Assembly Inauguration

Monday was an exciting day in the Wisconsin State Capitol! It was Inauguration Day for all five of our statewide offices; all of our State Assembly members; and about half of our State Senators, including State Senator Jerry Petrowski, who represents much of Marathon County. Inauguration Day is one of my favorites of the session; it is filled with joy, excitement and anticipation for the upcoming session. I am honored to have been chosen to represent those in the 85th Assembly District again for the next two years, and I am dedicated to remaining available, informative, and open-minded to my constituents for my second term. If you have thoughts on existing legislation; ideas for new legislation; or just want to talk about concerns about certain policy areas, my door is always open. You can contact me by simply sending a message to this email or by submitting a contact form through my website. You can view my full statement on the Assembly Inauguration Day celebrations here. 

Team Wisconsin

In addition to the excitement of being sworn into the Assembly for my second term, I was grateful to have the opportunity to attend Governor Evers' Inauguration Ceremony and show my support for the success of the new administration. Inauguration Day is a great time to celebrate our government and the peaceful transition of power that occurs in our country. I was joined by many of my colleagues on both sides of the political aisle, including 5 former Wisconsin Governors, at the Inauguration Ceremony for Governor Evers and the statewide office holders. While we certainly don't agree in all policy areas, the success of our Governor means the success of our State; we are all on Team Wisconsin now. I am confident that, as I elaborate on below, there are areas we can all agree and work together to improve our already great State of Wisconsin. Regardless of your political affiliation, I hope you will join me in supporting and encouraging those who are now in important roles managing the affairs of our state.  

Working together

This week, my Assembly republican colleagues and I collaborated to identify policy areas that we believe that we can readily find common ground with Governor Evers. After collaborating with each other, we put our ideas into a letter that we sent to Governor Evers outlining the policy areas that we identified in an effort to promptly begin the conversations that will continue to move our state forward. The letter can be found here. While I am hopeful we will find more areas to compromise than just those contained in this letter, I believe this puts us on a good path to begin collaborating with our executive counterparts. In the spirit of cooperation, Speaker Vos, on behalf of Assembly republicans, also invited Governor Evers to speak with our caucus at his earliest convenience. I am looking forward to hearing from him next week! 

Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding

In December 2017, leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature commissioned a study on Wisconsin's school funding formula, recognizing that there are flaws in how our education system is funded. Similar to the Speaker's Task Force on Foster Care, which I had the opportunity to Co-Chair last session,  the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding was made up of bi-partisan legislators that toured the state to hear from the public on how we can improve our funding formula. In addition to the nine legislator members, there were seven public members serving on the committee, which were from schools across the state. This week, the commission released their final recommendations to the legislature, which can be found here. I am encouraged by their proposals and I am confident that, with these recommendations in mind, I will be able to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make positive improvements to school funding in Wisconsin. 

2017-2018 Blue Books & maps (paper highway maps or laminated maps) are still available in my office! The Wisconsin Blue Book contains information on all things Wisconsin: your elected officials; census information; the official state dog, tree, flower, etc.; government processes; and so much more! Contact me for your free copy today!