Wisconsinites deserve leaders who vote the same way they campaign and communicate. On May 13, Senator Jodi Habush Sinykin — the state senator representing the 8th Senate District, including the communities I serve in the 24th Assembly District — had the opportunity to support disaster relief, school funding, property tax relief, tax relief for working families, and
expanded veteran benefits. She voted no. That vote is especially difficult to explain given the Senator’s own public statements and legislation.
For nearly a year following the devastating August 2025 floods, our office worked alongside legislators from both parties to advance disaster relief legislation. Senator Habush Sinykin was a co-sponsor of AB 580/SB 558, the Wisconsin State Emergency Relief (WISER) Act, which would provide state assistance for families and businesses when federal aid is unavailable or insufficient.
The Assembly amendment that I introduced on May 13 included that same core concept by creating disaster relief grants for homeowners and businesses impacted by emergencies, including grants of up to $25,000 per household and $50,000 per business. Yet Senator Habush Sinykin voted against the package containing those provisions she so adamantly supported.
The bill also expanded veteran property tax relief. Specifically, the Assembly amendment lowered the disability eligibility threshold for the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit from 100% to a rating of 80%. That issue is one Senator Habush Sinykin herself has publicly championed. In a Senate press release supporting her proposal, “Expanding Eligibility for Veterans and Surviving Spouse Property Tax Credit” (2025 LRB-5241/4617), she stated that “by reducing the eligibility
threshold to 70% service-connected disability rating will help ensure that more veterans and their families are able to remain in their homes and in our communities,” adding “our veterans have shown up when our country needed them—time and time again—it’s far past time that Wisconsin shows up for them.” The surplus package she voted against contained expanded eligibility for that very same veterans property tax credit.
Senator Habush Sinykin has also repeatedly called for greater investment in schools and property tax relief. In her official statement on the 2025-27 state budget, she criticized the budget for “fail[ing] to include any increase in general school aid,” calling it a “missed opportunity considering our state’s historic budget surplus.” She also argued the state was “shifting that responsibility onto property taxpayers.”
The May 13 surplus bill included hundreds of millions of dollars in school and special education funding, as well as significant property tax relief. That same statement from Senator Habush Sinykin also complained that Senate Democrats’ proposals related to “tax cuts,” “veterans benefits,” and “increased school funding” were
blocked. Yet when legislation containing those priorities actually came before the Senate floor
on May 13, she voted no.
No legislation is ever perfect. But voters should reasonably expect consistency between a legislator’s public priorities and their actual votes.
On May 13, the Senate had an opportunity to approve disaster relief, expanded veterans tax relief, school funding increases, special education investments, property tax relief. and tax relief for working Wisconsinites. Senator Habush Sinykin voted against it.
