Best E-Mail Of The Day: Wisconsin State Senator Chris Larson

In today's e-mail, Wisconsin's most progressive legislator sent to his supporters, he got right to the point-- a possible campaign for Milwaukee County Executive, a job that has often lead to the governorship. He and I have been talking about this for a while and this morning he told me about why he's considering the jump. "After 20 years of leadership disinterested in the opinions of average neighbors, there is a genuine opportunity to lead Milwaukee county forward by asking what they think and what they'd like to see out of their county. What does it look like to them for their neighborhood to succeed? How do we get out of the rut of just reacting to circumstances beyond our control and instead start setting aspirational goals and then figuring out how to get there? I'm asking my neighbors and I'm genuinely interested in their response." Good attitude and I hope he decides to run.

Friends,

The open County Executive seat in this coming April’s election has led to great conversation about what the future of our county will look like.

After our run for County Executive 4 years ago, many neighbors and friends have reached out to encourage me to run again.

I have spent the last few weeks in hundreds of conversations with neighbors like you about what you’d like to see in Milwaukee County’s future and what the new County Executive should prioritize.

 If I run, it won’t be about just winning the election - it will be about building a county-wide coalition for our shared community’s future. Where do we want to go these next 4 years and beyond?

I’d like to know what you think.

In 2016, I ran for County Executive because I believed we needed to restore power to the people. Together, we ran a strong grassroots campaign and we shifted the conversation to focus on issues like poverty, improving behavioral health services, investing in Milwaukee's parks, and stopping the takeover of Milwaukee's public schools.

For years, we’ve seen coordination by the elite class seeking to dismantle the institutions that we cherish by wrestling control away from the public. From our parks to mental health to social services to transit and more, we now have an opportunity to restore, rebuild, and reassess where we want to go.

What are the biggest issues that need attention in Milwaukee County? What does a thriving Milwaukee County look like to you? What do you think it will take to get our County there?

In my time as a public servant, I’ve held over two hundred listening sessions because it’s important to hear what the public thinks and have a conversation among neighbors. I value your thoughts as I weigh a run for Milwaukee County Executive.

We have many challenges to face with our budget, but we also have an opportunity to shape our community for decades to come. Your input is incredibly important in how we should move forward. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

In Service,

You can contribute the Chris Larson's campaign by clicking on the thermometer on the right. Yesterday the New York Times reminded readers the problem in one of the most gerrymandered states in the union: "The governor of Wisconsin called a special session last week to debate gun legislation. It resulted in exactly zero new laws, and it lasted less than a minute. Such is life these days in Wisconsin, a state that for much of the last decade was a laboratory for some of the nation’s most conservative policymaking and a hotbed of partisan fervor, but where pretty much everything has now slowed to a crawl. Acrimonious deadlocks have become the new normal in Wisconsin, one of three Midwestern states where Democrats ended full Republican control last year by flipping governorships… Yet with attention turning to the presidential election, in which Wisconsin voters are seen as playing a decisive role, divided power has given way to frustrated impasse, with little chance for either party to hold up state policymaking as the showcase it once was here."

Trump is massively underwater among Wisconsin voters. According to the most current Trump Tracker (Oct 19), his net approval has further collapsed to minus 17. Since being elected in 2016 Trump's approval has crashed from a positive 47-41% to the current 57% disapprove to 40% approve. His net approval has gone down 23 points. And yet the state legislative gerrymandered districts still give the GOP control of both Houses, 18-15 in the state Senate and an impossible and absurd 63-35 in the Assembly. Why ridiculous and impossible? In 2018 the Democrats running for the Assembly got 1,306,878 votes (53%), while the GOP candidates took 1,103,505 (45%), a 7.54% swing in favor of the Democrats. The voters spoke and the GOP still wound up with the absurd 63-36 majority.