Signatories include Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza, Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz
Yesterday, over 60 members of Wisconsin’s Polish community came together to co-sign an open letter condemning Donald Trump and announcing their support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president. Wisconsin boasts the highest proportion of Polish Americans in the nation, at 8.15%, with nearly 500,000 Polish American residents across the state.
Yesterday’s letter comes after Trump refused to say during the presidential debate if he wanted Ukraine to prevail against Russia and JD Vance announced a surrender plan that would hand Russia nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory. As Vice President Harris said, if Trump were president, “Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe – starting with Poland.”
Read the full letter below:
We, Wisconsin Polonia, unite today in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.
We believe that it is in our best interests, and the best interests of our hardworking neighbors in Wisconsin, to vote for leaders who will empower all of us to achieve the American Dream – and protect us from those that threaten it.
Those leaders are Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.
We also believe that the rights and freedoms of our families both at home and abroad rest upon rejecting Donald Trump at the ballot box.
As a community in Wisconsin, we see only one ticket that is engaging with Polish Americans and pursuing policies that would aid our families and the families of our neighbors. Only Vice President Harris is protecting our democracy here at home and standing up for our brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents, in Poland – the same people Vladimir Putin hopes to rule if Ukraine were to fall.
Earlier this year, Trump said he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to our NATO allies, and during the debate last week he twice refused to answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win their war. Polish people in the U.S. and around the world know that our future is tied to Ukraine’s — because after Ukraine, Putin’s next target is Poland. Trump’s comments tell us he does not care what happens to our families and our homeland. He’s standing with Putin, not us. As Vice President Harris made clear on the debate stage, Trump should answer to Polish Americans – including the nearly 500,000 Polish Wisconsinites – for how quickly he would sell us out to an autocrat.
Thankfully, there’s another vision on the ballot with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz: they’ll stand up to autocrats and stand up for us. It means a lot that Governor Walz showed his support for the efforts to defend Ukraine, Poland, and the rest of Europe when he visited a Ukrainian bakery in Wausau. We believe Vice President Harris will stand with our allies, stand up for democracy, and stand against authoritarians. She is a proven, respected leader on the world stage and will use her expertise to ensure America’s security.
We face a choice between a vision of a dark past and a vision for a brighter future. Our American Dream can be achieved through Vice President Harris’s plans for the middle class, not Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda that would cut Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. We’re calling on our friends and neighbors in Wisconsin to cast their votes for the leaders who will maintain alliances that make our world safer, expand our freedoms here at home, and who can deliver the American Dream for us all.
Sincerely,
- Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski
- Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza
- Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz
- Stan Gruszynski, former State Representative
- Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Justin Bielinski
- Portage County Board Supervisor Shaun Przybylski
- David Zepecki, former Milwaukee County Board Supervisor
- Paul Piotrowski, former Stevens Point Police Chief
- Greg Walz-Chojnacki, former Wauwatosa Alder
- Terry Witkowski, former Milwaukee Alder
- Joyce Frohn, Oshkosh
- Gabriel Graczyk, Mount Pleasant
- Stacie Krueger, Pewaukee
- Russell Cazier, Brooklyn
- Anne Weiss, Madison
- Theresa Severson, Madison
- Russell Novkov, Madison
- Amanda Pustz, Madison
- Julie Benkoske, Madison
- Linda Pustz, Madison
- Meg Kulikowski, Madison
- Daniel Kursevski, Madison
- Kimberly Walker-Daniels, Wittenberg
- Eric Kuzma, Green Bay
- Richard Daleki, Onalaska
- Thomas Krajewski, Onalaska
- Charles Spargo, Friendship
- Jen Bush, Glenwood City
- William Sakalaucks, South Milwaukee
- Kurt Kiefer, Baileys Harbor
- Michelle Gorka, New Richmond
- Jean Radtke, Wauwatosa
- Judith Goodnight, Neenah
- Gary Pochron, Shawano
- Michael Sobolewski, Eleva
- Lee Tarsitano, Manitowoc
- Nancy Stencil, Wausau
- Dennis Rybicke, Fort Atkinson
- Brian Graff, Eau Claire
- Tom Chojnack, New Berlin
- Stephanie Jacks, New Berlin
- Christopher Lawell, Kenosha
- Brenda Bulinski, Milwaukee
- Kathleen Arciszewski, Milwaukee
- Michelle Pearce, Superior
- Joan Garski, Stevens Point
- Fred Garski, Stevens Point
- Larry Sipiorski, Stevens Point
- Eugene Trzebiatowski, Stevens Point
- Mary Zinda, Stevens Point
- Fred Garski, Stevens Point
- Joan Garski, Stevens Point
- Steve Chojnacki, Glendale
- Patrick Wielgosh, Greendale
- Dorothy Sherman, Greendale
- Pamela Zielinski-Burrer, Brodhead
- Susan Steinbrecher, Neshkoro
- Heidi Waukechon, Bonduel
- Mary Biedrzycki, Delafield
- Darlene Jakusz, Amherst Junction
- Ted Kowalski, Plover
- Julie Konik, Sheboygan
- Kathleen Rulka, Marshfield
