Holbrook: I will focus on needs of our district

Mark Holbrook

for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

EDITOR’S NOTE: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin will be publishing columns by candidates for contested local, state and national races leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

My goal is to serve the people of the 70th Assembly District in a manner that considers the needs of the people who live, work and do business in the district. I chose to run as a candidate of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin because I believe the DPW more closely represents my views concerning government’s obligation to serve the people.

My reasons for running are numerous. I do not believe that one-party rule has served our state well. Rather than encouraging fruitful discussions of the issues before us, I have witnessed a state government that seems to believe less in the will of the people and more in the will of the party.

In spite of significant public opposition, our state has enacted laws and policies, many times in the middle of the night, with no attempt at bipartisanship. They cut funding to our public schools and our state university system. They denied both public and private employees the right to bargain collectively for wages and benefits. They refused to accept federal Medicaid funds, costing Wisconsin’s citizens over $675 million in additional health care costs. They failed to plan for repairs to infrastructure, and it seems that at every opportunity, as local governments attempt to provide local solutions to local problems, the state restricts their ability to do so.

We've seen huge amounts of outside money bend the system to the will of a few and bring down decades and decades of honest efforts by previous administrations, both Democrat and Republican, that created a world-class university system, a nation-leading public education system, labor laws that helped create a high standard of living for all who chose to live, work and raise families in our beautiful state, and state parks and natural resources that draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to our fine state each year. To make matters worse, through their policies, they have done nothing to encourage our most promising young people to remain in their home state and be productive citizens.

We've now seen six years of Republican leadership in the legislature that proceeds from the top down. I believe that when it comes to representing the people, those who are elected by the people have an obligation to listen to their public and formulate solutions to the problems we face. Wisconsin has a long tradition in state government of ethical behavior, conservation of our natural resources, building a high-quality public education system that created a skilled workforce, providing for the well-being of our citizens, and encouraging the development of a strong small business environment. With the help of the voters of the 70th Assembly District, our state can begin the process of developing a strong economy that helps all of our citizens prosper, continue the high levels of performance our schools have been noted for and guarantee the protection of our natural resources for our children and grandchildren, and protect the rights of the individual.

Democrat Mark Holbrook is challenging incumbent Rep. Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah) in Wisconsin's 70th Assembly District.