Wisconsin Assembly, District 76/Asamblea de Wisconsin, Distrito 76 Choose 1
LWV of Dane County partnered with Madison City Channel to interview candidates in contested primary races who have Madison constituents. You can find the Know Your Candidates interviews on YouTube at these links:Isaia Ben-Ami https://youtu.be/kU5KqYm_93sJuliana Bennett https://youtu.be/X66ukhB3tkkTony Castañeda https://youtu.be/dcCGWkxDkzwDina Nina Martinez-Rutherford https://youtu.be/3R5qNF1kVUsZoe Sullivan https://youtu.be/wKZ7h77b9_UWisconsin 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 WisconsinLa 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.
Biographical Information
Committee
Isaia for Wisconsin
Campaign Email
info@voteisaia.com
Campaign Phone
6086204503
Campaign Mailing Address
252 Dunning St #212
Madison, WI 53704
Madison, WI 53704
Website
http://www.voteisaia.com
Education
BA Political Science- University of Wisconsin Madison
Personal Pronouns
He/Him/His
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
We must invest in a Green New Deal, reform our school funding formula, and protect the rights of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and immigrant communities from attacks by our federal government. These priorities are going to require considerable amounts of coalition-building, advocacy, and negotiation. As a Policy Director, I have worked with stakeholders on developing legislation and helped draft & redraft proposals to build consensus. We need to hit the ground running in 2027. This session, Democrats will certainly have a larger say in our state government. That means this session will not just be about what we say, it will be about what we actually deliver on. And I have the experience necessary to deliver.
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?
We need to increase our housing stock, restore the rights of our tenants, and restrict private equity's influence on the housing market. At the end of the day, good housing policy ensures that everyone has access to dignified housing. By increasing & diversifying our housing stock, we create more options for more families. We can protect tenants by passing a tenant's bill of rights that outlines a right to counsel, prevents needless eviction proceedings, and supports routine maintenance on rental properties. As a Policy Director, I helped draft legislation to ban hedge funds from owning single-family homes. A common-sense policy that will allow our housing stock to remain in the hands of occupants and not corporate landlords.
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?
We need to remove the power of redistricting from the legislature and put it into the hands of an independent, non-partisan commission. Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. This necessitates a change in our constitution to make it a reality. I propose a constitutional amendment that places the redistricting process in the hands of an independent citizens' commission that is outside of legislative control. If this is not done before the next census, we must use the system in place to ensure that proportional representation is allocated, communities of interest are protected, and the maps do not discriminate against any race, color, or membership in a language minority group.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
We must increase special education funding to 90%, and this must be a sum-sufficient provision. Budgets are moral documents, and every education budget must reflect that our students are our priority. I will vote against any budget that does not make special education reimbursement a sum-sufficient provision and does not empower teachers to collectively bargain for better pay, working conditions, and benefits. I will also fight to close the voucher school system so that our public resources stop going to unaccountable private education systems. Lastly, I will find ways to help our teachers stay in our public school system for longer so that districts like MMSD can keep quality talent in our community.
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)?
We need a moratorium on data centers so that we can enact common-sense protections for our environment, health, and community. That means ensuring our energy grid can sustain their development without raising rates or increasing our reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, no project (data center or otherwise) should be given tax credits without a provable and identifiable benefit to the community. We cannot continue to socialize the costs of projects while the profits remain privatized. Regarding CAFO's, we must ensure the DNR has the staff and capacity to enforce the Spills Law that is currently on the books. That way, we can ensure that our environment is protected and we hold polluters accountable.
Biographical Information
Committee
Juliana for the People
Campaign Email
hello@julianabennett.com
Campaign Phone
608-571-3014
Campaign Mailing Address
PO Box 264
Madison, WI 53701
Madison, WI 53701
Website
http://julianabennett.com
Campaign Twitter Handle
@JuForthePeople
Education
Madison West High School, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Personal Pronouns
she/her
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
My top priorities are to lower rent and property taxes; fund our schools; and raise wages. We’ll lower property taxes by 44% and fully fund our schools with the 17¢ Millionaire Tax, AB 1209. We’ll legalize rent control, and use the $2 billion in tax breaks for data centers to build homes instead. We’ll raise our minimum wage to $23/hr and tie it to cost of living.
