Campaign Phone #
6082061818
Campaign Phone
6082061818
Education
BA, Tougaloo College; BS, magna cum laude, Mount Senario College; Master of Science & Management, Cardinal Stritch University; Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development (BILLD) Fellow
Personal Pronouns
she/her/hers
Candidate Video Interview
It is an honor to serve my communities and the people I represent in the State Legislature. We have a unique opportunity now in Wisconsin with the new, fair maps to change the direction of our State. We need experienced, strong leaders to move forward on the values we share. That is the leadership I bring and will continue to bring. And that’s why Governor Tony Evers and Planned Parenthood have endorsed me. Over my three terms in the Assembly, I have focused on the priorities of the people I serve and have been a strong, effective voice in standing up for what is right. I will continue to defend reproductive freedom and access to abortion, work tirelessly to reform Wisconsin’s criminal justice system, support our public schools, create economic opportunity and equity, protect our clean air and water, and expand access to health care.
Dane County is Wisconsin’s fastest growing County. Between 2009 and 2017, Dane added 24,000 households. Since the 2020 census, we have added almost 14,000 new residents. The growth has exacerbated housing challenges in the communities I will serve including areas in Madison and McFarland, Town of Blooming Grove, and the City of Monona. I supported the bi-partisan housing bills Governor Evers signed into law. In addition to increasing the amount of housing available, we must focus on disparities. African Americans disproportionately face housing-related hardships. Despite Dane County’s strong economy, almost half of all renters spend over 30% of their income on rent, and 24% spend more than 50%. Just 15% of Black households in Madison own their own homes, well below both Statewide and national rates. I have sponsored bills to close gaps in homeownership and I will continue to advocate for legislative action and work with local officials to meet the unique needs of communities.
We have a unique opportunity now in Wisconsin with the new, fair maps to have a majority in the Assembly that will do the people’s work and move this State forward. Democrats are excited and fired up about what lies ahead. It was an honor to serve as Chair of the City of Madison 2020 Census Complete Count Committee as we worked to outreach to all communities and reduce barriers that prevented full participation in the counting process. In the future, I support an independent redistricting process. As a Dane County Supervisor, I was one of the sponsors of an ordinance that created an independent citizen redistricting commission. It is important to me that any process for establishing legislative districts is independent, impartial, fair, accountable, and transparent. The principle of “one person, one vote” is fundamental to our democracy.
Our failure to adequately confront climate change and slow it down is having terrible consequences right now and threatens the future of our children and their children. Environmental sustainability – the focus on using resources wisely now and in prioritizing how our actions affect future generations – is addressed in Wisconsin’s Climate Action Plan and Clean Energy Plan. I support Governor Evers’ focus on meeting ambitious goals for Wisconsin in sustainability. I will also continue to champion environmental justice to ensure our actions and policies do not disproportionately effect communities of color. We must also right past wrongs. Strong environmental laws and enforcement that protect our natural resources are critical to quality of life, tourism, and our economy. I will continue to put environmental justice and the equitable treatment and active involvement of communities of color in environmental issues and decision making at the center of what I do.
My appreciation for the value of our public schools, and the challenges students face, is deep. As an adjunct professor at Mount Senario College in Northern Wisconsin I worked with adult students many of whom had overcome barriers to receiving their high school diplomas. I am also a former special education teacher in the Madison School District. I know firsthand the State should reimburse Special Education costs at a much higher rate than we do now, about 32%. Underfunding mandated programs creates budget pressures and leads to pitting programs against each other. I support Governor Evers’ budgets have prioritized public education and while we have made progress reversing years of neglect, there is much more to be done. We need more funding and we need to continue to focus on the disparities in education. Where those disparities can be closed by investing more, we should. Where we need to do things differently, for example recruiting and training more staff of color, we must.
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