Q&A with the Candidate

Why should voters elect you?

I’ve been serving my community for over 20 years; as an EMT, a firefighter, a police officer and conservation warden. I’ve been in homes across every corner of this district, and I see how hard people are working to make ends meet. I’ve seen that our elderly neighbors sometimes don’t have food in the fridge for tomorrow, and I’ve seen the teacher working the second shift at the gas station to pay for her daughter’s insulin. As a local leader, I know that it is time for new leadership that cares about working-class issues and will fight for our rural communities. I’ll fight to lower costs and stand up for our rural communities that have been left behind. I’ll stand up and fight for us.

What is the top issue in your district? How would you address it?

We must fix public school funding. The GOP controlled-legislature has voted to take our money from public schools and funnel it to unaccountable private schools, leading to the closure of several of our rural public schools. As a result, we are constantly asked to raise our own property taxes just to keep the lights on at our local public school. We have to fulfill the state’s constitutional obligation to fund public schools and special education; and we must stop giving public money to private schools and end the cycle of property tax referendums to fund school operating costs.

How should Wisconsin government operate differently than in the past?

Wisconsin government should operate differently by prioritizing our communities and working families, instead of the current prioritization of corporate welfare and pandering to the billionaire class. I’ve heard countless stories from our neighbors across this district who can’t get ahead no matter how hard they work, while politicians in Madison are playing political games and enriching their donors. Supporting working people around the state should not be partisan. It’s time to rebuild and restore a state government that serves our communities and the workers, small businesses and farms that keep this state running.

What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?

Conservation is deeply rooted in Wisconsin’s history. In the 1970s there was no wild turkey population in Wisconsin since their extirpation in the late 1800s. The Wisconsin DNR traded some ruffed grouse to Missouri for some of their wild turkey and in 1976 released 39 wild turkeys in the Driftless Area of SW Wisconsin. Today, WI hunters harvest around 50,000 turkeys annually. While the DNR has been stripped of scientists who make projects like this possible, I’m running to bring that conservation spirit back to Wisconsin.

The following is a Q&A submitted by Ben Gruber to Morris Media of Wisconsin, owner of the Monroe Times.

I’m born and raised in the town of Arena. I grew up working on the neighbor’s farm and roaming the hills hunting, fishing and trapping. After graduating from River Valley High School, I worked as a welder and a carpenter while volunteering for Arena Fire and EMS. I turned that Fire and EMS passion into a career as a Firefighter Paramedic. In 2016 a local Sheriff’s Office sent me through the Law Enforcement Academy to be the medic on their SWAT team. A few years later I took a job as a Conservation Warden for the DNR and moved back home to the house I grew up in. In addition to being a Warden for the DNR, I work part-time as a police officer and I am a Dept of Justice Law Enforcement Instructor in several disciplines.

My wife and I have young 2 daughters. I decided to run after watching the state’s neglect of our rural communities lead to school closures, shuttered police departments, and Fire and EMS departments struggling to have enough volunteers. I’ve been active within several different volunteer organizations- I was the VP of Kids and Mentors Outdoors for several years, I’ve served on the Board of Directors of our local SWCAP as well as the WI Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. I was proud to be on the WI Field Staff for ‘Hometown Hero Outdoors’, an organization dedicated to getting military service members and veterans active in the outdoors.

Economy/Cost of Living

The state must live up to its promise to fund our rural communities through shared revenue and fulfill its obligation to fund our rural public schools so that property taxes do not continue to rise to fund our basic services. Incumbent Todd Novak voted to give 2 billion dollars in corporate welfare to data centers while our communities suffered the impacts of state funding cuts and property tax increases. That is money that should be in our communities, improving our lives and keeping our costs down.

Healthcare

Rural healthcare, and healthcare in general, is a broken system. I’m tired of watching our neighbors resort to GoFundMe’s and brat fry fundraisers to raise money for their kid’s diabetes meds or cancer treatments, while Big Pharma and Healthcare CEO’s are posting millions and billions in profit and bonuses. I’d like to see, at a minimum, a public option to buy into BadgerCare and expand access to the State Employee Group insurance programs to small business and family farmers. We are on the brink of a crisis with rural healthcare facilities closing and rural EMS system under severe strain, and we must act to prevent this crisis from needlessly costing the lives of our family and neighbors.

Education

We’ve got to stop stealing from property taxpayers to fund an unaccountable private education system. If we eliminated the private school voucher system and the state upheld its obligation to fund public schools we could stop the endless property tax referenda that are simply keeping the lights on at our public schools.

Environment/Conservation

We must hold corporate polluters accountable, and we must restore the funding for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship. In addition, it is time for a conservation funding source that is not entirely reliant on the hunting/fishing community.

Women’s Rights

I’ll fight to ensure that women always have the same rights as any man, to include voting and bodily autonomy.

Citizen-led ballot initiatives: I’ll push for WI to pass legislation allowing citizen-led ballot initiatives. This allows for direct democracy to bypass state legislators who refuse to listen to the will of the people because they only listen to their billionaire donors.