Chippewa Valley Community Groups Call for State Action with New Majority

A number of Chippewa Valley nonprofit and advocacy groups gathered in Eau Claire on Monday to call on newly elected Democratic state lawmakers to take action with their majority.

The groups held a press conference outside the Eau Claire County Government Center as the election certificate process took place inside. Bill Hogseth, Co-Executive Director of GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin, highlighted the results of last week's election as evidence that Wisconsinites are ready for meaningful change.

"It would be a mistake to read this election simply as Republican vs. Democrat," he said. "This was an election about top vs. bottom, this was an election about regular people who are sick of living in an economy where there is always a boot on their neck, doing whatever they can to change course. This was big tent politics vs. big money politics."

Along with addressing affordability concerns and healthcare cost increases, school funding was one of the most significant issues on voters' minds during the election. Eau Claire Area School District Board of Education President Dr. Stephanie Farrar, representing the Wisconsin Public Education Network, highlighted the importance of investing in the state's public education system and called on the new Democratic majority to fully fund public schools.

"There is no profession that does not start in a public school," she said. "There is no adult that does not start their life trajectory in a public school. We need to invest in the future of our state by investing in every single child in our public. Let's fund our public schools and let's do it now. We aren't going to wait anymore."

Representatives from Citizen Action of Wisconsin and WISDOM also spoke at the event, calling for Medicaid expansion and criminal justice reform.