From Judy James

Dodgeville

To the editor:

As it does in every election cycle, the nonpartisan Wisconsin Conservation Voters organization has recently put out a report on what our State Legislators have done to protect our water.

Their report on Todd Novak, our current 51st District State Representative, is far from flattering. He was commissioned to head up a statewide task force charged with finding a solution to water contamination in wells throughout Wisconsin.

That promise quickly faded as industry insiders and corporate polluters were given an outsized voice in the listening sessions held around the state to determine what needed to be done. Taking a back seat was the opinion of scientists, health professionals and clean water advocates. In the end, the Republican-controlled State Senate chose not to tackle the problem of contaminated drinking water, leaving thousands of Wisconsinites without access to safe water in their homes. “In short, the task force was a PR stunt with no ideas or plans,” said Conversation Voters.

It is little wonder that Todd Novak and his most ardent supporters are eager to demonize the Conservation Voters organization and its support of his opponent. They fail to accept the fact that support for clean water is a bedrock value for the majority of people in the 51st Assembly District, including farmers who care about their families and neighbors as everyone else does.

In contrast, Kriss Marion, who is running for State Assembly to replace Todd Novak, has spent much of her career as a County supervisor in Lafayette county in an effort to ensure clean water for her constituents. She was instrumental in launching the Southwest Wisconsin Ground Water and Geological Study (SWIGG) study that provided data on serious, widespread contamination in wells. When some of her fellow supervisors attempted to hide the results of that study from public view, her fight for transparency made national news.

It’s scary to think how similar this situation is to what’s happening on the national scene where scientists and health care professionals are taking a backseat regarding Covid-19. We desperately need new leadership in Madison and Washington to keep our families safe.