Press Contact:
Kirsten Allen
510-913-1837
kirsten@mahlonmitchell.com
Includes proposals for raising wages, affordable health care, K-12 education, college affordability and criminal justice reform
MILWAUKEE – Today, ahead of the first first broadcast debate, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mahlon Mitchell unveiled his Together We Rise platform. The five-part platform includes policy proposals for raising wages, healthcare, K-12 education, college affordability and criminal justice reform.
“Wisconsin’s next governor must pursue bold and progressive policies that will ensure Wisconsinites in all 72 counties have the freedom to thrive,” said Mitchell. “We can imagine a state that is a national example for economic growth, family-supporting jobs and rising wages, a globally competitive public education system, a healthcare system the removes barriers to access and a criminal justice system that centers around rehabilitation and encourages successful re-entry. The Together We Rise platform is emblematic of my goal to unite our state around priorities that create a thriving Wisconsin that is sustainable across generations and will leave no one behind.”
The Mitchell campaign’s proposals outline detailed plans on how to go about enacting real change including – setting employment & wage standards through regional sectoral commissions, earned college tuition, a state constitutional amendment to fully-fund public education, creating a new statewide criminal justice council and passing a drug pricing transparency law.
On Raising Wages & Restoring Power to Working People
- Issue executive order creating $15/hr wage floor for all employees doing business with the state
- Issue executive order establishing $15/hr wage floor for any provider receiving Medicaid dollars
- Set employment standards through regional sectoral commissions with representatives of employers, employees, and the state
On Ending Mass Incarceration & Restoring Healthy Communities
- Reduce crime in Wisconsin by 20%
- Reduce the Black-male incarceration rate to the national average of 6.7% from our current state average of 12.8%
- Create a new statewide criminal justice council made up of members from law enforcement, criminal justice experts, community and reform groups, Wisconsinites who have been incarcerated, and representatives from the Department of Corrections
- Expand the Early Release Program and Restore the Pardon Advisory Board
- End “Truth in Sentencing” and restore judicial discretion
On Reinvesting in Public Education
- We’re going to push for a state constitutional amendment to fully-fund public education that not only requires the existence of a public K-12 education system, but also protects its funding and requires the state to fund 2/3’s of all costs to end the local struggle once and for all
- Universal Pre-K, paid for by creating an additional tax bracket for the highest income-earning individuals in Wisconsin
- Allowing communities to vote to raise their own sources of revenue, pay off debt without limitations
On Solving Student Debt & the Future of Wisconsin
- The total amount of money owed in the United States in student loans ($1.38 trillion) is greater than credit card debt ($760 billion)
- We will create the “Wisconsin Student Loan Agency” that will allow residents to refinance their loans via a one-time loan at a lower interest rate to borrowers to pay off existing loans owed to current lenders
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- Also: increase financial literacy to potential borrowers and provide low-interest loans to students for education in needed-sectors of our economy
- The “Wisconsin Compact” means a documented commitment to community will allow residents to attend two-year and technical colleges free of charge
On A Progressive Health Care System
- Lower the cost of prescription drugs and services. My administration will use the state’s buying power to negotiate lower drug prices and services through making BadgerCare a public option
- Work to import cheaper medication from Canada
- Pass a drug pricing transparency law. It’s time to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable. Under this plan, companies will have to give notice of any future price increases on prescription drugs along with a justification for the increase. Another component will be for the disclosure of the top ten medications prescribed by health plans in order for the state to monitor trends and price increases
- Reform how we deliver health care to our veterans. As governor, I plan on working extensively with local veterans groups to find effective and efficient ways to improve the health care we provide for our veterans
See links to the policy plans:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/180712CriminalJustice.pdf
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/180712HealthCare.pdf
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/180712K12.pdf
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/180712StudentLoans.pdf
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/180712Wages.pdf
