Age: 28
Address: 105 N. Franklin St., Jefferson
Education: University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice (2011); University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D. (2014)
Family: Single
Occupation: Attorney
Office Sought: 33rd State Assembly District 33
Years in community: 28
Previous political experience: None
Organizations: Wisconsin Army National Guard, specialist; member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Helenville
Reason for seeking position: I decided to run for the same reason I enlisted in the National Guard – out of a civic duty to serve the community that has done so much for me. Under our current leadership, our district is declining, with steady job losses, underfunded public schools, and delayed road repair projects. I believe I can offer the people better representation.
Age: 29
Home: 1254 Bear Pass, Mukwonago
Education: East Troy High School 2006 graduate; UW-Whitewater 2010 Bachelor of Arts in marketing, minor in Economics; Marquette University Law School, J.D. 2014.
Family: Single
Occupation: Former prosecutor, Walworth County District Attorney’s office
Office sought: 33rd State Assembly District
Years in community: Born and raised in the community
Previous experience: 2007 Whitewater City Council (unsuccessful), 2014 to current State Representative 33rd District
Organizations: President’s Advisory Council-Carroll University; Friends of Old World Wisconsin, board member; Coalition to Combat Heroin Addiction, member
Reasons for seeking position: To continue to move this district and state in the right direction. It’s been my honor to represent the people of Walworth, Waukesha, and Jefferson counties in the State Assembly in Madison for the past two years.
I have worked on constituent issues ranging from Medicare benefits, transportation, and on up to fighting for the creation of a new medical school. If re-elected, I plan on continuing my work with the business and education communities to provide quality opportunities for our citizens of all ages.
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Both candidates in the 33rd State Assembly District race say job loss is one of the biggest problems facing the district and its residents.
Incumbent Cody Horlacher (R-Mukwonago) and challenger Brandon White (D-Jefferson) cited the loss of jobs at Tyson and McCain Foods and the lack of economic development in the area as major reasons for their running for the assembly.
“It was the issue of how many jobs we were losing in the district that got me to run,” White said. “We lost 1,000 jobs last year alone and I didn’t feel Rep. Horlacher was doing enough about it. I feel I can offer a much better approach and representation for the district.”
Horlacher said he’s been reaching out to the business community for the past couple of years to get a sense of the specific challenges they are facing.
“I’ve also been proactive with trying to get the medical college into the district with Sen. (Steve) Nass,” Horlacher said. “Our plan is to create the first new medical school in state in over 100 years, specializing in primary care physicians. We’re at a 100-physician deficit every year and it’s worse with boomers retiring.”
Horlacher said the plan for the medical college was a public-private partnership that would be privately funded with no tax dollars being spent on it.
While job loss was high on both the candidates’ list, transportation costs and education spending were the other two big issues they felt needed to be addressed.
Transportation
The state’s transportation needs and lack of necessary funding is an issue that has crossed partisan lines in the assembly with both democrats and republicans looking for ways to fix the massive problem.
“We need to find a way to structurally fund it,” Horlacher said. “I’m not making any proposals until I see the audit. We need to find out what those findings are before we make any decisions. I can tell you one thing, I’m not in favor of toll ways. It’s not fair for us in southeast Wisconsin. That’s the one thing I am adamant about, I will not support it. I know there’s been talk of it, but it’s not something I can support. As far as other revenue increases, we need to be fiscally responsible with the dollars coming in before we look at any other options.”
White said he was concerned with how the transportation money has been handled and the long-term problems being created by work not getting done on the roads.
“We’re seeing so many of these road and highway projects get delayed or pushed back and our roads are getting worse,” White said. “It compounds problems and we’re paying even more to repair the roads when they do get done because they’re in such bad shape.
“The legislature has to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to cover the cost of the repairs and we’re just putting this on the credit card of the state taxpayers. There’s no real plan for funding and I don’t see any real solution coming out of there. Even the republicans are unhappy. The current plan isn’t sustainable.”
Education
“Under current legislation, our schools have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid while hundred of millions of dollars are being pumped into private voucher schools. It’s not saving the taxpayers anything, the money’s just being redirected into private institutions. That has to change,” White said.
Horlacher said he would like to examine some of the state laws which cost school districts extra money when it’s not necessary.
“For one, I’d like to get rid of the state law mandating school buses purchased outside of state be no older than 5 years old,” Horlacher said. “They can purchase really good buses from the south for $25,000 less than buses from Wisconsin. These buses have no salt damage or the wear and tear of the harsh weather. There’s no reason for this law.
“Another bill would allow school districts the opportunity to generate revenue from extracurricular programming like shop. It’s prohibited now, if they want to offer a cooking class to the community they can’t charge above costs of the class. It’s another learning avenue for the community and it could bring in a little extra for the districts, not a lot, it wouldn’t make a big impact on revenue, but everything helps.”
About the candidates
White said he wanted the voters to know he was born and raised in the district and grew up on a farm, so he knew first-hand what the residents were going through.
“This is my district,” he said. “It’s where I’m from. I chose to run for the assembly because of a sense of duty. I served in the National Guard for the same reason.”
Horlacher said he’s been honored to serve the people of the district for the past two years and he hoped to continue.
“I grew up here. I’ve lived here all my life. Even when I was away I maintained a connection to the area the whole time,” Horlacher said.
