MADISON – Senate Majority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) today announced the appointment of Senator LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) as the Senate Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance for the upcoming legislative session.
Senator Johnson was first elected to the State Assembly in 2012 and has represented Milwaukee’s 6th Senate District since 2017. Before entering public office, Senator Johnson owned and operated an in-home child care business and served as co-founder and president of AFSCME Local 502, representing family child care providers.
“Senator Johnson has demonstrated her ability to connect with people across the state and fight for their needs during her time on JFC,” Hesselbein said. “From her time serving in the Assembly to now, I have seen her commitment to the people of Wisconsin and look forward to her crafting a state budget that gives everyone a fair shot to build a better life. From funding our public schools to addressing the rising costs of child care and health care, I am confident Sen. Johnson has the judgment and leadership to deliver a budget that reflects the needs of this moment in our state’s history.”
Throughout her career, she has been focused on lowering the cost of child care, improving public safety, and creating opportunity for Wisconsinites.
“I moved to Milwaukee when I was 12 years old from a small rural town in Tennessee in search of a better life,” Sen. Johnson said. “Milwaukee took my family in and gave us the opportunity to work toward something better. I owe every chance I’ve been given, every achievement I’ve accomplished, to this city and this state.”
“For more than a decade, I’ve had the privilege of hearing stories from people and families all across this state. Stories of struggle, loss, hope, achievement, and success from ordinary people, just like my family, working tirelessly to build better lives for themselves and the people they love. As Co-Chair, I promise to keep listening and to carry your stories with me into the Capitol as we write a responsible budget investing in the people because I know what having opportunity means to a family, and how much can change when people have a fair shot to build a better life.”