It’s been another big week in Madison, with a major election on Tuesday and lots of activity going on in and around the Capitol.
Read on for a recap of the spring election, some information about a new display in the Capitol rotunda, details about equal pay day and a Supreme Court brief I joined, a preview of next week’s State of the Tribes event, and a fun Wisconsin fact.
If you have any questions or need assistance with any matter, please feel free to contact my office.
The Wisconsin Spring Elections took place on Tuesday. Congratulations to Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison’s Mayor-elect, and thank you to Mayor Paul Soglin for many years of service to the City of Madison.
Donna V. Hurd Moreland (District 7) and Christian Albouras (District 20) won election to the Madison Common Council representing portions of the 78th Assembly District. They replace alders Steve King and Matthew Phair, respectively. I’d like to extend my congratulations to the incoming alders and thank the outgoing alders for their service to the city.
Also representing portions of the 78th are Council members Barbara Harrington-McKinney (District 1), Paul Skidmore (District 9), Arvina Martin (District 11), and Keith Furman (District 19), who were all re-elected Tuesday. I commend them for their continued commitment to our city.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who ran for public office in the spring elections, win or lose, as well as everyone who volunteered for a candidate they believed in. Thank you for being part of our democratic process, and please stay active and engaged going forward. I’m looking forward to working with our great local public servants here in Madison to advance our shared goals.
This June 10th will mark the 100th Anniversary of Wisconsin ratifying the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. To celebrate this milestone, the State of Wisconsin now has a beautiful display in the Rotunda of the Capitol building designed by the State Historical Society. The display is titled: “The Women’s Hour Has Struck, Wisconsin: The First State to Ratify the 19th Amendment.”
The four side, twelve panel display will take you through Wisconsin’s role in the history of the suffrage movement including setbacks, factoids, and the process of amending the Constitution of the United States. It also showcases notable suffragists, the first women elected to the legislature, and how Wisconsin nearly missed out on being the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
I highly recommend stopping by to see it when you have a chance. The Women’s Suffrage display will be up through Thanksgiving.
On Monday I joined a bipartisan group of more than 150 state and local elected officials and municipalities around the country in challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Our group filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs in Department of Commerce v. New York, currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, which addresses the important issue of whether a citizenship question should be added to the 2020 census.
The Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question in the 2020 census would significantly impair the accuracy of the census. It would discourage households with noncitizens from participating, potentially leading to an undercount of communities of color and undermining the fair allocation of more than $900 billion in federal funds.
Every Wisconsinite should stand up and be counted in the 2020 census without fear. The addition of a citizenship question is nothing more than an attempt to weaponize the census against marginalized communities by diluting their political influence. I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court will uphold the ruling of the lower courts to keep this question off of the census.
Tuesday marked Equal Pay Day, the day each year when women’s pay finally catches up to what men were paid during the previous year. This day is determined by analyzing data collected by the U.S. census. According to the most recent annual review of the gender pay gap by the American Association of University Women, Wisconsin ranks in the bottom half of the nation for gender pay equity.
Women in Wisconsin earn just 80 cents on the dollar, according to the report, which estimates closing the pay gap nationally will take until the year 2059 based on the rate of change between 1960 and 2017. However, progress has slowed since 2001, meaning it could be as long as the year 2106 before gender pay equity is achieved. It’s also important to note that the gender gap for women of color is even larger, and would take even longer to close with current rates of progress.
It is shameful that women are still not compensated with equal pay for equal work. The fact of the matter is that women are often the primary breadwinners for their families, making the wage gap an issue of economic security for Wisconsin families. Equal Pay Day should be a reminder that immediate action is needed to close the gender wage gap. About two thirds of low-wage workers such as nursing aides, child care workers, and restaurant servers are women. It is crucial that in addition to addressing discrimination and pay transparency, equal pay policies must address living wages, family leave, and affordable health care. The Wisconsin way forward to economic prosperity depends upon the economic success of our state’s working women and their families.
