Environment

Wisconsinites love and appreciate our forests, lakes, and rivers. Additionally, they are a major part of our state’s economy, contributing over $11 billion dollars to our state's GDP  and supporting close to 100,000 jobs. As your representative in the assembly, I will work to support our public lands. One critical program in this regard is the Knowles-Nelson  Stewardship program, a bipartisan commitment to land and water protection. However,  in the 2025-26 budget process, GOP members of the Joint Finance Committee failed to reauthorize funding for it, putting this critical program in jeopardy. I will work to reverse this short sighted give away to commercial interests.  

Another critical point is having safe, clean drinking water for our families. We need to ensure that private wells, not just public water sources, are tested regularly and issues are promptly dealt with.  

Continued use of fossil fuels leads to air pollution and attendant health risks. It is estimated that the pollution from wildfires likely caused the premature deaths of hundreds of Wisconsinites in 2023. As a person with asthma, and the husband of someone with severe chronic lung disease, I can personally attest to the dangers of air pollution. We need to attack this problem on multiple levels, such as statewide vehicle emissions testing, reduction in coal-fired power plants, and the increased use of renewables.  

Finally, it is abundantly clear that human activity is changing Earth’s climate and warming the planet. The GOP’s head-in-the-sand approach to this problem (no doubt linked to significant financial support from the fossil fuel industry) places all of us at severe risk. I will fight this ignorant approach and work towards slowing this process and mitigating its harms.