I’m the only candidate in this race that has drafted and passed original legislation, and the only one that has served on the local, state, and federal level. I got my start fighting for racial justice, co-founding the Madison BIPOC Coalition in 2020. So I’m also ready to hear our community’s needs and organize across our city and Wisconsin.
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?
We need to make it easier to buy a home and stay in your home. Rent, property taxes, and home values have skyrocketed since the pandemic. These rising costs are a direct consequence of Republican leadership that is focused on creating a permanent class of renters.
My plan to address this is threefold: build homes (not just luxury high rises), pass a Tenant Bill of Rights, and pass the 17 Cent Millionaire Tax to fund our schools and lower our property taxes.
I also support strategic investments in deep and permanent affordable housing; legalizing rent control, inclusionary zoning, and a vacancy tax; and, increasing state investment to prevent and end homelessness.
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?
Passing an independent redistricting council during the 2027 legislative session must be a top priority. This independent redistricting council must be tasked with taking fair representation for people of color into account to combat the impacts of the recent Louisiana v Callais Supreme Court decision.
I firmly believe that every person deserves fair representation. That’s why I fought for and won fair municipal maps as a Madison alder when outside forces tried to crack the student voice. That’s why as a leftist and a Black woman that’s enraged by seeing entire communities get erased down south, I am fully committed to delivering fair maps.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
I will do everything within my power to ensure schools are funded, teachers are supported, and all students have the opportunity to thrive. I support AB 1209 which would fully-fund our public schools and reduce property taxes by an average of 44% across the state. It would replace our current K-12 funding model of property taxes with higher income taxes for the highest earners.
I also support increasing special education reimbursement to 90% and releasing the $50 million to improve literacy rates that our Republican Senate has held up. Finally, spending public dollars on private schools does not make sense; I support a responsible transition away from vouchers that subsidize private and charter schools to properly fund public education.
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)?
I will put Wisconsinites first; not billionaires and their data centers. I’ll pass a moratorium of at least one year on building new data centers. Then instead of giving $2 billion in tax breaks to corporations for those centers, we’ll invest in building affordable homes for Wisconsinites. Lastly, I’ll work across the aisle to pass data center regulations to provide local control, require investment in renewables, and ensure a significant public benefit to new projects.
I’m fighting for a 100% carbon free economy with a just transition that prioritizes workers. We must invest in low carbon farming and tax massive corporate farms for their negative carbon impacts, including CAFOs, to fund the renewable energy transition.
Biographical Information
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
Candidate has not yet responded.
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?
Candidate has not yet responded.
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?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
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)?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
Candidate has not yet responded.
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?
Candidate has not yet responded.
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?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
Candidate has not yet responded.
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)?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
Committee
Dina Nina for Wisconsin
Campaign Email
info@votedinanina.com
Campaign Phone
608-709-9491
Campaign Mailing Address
PO Box 1834
Madison, WI 53701
Madison, WI 53701
Website
http://www.votedinanina.com
Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/votedinanina/
Personal Pronouns
She/Her
Campaign Announcement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2NAfEuVqY
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
I am a food service worker, small business owner, and transgender woman who has experienced poverty and housing insecurity firsthand. I don’t just see the struggles our neighbors face – I live them. I am ready to bring that perspective to the State Assembly to make life affordable and protect our rights from this authoritarian federal government. As an alder on the Madison Common Council, I have a record of delivering for our communities. I’ve secured over $60 million in affordable housing investments, expanded mental health services, and passed a moratorium on data centers. In the Assembly, I’ll fight for a living wage, truly affordable housing, lower property taxes, universal healthcare and childcare, and fully funded public schools.
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?
Housing is a human right. As someone who has experienced homelessness and struggles to afford living in the city I love, this fight is personal for me. We don’t just need more housing – we need housing people can actually afford. In Madison, I’ve secured over $60 million for affordable housing development and reformed zoning codes so we can build different types of homes. But we can only do so much when the state ties our hands. In the Assembly, I will pass a Tenant Bill of Rights, reduce property taxes so people aren’t priced out, expand eligibility for affordable housing units, and restore local control by repealing the bans on rent stabilization and inclusionary zoning so that local governments can meet the needs of their residents.
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?
Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. For years, partisan gerrymandering has silenced the voices of marginalized communities and stopped us from delivering the change that working people need. While new legislative maps are a start, we need a permanent fix. Wisconsin must establish an independent redistricting commission that removes politicians from the process entirely. This commission should be transparent and prohibit the use of partisan data. I will push for a constitutional amendment to ensure that no future legislature can ever again rig our maps. We must protect our democracy, enshrine voting rights, and guarantee that every single vote in our state carries equal weight. That’s what I’ll fight for.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
We have a constitutional obligation to fully fund public education. Chronic underfunding by the state has led to larger class sizes, underpaid educators, fewer support staff, and higher property taxes as districts are forced into referendums. In the Assembly, I will end the voucher program to stop private schools from siphoning dollars out of public school classrooms. We must raise special education reimbursement to at least 90%, because no school district should be forced to cut programs in order to provide essential support for students with disabilities. I will also increase the number of mental health professionals in our schools, give our teachers a raise, and fight for universal free school meals. Because that’s what our kids deserve.
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)?
Our natural resources should not be for sale. Whether it’s a data center or a CAFO, corporate projects must never come at the expense of our health or household budgets. As an alder, I sponsored Madison’s first-in-the-state moratorium on data centers, and I would do the same in the Assembly. We need strict guardrails to limit the energy and water consumption of data centers and ensure they do not raise our utility bills. For CAFOs, we need rigorous groundwater monitoring and policies that require polluters to pay for any damage they cause. I’ll fight for local control so that municipalities can protect their residents. We must always center environmental justice and prevent corporations from causing irreparable harm to our communities.
Biographical Information
Committee
Friends of Zoe Sullivan
Campaign Email
FriendsofZoeCampaign@gmail.com
Campaign Phone
(608)608-2674
Campaign Mailing Address
PO Box 23
Madison, WI 53701
Madison, WI 53701
Website
http://www.zoeforwisconsin.com/
Personal Pronouns
she/her
Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues.
My top priorities if elected to office would be ensuring full funding for our K-12 public schools and the university system; replicating Vermont's model for funding statewide childcare; criminal justice reform to move money into socially useful services such as healthcare; advancing efforts to mitigate climate change, expand solar to low income housing, and regulating data centers.
Previously, I worked with the Couillard Solar Foundation to support the expansion of solar power across the state. Prior to that, I reported on Monroe County's climate change task force which dealt with mitigating flood risks. and on Microsoft's Mount Pleasant data center project. These three projects give me insights into both climate problems and solutions.
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?
The state lacks affordable, high-quality housing. I propose using half of the state budget surplus to install renewable energy systems into low-income housing developments. I support efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing for families near schools since an unstable housing situation diminishes children's ability to learn, and Wisconsin has the worst racial disparities in education in the country.
I also advocate for removing some of the restrictions on the $500 million housing fund the legislature created a few years ago since those limitations make it effectively impossible for low-income housing developers to access the funds.
I support efforts to develop medium-density, workforce housing and home ownership opportunities.
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?
I would like to see us adopt a proportional system of representation, but barring that, I would support the creation of an independent redistricting commission as well as adopting ranked-choice voting.
What, if anything, will you do to ensure our schools have the resources to improve outcomes for its students, including those with disabilities?
I would support Representative Madison's proposal that would increase income taxes on Wisconsin's wealthiest. This bill allocates resources to schools using a weighted measure that ensures students with greater needs, such as English as a Second Language instruction or IEPs, receive more funding. I also support a 17% tax on income earned above a million dollars which would go to IEP programs and low income areas.
I support sunsetting the state's educational voucher program.
Childcare is another aspect of education, and I endorse copying Vermont's model where a universal employer payroll tax ensures funding to support care for all children up to age 12. Wisconsin would cost each worker 0.76% of their pay check, a number still below 1%.
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)?
We need to restore funding to the Department of Natural Resources and hire enough inspectors to ensure that CAFOs, data centers and other businesses are complying with regulations - on pain of hefty fines or forfeiting their operating license.
I would like to see the Public Service Commission require that data centers guarantee clean energy use without adding any cost burden to ordinary rate payers.
The state should outlaw municipal and county clerks and staff from signing non-disclosure agreements around projects involving more than $50,000.
I would also support a moratorium on data center development while the state develops the regulatory framework needed to cope with this rapidly changing and financially questionable industry.