Celebrating the 15th Annual State of the Tribes Address
On Tuesday, April 9th there will be a joint convention of the Wisconsin Legislature as we will have the privilege of welcoming tribal leaders for the 15th annual State of the Tribes address. The address will take place in the Assembly Chambers at 1 pm. Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill has been selected by The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council to deliver this year’s address. The address strives to improve communication between the state government and Wisconsin’s sovereign tribal nations.
The annual State of the Tribes Address an important tradition that improves the working relationship between our state government and the eleven sovereign tribal nations in Wisconsin. In case you are not familiar with some or all the Wisconsin tribes, the federally recognized nations include:
Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Forest County Potawatomi Community
Ho-Chunk Nation
Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Oneida Nation
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Stockbridge-Munsee Community
I am proud to stand with tribal leaders from across Wisconsin as we work together to protect our environment, support our children, invest in educational opportunities, work towards economic and racial justice, and strengthen our communities.
Last Friday I had the honor of observing high school students with an interest and passion for civics and local government while serving as a judge at the first Wisconsin Civics Games, hosted at the Capitol building by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. In each round, two teams of high schoolers faced off to answer rapid-fire questions about everything from state history to federal politics, all revolving around the central theme of Civics. I was impressed by the knowledge and passion of all the young people who participated.
I want to give a big shout-out to the team from Madison Memorial High School, which included my Capitol intern Cory Forbes, for placing third after a hard-fought competition. Congratulations as well to Platteville High School for placing first and to all the teams that participated. You can see more information about the event, including a list of participants, here.
In this time when the dominant narrative says young Americans are becoming less informed about civics and less engaged in democracy, it’s great to see high school students who are so involved and active in learning about our government.
As a senior attending James Madison Memorial High School, Cory Forbes is the youngest intern in my office. He has been involved with local and state politics since 2016, and he has a passion for learning about government and policy. In the office, Cory has taken an active role in organizing the office filing cabinet, and he has the paper cuts to prove it. He is still deciding on which college to attend, and he plans to study political science and economics. I’m happy to have him on the team!
Many Wisconsinites would be surprised to learn that Madison wasn’t always our state’s capitol. Before Wisconsin was even a state, our territorial legislature established a government near the town of Belmont. These lawmakers met during the cold winter of 1836 and put 42 laws on the books, establishing a judicial system, calling for roads and railroads, and after lengthy debate, establishing Madison as the new capitol city.
The First Capitol is now a historic site visitors can tour, featuring two buildings used during the 1836 territorial legislative session. The first was the Council House, where the legislators met. The second building was a lodging house for the legislators. See here for more information and to plan a visit.
Things happening in the district & around Madison:
Friends of Sequoya Book Sale Saturday, April 9 9 am - 4 pm 442 Westgate Mall
Thousands of books for sale! Bag sale starts at 1 pm.
Madison Writing Assistance Friday, April 5 3 pm - 6 pm Sequoya Library Room 103
Free one-on-one coaching sessions for writing projects of any kind.
Sunday Jazz at Sequoya Sunday, April 7 2 pm - 4 pm Sequoya Library
Big circle is an instrumental trio from Madison and will be performing two sets of original compositions with elements of jazz, R&B and pop.
Mystery in the Morning: "The Shanghai Moon" Monday, April 8 10 am - 11:30 am Alicia Ashman Library
Join for a civilized discussion of murder and mayhem at the mystery book club discussion of "The Shanghai Moon" by S.J. Rozan.
Making Madison Wildlife Friendly Thursday, April 11 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Alicia Ashman Library
Free presentation on urban wildlife management and easy, fun, and cheap things you can do to attract wildlife to your yard and area.
Friday Family Fun Feature: Hotel Transylvania 3 Friday, April 12 6 pm - 8 pm Alicia Ashman Library
Count Dracula and Company participate in a cruise for sea-loving mnsters, unaware that their boat is being commandeered by the monster-hating Van Helsing family. (PG, 1hr 37min)