We need public investment to guarantee housing for everyone. The state can step in and create a social housing program that can build, own, and maintain homes that Wisconsinites can actually afford. And it’s time to legalize inclusionary zoning because the market cannot deliver the level of affordability that our community needs.

When housing is treated as both shelter and a financial asset, it’s no surprise that homeowners fight changes they fear will hurt their property values. By cutting red tape and updating building codes, we can make it easier to build safe, modern, affordable housing close to jobs and transit. It’s also time we get serious about development. It’s beyond just zoning codes. I’ll fight to allow localities to start a split-rate tax system. It will help us crack down on land speculation and make it costly to sit on unproductive land.

Homeownership is out of reach for far too many. And property taxes are on the rise, while billionaires and corporations game our system for financial benefit. I’ll fight to end speculation in the housing market, finance land banks, and make it easier and cheaper to own a home.

Too many renters are one crisis away from losing their homes. A Tenant Bill of Rights will protect families through banning no-cause evictions, prohibiting discrimination and price gouging, and providing a legal counsel guarantee.

No one should be left without a roof over their head. Surveys show most Americans think the government needs to do more to address Homelessness. Wisconsin must invest in housing for the lowest-income residents, legalize social housing, and develop a statewide plan to provide dignified, long-term solutions for our unhoused neighbors.

The hyper-wealthy and megacorporations have hoarded too much at the expense of working families. We should make the rich pay their fair share so we can invest in the basics every family needs to thrive. Tax the billionaires, no more tax breaks for megacorporations, and protect consumers by enforcing antitrust laws.

At a time of historic disparity, the passage of the Economic Justice Bill of Rights (LRB-1728) is a non-starter. Everyone has a right to a good-paying job, high-quality education, accessible childcare, a union, a clean environment, safe housing, reliable transit, access to capital, retirement, justice, and self-determination.

650,000 people still live without reliable, high-speed internet. Even if it’s available, many residents can’t afford it. The State must step in to provide a public option and invest in infrastructure where the market has failed.

The US is a nation defined by debt -- lenders trap people in endless cycles of it. We must cap interest fees and stop corporations from exploiting people when they’re most vulnerable.

Wall Street and private banks are failing to serve the people who need access to capital the most. We need to open the doors to people who have been systematically shut out. Over 900 public banks exist worldwide and hold $49 trillion in assets. It’s time to create a democratically accountable financial system that can invest in people, not profit. And let’s let communities create municipal public banks because access to a savings account should be available to anyone.

We need to make ending hunger a statewide priority--ensuring every family has reliable access to healthy food. No kid deserves hunger -- we should expand SNAP benefits so families can put food on the table and kids can focus on learning. The state should also invest in FEED kitchens, farm-to-table programs, and stimulate the food economy.

Every parent deserves peace of mind knowing their kids are cared for. In the wealthiest nation in the world, there’s no reason we can’t provide childcare for those who need it. We need to invest in Pre-K, build more child care centers, and strengthen the childcare workforce.

Republicans have had their way with our kids’ future, and when we retake the legislature, we can’t stop at undoing it all -- we need a bold plan for our kids. We must revise the broken equalization formula, raise special education reimbursements, and boost classroom budgets so teachers don’t have to pay out of pocket for supplies. It’s equally important to address our reliance on property taxes as a primary funding source -- a funding model unique to the US, not shared by similar countries. And it’s time to shut down the siphoning of public dollars to vouchers for unaccountable private schools.

Teachers deserve respect, fair pay, and real support. It’s time to increase salaries, restore collective bargaining rights by repealing Act 10, and create tuition reimbursement for teachers who commit to five years in Wisconsin public schools.

Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t. Let’s make sure our kids can get healthy school meals when they need them. Every child learns better when they’re not hungry. Let’s finally make this investment in our kids and expand farm-to-school programs.

Students can’t learn if their mental health needs are ignored. Wisconsin and the US are ignoring a growing problem of mental illness. It’s a tragedy. We must increase funding for counselors, support peer-support models, and invest in school nurses across the state.

Schools should prepare kids for opportunity, not exploitation or incarceration. We need to end the school-to-prison pipeline, reject the “school-to-Amazon” model of corporate control, and expand literacy programs to raise Wisconsin’s literacy rate. And let’s address our funding models like the rest of the world so that the value of your home doesn’t determine the quality of your kids' education.

Wisconsin is one of the last states still refusing full Medicaid expansion. We need to expand coverage immediately -- including postpartum, dental, and vision expansion now -- so no family is left uninsured.

