Opinion: Newly-elected legislator wants to work toward an ‘unapologetic working class agenda’

Phelps: The real story of the election is that we’re concerned about our schools, hospitals and clinics, rents and mortgages, environment, and the cost of childcare.

Until March of this year, it had never crossed my mind to run for the Wisconsin State Assembly. As a lifelong advocate for the issues that matter to me and my community, I was proud that I have always worked on these issues as a nonpartisan outsider. Running for office would change that.

I spent weeks trying to talk myself out of it. But as I had conversations about the future of the Chippewa Valley, I knew deep down that I would ultimately end up running. In all of my work as an educator, an LGBTQ+ advocate, an organizer with Wisconsin Public Education Network, and as someone who believes the next generation deserves better, there had always been one crucial piece of the advocacy puzzle missing: a critical mass inside the capitol with whom we could collaborate on the issues outside of it. So I put my name on the ballot.

What ensued was a whirlwind of speaking with and listening to Chippewa Valley voters. I did my best to stand firm in my progressive values as I crafted a campaign message that responded directly to what I was hearing in the community. Through nearly 10,000 door knocks, countless additional volunteer shifts, and meaningful conversations at events, the people of the 93rd have shown me incredible unity in our shared priorities.

We are especially concerned about the future of healthcare, public education, housing, and childcare. In our multigenerational district, we are worried about the future of our working class.

But while I found unity on the issues we need to solve, people have a wide variety of ideas about how to solve them. Some of my future constituents are frustrated to see hospitals close but distrust  government intervention; others are exasperated, like I am, that we haven’t guaranteed healthcare as a human right.

Some are frustrated to see more school referendums on their ballot and lay blame on perceived culture wars in Wisconsin classrooms; others, as I do, lament 16 consecutive years of defunding from the statehouse that has put school districts in near-impossible situations trying to meet kids’ rising post-pandemic needs.

And while some believe landlords are already subject to too much regulation, many, like me, believe the state has a responsibility to care for our unhoused neighbors and to protect tenants by cracking down on corporate greed by large real estate corporations.

What could be clearer evidence of these contradictions than our election results? We added progressives to the Assembly even as Republicans maintained their majorities in a “red wave” year, and school referendums passed across Wisconsin in districts both blue and red. Eau Claire’s passed overwhelmingly, indicating that many Trump voters also voted to support local public schools.

So while we’ve disagreed on partisan politics, we all see the pressing issues that we must come together to solve.

We urgently need to build a new narrative – one that starts not on Fox or CNN but right here in the Chippewa Valley.

For the 93rd District, the real story of the election is that we’re concerned about our schools, our hospitals and clinics, our rents and mortgages, our environment, and the cost of childcare.

We understand that we must advance an unapologetic working-class agenda rooted in western Wisconsin’s deep history of shared governance. That means strengthening our unions, expanding democracy, and defending our common value that everyone in our community deserves to thrive.

This value is nothing new for us. My great-grandfather was a union worker at Presto in Eau Claire nearly 100 years ago. Labor organizing appears in every generation of my family, and perhaps your family, too.

I will take this story to Madison when I’m sworn into the legislature next month.

As a former special education support worker, I will sponsor “workers’ bill of rights”-style legislation to allow those in rewarding but emotionally taxing jobs to enjoy living wages, stability and safety. I will also support legislation to fill the special education funding gap so students with disabilities can get the resources they need and districts can avoid budget emergencies.

As a community advocate who wholeheartedly believes that healthcare is a human right, I will work to expand BadgerCare and ultimately move our state toward publicly-guaranteed healthcare. And perhaps most urgently, in the immediate future, I will push to release emergency hospital funds for us here in the Chippewa Valley.

These are just a few of the priorities I’ve heard from you this year.  I know the importance of working together against the corporate greed that has left our community’s healthcare workers, educators, and public services out to dry. And we won’t fall for the political tricksters in Washington or in Madison who insist that our neighbors are our enemies in an effort to distract us from their own culpability in harming our working class.

This is where you come in. Please hold me accountable in the legislature. Remind me to stand up for the Chippewa Valley’s working class, even (and especially) when it requires courageous votes and tense conversations. If you believe, as I do, that we should invest in the next generation so no child in the Chippewa Valley suffers, say so both privately and publicly. We’re on the same team, and I’m honored and excited to get to work as your representative in Madison.