Contact: Brandon Weathersby, 414-364-6729, brandon@andygronik.com

The voices of Milwaukee’s Black community will be heard thanks to Andy Gronik’s willingness to fight for everyone in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE – Today the Elections Commission sent a clear message to Gov. Scott Walker and the State GOP that it will have nothing to do with their attempts to silence 1,770 voices from the most segregated city and most incarcerated zip code in the country. Walker had hoped to push Democratic challenger Andy Gronik out of the race by calling into question the validity of nomination signatures collected from Milwaukee neighborhood. Instead, today the Election Commission rebuffed Walker’s bogus claims without eliminating even one verified nomination signature.

“Talk about getting rejected!” Gronik said. “Maybe Gov. Walker thought I’d just roll over when he attacked my Milwaukee neighbors – not a chance! By now, Walker should know me better than that. I answered the other bogus claim he made to the Elections Commission and they threw that one out right away, too. When you mess with the people of my state; when you mess with my friends; when you mess with my family; you’re messin’ with me. It’s a big reason why I got into this fight. I couldn’t sit by for another moment and watch what Walker was doing to our state. Somebody had to stop him and that somebody is me.”

Walker went after Gronik for having people with previous felony convictions collect nomination signatures – people that had moved on with their lives and had voted in recent elections. Instead of respecting the rights each of these people to have a second chance at life, Walker and the State GOP went after them to disparage their names and call into question Gronik’s judgement for hiring people with previous convictions.

“I don’t say one thing and then do another. I’ve said from the beginning of my candidacy that ‘Every conviction should not be a life sentence,’ and I meant it. There’s too much talk, talk, talk in politics. I walk the walk and have all my life. Walker’s not going to continue to silence black voices in Milwaukee, or anybody else’s voice anywhere in the state. It’s time for the people in Wisconsin to be heard again. Walker’s living in the people’s house and he’s supposed to be doing the people’s business. I’m going to restore the voice to the people in Wisconsin and we’re going to make decisions going forward that create a Wisconsin That Works for everyone.”

Gronik’s name is #1 on the primary ballot on August 14th, in a field of 10 Democrats vying for the privilege to take Walker on in the general election on November 6th. “It’s a sign of things to come,” Gronik said. “Wisconsinites want a change and Democrats know that if we’re going to beat Walker after three consecutive losses we’re going to have to take the fight to him. People confused by all the great candidates seeking the nomination need only ask themselves, ‘Who do you want on that debate stage with Walker in fall? Do you want someone who’s going to take the fight to Walker and uniquely equipped to call ‘BS’ on all of his ‘Open for Business’ nonsense, or do you want to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again expecting different results?’ I think Democrats who want to win know their best path to victory is with me.”

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