I support a single-payer healthcare system to make affordable, high-quality care available to everyone, regardless of income or employment.

Every worker deserves time to care for themselves or their loved ones. We should establish a universal paid family and medical leave program that covers all Wisconsin workers.

Health care must include reproductive care. I’ll fight to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception so politicians can never again strip those freedoms away.

It’s absurd that in the wealthiest nation on the planet, folks are going bankrupt because they got sick or are using GoFundMe platforms to crowdsource funding. Many US states have purchased medical debt accrued in hospitals from private creditors and wiped the slate clean for families -- Wisconsin can be next.

Big Pharma shouldn’t be able to gouge patients for life-saving medicine. The State Legislature should get serious and fully invest in our legal capacities to prosecute price gouging and ensure fair, transparent prescription pricing.

It’s time Wisconsin caught up to the real cost of living. We’ll raise the minimum wage to $23 by 2030 because that’s what it takes for an average family size on two incomes to survive, and let's restore the prevailing wage while we're at it.

Act 10 has been disastrous to the labor market and has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, leaving workers vulnerable and unprotected. We must undo Act 10 and guarantee the right to bargain for fair pay. And while we’re at it, we should repeal “right to work,” guarantee a universal right to strike, and ensure striking workers keep their healthcare.

Nobody should lose out because of outdated rules or corporate loopholes. We’ll end “independent contractor” scams at companies like Uber and Lyft and remove unnecessary driver’s license requirements when driving isn’t essential to the job.

Small businesses are the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy, but too often ordinary people are locked out. We need to modernize the system: support worker co-ops, streamline permits, cut paperwork, and create a one-stop digital hub so anyone can get started. The state should invest in caseworkers who help new worker co-ops navigate licensing, build plans, and access credit. And with tools like public banking, community loan funds, and shared infrastructure, we can democratize opportunity.

The climate crisis is the greatest existential threat humanity has ever faced. We have to work quickly to decarbonize our electricity sector by passing an integrated resource plan and setting a carbon-free electricity standard that makes our grid renewable and reliable. From cars to buildings, fossil fuels still dominate. We should pass a carbon-free building standard, support widespread electrification, and invest in the infrastructure needed to power our future with clean energy. By 2040, all schools and public buildings in Wisconsin must run on carbon-free energy -- saving money, protecting health, and setting an example for the rest of the country.

The state’s regulatory framework for utilities is outdated and unprepared for the sustainable future we need. We’ve got to crack down on monopolies that hike rates on working families and put financing into green energy projects. We should also expand community solar statewide: allow cooperatives, towns, and counties to own renewable energy directly.

Enough is enough. We need to invest in new transit lines, build trains in Wisconsin, and finally get an Amtrak station in downtown Madison (it’s nonsense that we’re not connected by rail to Chicago, the Twin Cities, or Milwaukee). We can do all of that and create green jobs while reducing emissions.

We have to tackle the PFAS contamination head-on. We should create a climate resilience fund for localities to upgrade stormwater and rural cooling systems, and fully fund the Department of Natural Resources to protect our waters, parks, and public lands. We can also support our farmers in adopting clean agriculture practices, transition away from ethanol dependence, and expand tree coverage in heat-burdened communities.

The shift to a clean economy must create opportunity, and we can’t leave anyone behind. I’ll fight to expand climate workforce development programs with unions and schools, ensuring climate equity in all projects.

We can easily guarantee free tuition at UW technical colleges for Wisconsin residents, so cost is never a barrier to opportunity. The state similarly has the resources to implement statewide student loan forgiveness grants so graduates can build their lives here without being crushed by debt.

Wisconsin’s public universities drive innovation and opportunity. We must reverse harmful budget cuts, freeze tuition, and invest more in our anchor institutions. And let's support our students' right to shared governance: when scholars shape policy and curriculum, outcomes are far better.

It is inexcusable for students to be packed five at a time into a closet of a dorm room, pushed into overpriced “luxury” apartments, or forced to live miles from campus. The student housing crisis is driving students deeper into debt and unsafe living conditions. The answer is simple: build more affordable, on-campus student housing. The state and the university have the resources to make this investment in student life.

Critical research is being shut down, and jobs are being lost at universities across the state. Our situation now is in direct opposition to what the Wisconsin Idea stands for. We need to get the state legislature out of our anchor institutions so scientists and academics can pursue research without fear. I’ll vote to protect academic independence and repeal any anti-DEI statutes.

We need to pass common-sense gun safety regulations now -- keeping weapons out of dangerous hands and protecting communities from preventable violence. We need universal background checks and red flag laws now.

