Elected Experience: New Glarus Board of Education (2018-present), board president (2020-present); St. Croix County Board (1989-1996)
Why should voters elect you?
I bring the experience and urgency needed to deliver results from day one. As a school board president, I’ve confronted Wisconsin’s broken state funding model and understand the path to fixing it. My family helped found Prairie Haus in New Glarus, a nationally recognized affordable community for disabled and typically abled tenants. I work directly with communities to expand affordable senior cooperative housing. I’ve been an agricultural and cooperative leader and co‑created a health care cooperative for Wisconsin farmers who lacked access to insurance. I served on the Monroe Clinic and Group Health Cooperative boards to strengthen high‑quality care in South Central Wisconsin. As volunteer Edvest board chair, I’ve championed early saving to reduce reliance on costly student loans since 2004.
What is the top issue in your district? How would you address it?
The Republican Legislature has repeatedly failed to properly fund public schools while significantly expanding taxpayer support for private school vouchers. The 2025-27 state budget provides no increase in equalization aid funding and only a minimal boost for Special Education, forcing districts to repeatedly rely on property tax referendums just to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile, taking the private school voucher program statewide adds an estimated $1.8 billion to the state budget over the biennium. Strong public schools are the backbone of thriving communities. Wisconsin must renew its commitment to fully funding public education and return more of that responsibility to the income tax which reflects ability to pay. Relying on property taxes instead places an unfair burden on seniors and others on fixed incomes.
How should Wisconsin government operate differently than in the past?
My views are shaped by years of service on the New Glarus School Board, my work teaching local government law at UW-Madison Extension, and my prior roles as Wisconsin’s chief consumer advocate and as preparedness and emergency health care director. But the most urgent reform is securing fair legislative maps. Partisan gerrymandering by the Republican Legislature since 2010 has distorted representation, creating uncompetitive districts where primaries — not general elections — decide outcomes. In effect, legislators chose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. Wisconsin must finally adopt a non‑partisan redistricting process conducted once every ten years. I will support legislative efforts to make this a reality. Our democracy must reflect the will of the people.
What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?
The Wisconsin Historical Society tells a story about two Oehmichen brothers from Manitowoc — my ancestors — who volunteered for the Union Army in the Civil War after arriving from 1848 Germany as part of the pro‑democracy migration. On their way from Manitowoc to Milwaukee to be mustered in, they reportedly convinced tavern owners that Union soldiers drank for free. This worked until Cedarburg where the tavern keeper demanded payment and the brothers expressed their disagreement by redecorating the furniture. Despite their creative accounting, they made it to Milwaukee, joined the Union Army, and served Wisconsin with honor. Their mix of mischief and commitment reminds me that courage, democracy, and a little humor often travel together.
