51st Assembly District
There are two candidates to represent the 51st Assembly District. Jeff Wright and incumbent Todd Novak are running.
Position sought: Representative to the State Assembly, 51st District
Age: 41
City/town of residence: Bear Creek Township / north of Spring Green, west of Plain
Family: My wife (Emily) and I have been married for 11 years. We have a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. Our family also includes our dog, Charlie, some barn cats, and many chickens and turkeys.
Education: Bachelor's degree in history/social studies education from St. Olaf College; Master's degree in education administration and social policy from Harvard University; additional coursework at Abilene Christian University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Occupation: I am the assistant superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District. If elected, I will step away from most of this role to focus on serving in the State Assembly. The school district has asked me to remain in a very limited capacity to assist with some long-term projects.
Previous elected positions held: This will be my first elected position.
What is the top issue facing this district and how would you work to resolve it?
Ensuring the long-term quality of life and health of our communities is the top issue facing the 51st District. Rural Wisconsin is at a crossroads. Today's decisions determine whether we have strong schools that attract families or if we lose families to other places. Our decisions determine if we attract and retain companies that provide family-sustaining employment or if people will look to other communities for work. Will we protect family farms to help them see future generations or watch them disappear? Will our children put down roots in healthy, vibrant communities or will they leave and not come back?
State and local leaders can partner to strengthen our quality of life and ensure that it endures. We know what families want in a community: Access to good jobs, high-quality schools, safe neighborhoods, and opportunities for outdoor recreation. Recent decisions by state government threaten this quality of life. I will resolve this by fixing the school funding formula to support rural districts and reduce the reliance on local property taxes to sustain programming. We need to invest in rural infrastructure - blacktop and broadband Internet - with sustainable revenue instead of short-term borrowing. We need to protect drinking water and unique lands by partnering with farmers and businesses to preserve our environment while growing our economy.
An improved school funding formula, strategic investments in infrastructure, and protecting our natural resources will help us strengthen our economy and make the district an even better place to live, work, learn, and play.
What are other key issues facing the district and how would you work to resolve them?
The other key issues facing the district are as unique as the people I meet going door-to-door. For some families, the healthcare worries of an aging relative are most critical. For the person next door, it may be the costs of sending a child to college. Some companies struggle to find enough high-skilled workers to fill open positions while parts of our district are in real need of family-sustaining jobs. I've heard heartbreaking stories of addiction and disease and powerful stories about overcoming the same. At a time when it is more common to post on a Facebook wall than to knock on a neighbor's door, it has been a privilege to hear about the key issues facing so many one door at a time.
I would work to resolve these diverse issues the same way I have as a high school principal and district administrator. I cannot always predict what concerns may come my way, but I know it is my responsibility to bring people together to improve the lives of my students and their families. This approach has helped me address the needs of individual students and turnaround entire schools. My experience on economic development committees, working with faith and civic leaders, meeting with parents, and studying complex policies and solutions help me solve problems on behalf of the people I serve. It would be an honor to fight tirelessly to bring partners together to get things done for the individuals, families, and communities of the 51st District.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
The people of the 51st District want a state government that empowers local municipalities to make decisions, supports rural schools, invests in proven economic development strategies, protects natural resources and our outdoor heritage, seriously addresses crumbling rural infrastructure, and does so in a transparent, fiscally-responsible manner. One-party Republican rule in Madison has not been good for our district. My opponent has voted for voucher expansion, for laws written by corporations that threaten our clean water, for campaign finance "reform" that allows more dark money in politics, and other policies written by his party that do not align with the values of our district. I am a candidate because I worry about the direction Wisconsin is heading. I cannot say with confidence that my children - and children throughout our district - will have the same opportunities as I had as a kid growing up in Wisconsin. This is due in part to the votes taken by my opponent and a state capitol out of balance. I'd be honored to work with people from all five counties in our district to support legislation that makes government more accountable and effective and that helps make our communities even better places to live.
Age: 41
City/town of residence: Bear Creek Township / north of Spring Green, west of Plain
Family: My wife (Emily) and I have been married for 11 years. We have a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. Our family also includes our dog, Charlie, some barn cats, and many chickens and turkeys.
Education: Bachelor's degree in history/social studies education from St. Olaf College; Master's degree in education administration and social policy from Harvard University; additional coursework at Abilene Christian University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Occupation: I am the assistant superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District. If elected, I will step away from most of this role to focus on serving in the State Assembly. The school district has asked me to remain in a very limited capacity to assist with some long-term projects.
Previous elected positions held: This will be my first elected position.
What is the top issue facing this district and how would you work to resolve it?
Ensuring the long-term quality of life and health of our communities is the top issue facing the 51st District. Rural Wisconsin is at a crossroads. Today's decisions determine whether we have strong schools that attract families or if we lose families to other places. Our decisions determine if we attract and retain companies that provide family-sustaining employment or if people will look to other communities for work. Will we protect family farms to help them see future generations or watch them disappear? Will our children put down roots in healthy, vibrant communities or will they leave and not come back?
State and local leaders can partner to strengthen our quality of life and ensure that it endures. We know what families want in a community: Access to good jobs, high-quality schools, safe neighborhoods, and opportunities for outdoor recreation. Recent decisions by state government threaten this quality of life. I will resolve this by fixing the school funding formula to support rural districts and reduce the reliance on local property taxes to sustain programming. We need to invest in rural infrastructure - blacktop and broadband Internet - with sustainable revenue instead of short-term borrowing. We need to protect drinking water and unique lands by partnering with farmers and businesses to preserve our environment while growing our economy.
An improved school funding formula, strategic investments in infrastructure, and protecting our natural resources will help us strengthen our economy and make the district an even better place to live, work, learn, and play.
What are other key issues facing the district and how would you work to resolve them?
The other key issues facing the district are as unique as the people I meet going door-to-door. For some families, the healthcare worries of an aging relative are most critical. For the person next door, it may be the costs of sending a child to college. Some companies struggle to find enough high-skilled workers to fill open positions while parts of our district are in real need of family-sustaining jobs. I've heard heartbreaking stories of addiction and disease and powerful stories about overcoming the same. At a time when it is more common to post on a Facebook wall than to knock on a neighbor's door, it has been a privilege to hear about the key issues facing so many one door at a time.
I would work to resolve these diverse issues the same way I have as a high school principal and district administrator. I cannot always predict what concerns may come my way, but I know it is my responsibility to bring people together to improve the lives of my students and their families. This approach has helped me address the needs of individual students and turnaround entire schools. My experience on economic development committees, working with faith and civic leaders, meeting with parents, and studying complex policies and solutions help me solve problems on behalf of the people I serve. It would be an honor to fight tirelessly to bring partners together to get things done for the individuals, families, and communities of the 51st District.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
The people of the 51st District want a state government that empowers local municipalities to make decisions, supports rural schools, invests in proven economic development strategies, protects natural resources and our outdoor heritage, seriously addresses crumbling rural infrastructure, and does so in a transparent, fiscally-responsible manner. One-party Republican rule in Madison has not been good for our district. My opponent has voted for voucher expansion, for laws written by corporations that threaten our clean water, for campaign finance "reform" that allows more dark money in politics, and other policies written by his party that do not align with the values of our district. I am a candidate because I worry about the direction Wisconsin is heading. I cannot say with confidence that my children - and children throughout our district - will have the same opportunities as I had as a kid growing up in Wisconsin. This is due in part to the votes taken by my opponent and a state capitol out of balance. I'd be honored to work with people from all five counties in our district to support legislation that makes government more accountable and effective and that helps make our communities even better places to live.