One wrong step in this economy, and you could lose it all. It’s time we start treating our neighbors with dignity and have some empathy for our most vulnerable communities. The state should repeal laws that criminalize homelessness, loitering, and minor drug possession. We can also abolish cash bail in favor of non-punitive pretrial release so that poverty is never treated as a crime.

Wisconsin’s approach to cannabis is a policy failure in every measure. While states surrounding us legalize and decriminalize, we lose out on billions in revenue and continue to waste public safety resources on minor drug possession. We need to legalize cannabis now and expunge all cannabis-related prosecutions.

Our public safety institutions are woefully outdated and unsuited to address crime. Modern criminology shows that investments into violence interruption programs, restorative justice, and unarmed mental health response units are more effective than punitive policing. And we can address crime at the root cause by delivering economic security and dignity to everyone. The state must repeal laws that lock police budgets into local tax formulas, cap the amount of public funds that can be used for misconduct settlements, and implement statewide reforms to ensure accountability and transparency.

The US has some of the highest incarceration rates in the world, and in Wisconsin, Black residents are incarcerated at a rate nearly 12 times higher than white residents. Mass incarceration is an inhumane and wasteful policy failure. We can stop crime from ever happening by investing in people and working toward accountability by supporting rehabilitation over confinement. Justice for all is extremely important to me, which is why I will also work to end legalized slavery behind bars, establish a wage for all incarcerated workers, end solitary confinement, fully fund the State Public Defender’s Office, expand job and housing opportunities, reform DOC practices, and create real pathways for reentry.

Our neighbors are being snatched up off the streets and being disappeared by the felon in the White House. I’ll fight to pass the Keep Families Together bill package, which will ban identity-based detention in our state, stop local resources from being funneled into ICE’s hands, and make sure Wisconsin never becomes the next Florida.

I’ll fight to make Wisconsin “Trump-proof” by passing an LGBTQ+ sanctuary law, enshrining gender-affirming care protections, and banning conversion therapy statewide. We can also expand nondiscrimination protections, guarantee trans students’ rights, and require LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula so every student can learn in safety and dignity.

The genocide in Gaza has made it clear how much of taxpayers' dollars are invested in violence. We need to legalize divestment campaigns and require the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to divest funds from apartheid regimes. We must also adopt a comprehensive screening mechanism to ensure state investments uphold human rights, international law, and the dignity of all people.

Every senior deserves to age with dignity. The state should finance aging in place programs, pay caregivers a living wage with cost-of-living adjustments, expand access to home health care, and strengthen senior housing options with property tax credits and downsizing support.

No veteran should be without housing or support. We’ll end veteran homelessness with expanded housing vouchers and choice programs, while investing in suicide prevention, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment tailored to veterans’ needs.

People with disabilities deserve full inclusion. We’ll remove barriers by investing in paratransit services, expanding accessibility across public spaces, and guaranteeing equal opportunities in housing, work, and community life.

Systemic racism is a statistically significant and documentable social force -- we need to get serious about addressing these disparities. The predominant “color-blind” approach to addressing disparities is doing more harm than good. We have to start talking about the intersections between race, class, gender, and identity. Simply making discrimination a crime will not undo the fact that entire generations of marginalized communities were systemically shut out from access to capital, dignity, and opportunity. I’ll fight for a bold plan for investments in these communities to repair generations of systemic harm.

Wisconsin is still one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Up and down the ballot. We must end partisan gerrymandering and protect fair maps so Wisconsin voters choose their leaders -- not the other way around.

A “democracy” that does not remove every barrier to voting is not a true democracy. Everyone has the right to vote: that means repealing restrictive voter ID laws, ending felony disenfranchisement, rolling back early voting restrictions, making Election Day a paid holiday, and implementing automatic voter registration.

If we care about our democracy, then we should open up elections and make them fair by establishing RCV. The current systems do not reflect the complexity of people’s views.

The state must ensure counties and municipalities receive adequate, predictable operating support and capital grants so rising costs (inflation, labor, health care, energy) are covered without just shifting burdens to property taxpayers. And provide a fair formula for state aid tied to growth.

We need to loosen levy limits, simplify or expand referenda options, legalize or expand local revenue sources (e.g., shared sales tax, user fees) so cities like Madison can raise sufficient funds responsibly.

The State should provide grants, matching funds, or other incentives when municipalities work together (e.g., regional transit, shared public safety, joint purchasing) so costs can be spread and efficiencies realized.