Newly elected leaders of the Dem majority legislative caucus outlined their approaches for the next session, while GOP Rep. Tyler August, elected to serve as Assembly minority leader, said the fight to regain the majority has begun.
Assembly Dem and GOP caucuses and Senate Dems held leadership elections yesterday. Senate Republicans held leadership elections last week.
Assembly Dems elected Greta Neubauer to serve as Assembly speaker, making her the first woman to serve in that role, while Senate Dems elected Dianne Hesselbein to serve as majority leader.
Dems will have an 18-15 majority in the Senate, and a 53-46 majority in the Assembly next year.
Neubauer said Democrats would be “pushing very hard” to repeal Act 10 as the governor-elect says he wants to review how a repeal would impact local government finances.
“We support the restoration of rights for the people of Wisconsin, including collective bargaining rights and the rights of workers in the public and private sector,” said Neubauer, D-Racine.
Dem. Gov.-elect David Crowley has called for a blue ribbon commission to examine long-term financing for local government, including the impact of an Act 10 repeal.
She added the caucus would be discussing the timeline to address bargaining rights with Crowley, “but we will be pushing very hard to restore the rights of working people in Wisconsin.”
Neubauer listed free school meals, an increase to public school funding and new regulations on prescription drug costs among the legislation the Assembly could take up.
Neubauer promised “long-overdue action” from the Assembly to make life more affordable for Wisconsinites, citing the above issues as instances of legislation that Democrats had introduced in prior sessions.
“We have a lot of bills that we are considering, and, of course, we need to work with our caucus and colleagues to determine what comes first, but we have a lot that’s ready to go,” Neubauer said.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, said she understands there is a “sense of urgency” to pass legislation but said she needed to establish caucus priorities with newly elected members.
Incoming Senate President Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, however, said the caucus has already begun work on addressing “tough issues” such as funding public schools, AI and data center regulation, environmental protection and making healthcare more affordable.
Senate Dems successfully flipped three seats in last week’s election, gaining a 18-15 majority, as the party secured its first trifecta in 16 years.
“We really want to bring those voices from those districts that really didn’t have any good representation in this building until this moment. …and make sure the priorities that we put in place really reflect the entire state,” Hesselbein said.
Hesselbein said the caucus will evaluate the work of existing committees, such as the AI in healthcare study committee. Hesselbein did not offer a timeline for committee establishment and leadership appointments but said the caucus will be meeting regularly over the next two months.
She also said she has met with Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, who is set to serve as minority leader next year. Hesselbein said she assured Bradley that Dem leadership would hear Republican bills and that her door is always open to the “best ideas.”
August declared the “campaign to take back the majority started today” after his fellow Assembly GOP colleagues unanimously elected him minority leader for the next session.
The Walworth Republican told WisPolitics following yesterday’s four-hour caucus to elect new leadership that the ideas he’s hearing from Dems have largely focused on creating new government programs and spending more money. He said that runs counter to Dems’ pledge to make life more affordable for Wisconsinites.
“We’re unified in telling the state they’d better hold onto their wallets,” August said.
The Dem proposals August knocked included a push to repeal Act 10.
Bradley, R-New Berlin, last week told WisPolitics Senate Republicans will hold Dems accountable.
“We’re going to hold the new majority accountable at every step,” Bradley said. “They’ve made a lot of promises that are going to cost a lot of money, and we will make sure that the voters are fully aware of how they govern.”
He said the best way for his caucus to move past Tuesday’s losses is to do a better job articulating a message and providing a clear contrast to the “tax and spend majority that was just elected.”
See WisPolitics stories on the leadership elections below: