the status quo or the environment is to ban these developments, forbid their placement. If that proves unacceptable, then apply all the standards, tests, inspections and procedures necessary to assure people a safe glass of drinking water, a good supply of brats for the family picnic or plenty of storage for their cell phones, smart phones and personal computers. If other people in other places accept these conditions and we expect to use their infrastructure, our prices will predictably increase and we will have no leverage whatsoever against whatever prices they impose.
Committee
Friends of Lisa Subeck
Education
University of Wisconsin Madison
Personal Pronouns
She, her
It has been an honor to serve as your State Representative, and I remain committed to building a Wisconsin where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
My priorities for the coming term are making Wisconsin more affordable for working families, expanding access to quality health care, strengthening public education, protecting reproductive freedom, supporting our workforce, and ensuring that state government is responsive and accountable to the people it serves. Families across Wisconsin continue to face rising costs for health care, prescription drugs, housing, child care, and everyday necessities. I will continue working to lower those costs while investing in the services and opportunities that help families succeed.
Housing affordability is one of the most significant challenges facing Wisconsin. Working families struggle to buy their first home or find affordable rental housing, while many seniors face rising property taxes and limited options when looking to downsize. Addressing this crisis requires increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing through tools such as WHEDA financing, housing tax credits, and support for first-time homebuyers. We should also reduce unnecessary barriers to housing development while protecting consumers and our environment. Everyone deserves access to a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.
I strongly support adopting a nonpartisan redistricting process because it is a matter of basic fairness and fundamental to a healthy democracy. Under our current system, the party in power can draw legislative maps to protect its own interests and limit meaningful competition, creating an obvious conflict of interest and reducing voters' choices.
Wisconsinites deserve a system where voters choose their elected officials, not the other way around. That is why I have consistently supported nonpartisan redistricting reforms, including the creation of an independent commission to draw legislative maps. Fair maps ensure that elected officials are accountable to the people they represent and that every voter has an equal voice in our democracy.
Public education is a constitutional right guaranteed to every child in Wisconsin. Every student deserves access to a high-quality education, regardless of their ZIP code. That means adequately funding our public schools, fixing our outdated school funding formula, increasing special education reimbursement, and supporting the teachers and staff who make our schools successful.
We must also ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly. I support freezing the expansion of the voucher program and increasing accountability for schools receiving public funds. Our priority should be investing in the public schools that educate the vast majority of Wisconsin students and strengthen our communities.
As a member of the Great Lakes Legislative Caucus, I have worked on multi-state efforts to reduce nutrient pollution in our lakes and remove lead from drinking water. I have fought to address PFAS contamination, protect funding for our state parks, and preserve the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. As Ranking Democrat on the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee, I have supported clean energy initiatives and expanding EV charging infrastructure. This session, I cosponsored legislation to regulate data centers and address their impacts on energy and water resources. I have also sponsored legislation to strengthen oversight of CAFOs and protect Wisconsin's drinking water.
