State Senate Democratic Committee: CAP Times Endorses Jenna Jacobson, Slams Howard Marklein’s Record

MADISON, WI – Today, the CAP Times published an editorial endorsing Representative Jenna Jacobson in her race against Republican State Senator Howard Marklein in the 17th State Senate District. The piece highlights Rep. Jacobson’s bipartisan record of protecting rural healthcare clinics, advocating for public schools, and dedication to preserving Wisconsin’s natural beauty and farmland.

It contrasts that record with Senator Marklein’s long history of putting corporate and political interests ahead of working people, from cracking down on unions to abandoning Wisconsinites with disabilities and failing to stand up for rural public schools.

The CAP Times: Elect Jenna Jacobson and a progressive Legislature

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Southwestern Wisconsin needs dynamic representation in the state Senate,  and Jenna Jacobson has the experience and the enthusiasm to provide it.

A Democratic member of the state Assembly, Jacobson’s been a leader in the fight to defend rural schools and Universities of Wisconsin campuses. She’s committed to preserving and funding the threatened hospitals and clinics vital to the health and safety of the towns, villages and small cities of Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Green and Crawford counties, along with the portion of western Dane County that make up the 17th District. And as a veteran member of the Oregon Village Board, Jacobson understands the importance of getting sufficient shared revenues to Wisconsin communities as part of the broader fight to reduce the burden of property taxes.

Jacobson’s bipartisan record, and her excitement about representing the causes and concerns of southwest Wisconsin in the Senate, stand in stark contrast with conservative Republican incumbent Howard Marklein.

Marklein has served in the Legislature for the better part of two decades, since the days when he used his positions in the Assembly and Senate to advance former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s assaults on workers and their unions, fair elections and the environment. Walker is long gone, having been ejected from office in 2018 by voters who recognized the damage he was doing to Wisconsin’s most vulnerable communities.

But Marklein remains as a steady defender of Walker’s legacy. Instead of working in a meaningful way with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to benefit southwest Wisconsin, Marklein has used his powerful position as co-chair of the legislative Joint Finance Committee — according to a recent report by Wisconsin’s UpNorthNews — to undercut “more than 1,600 of Evers’ proposals, including funding for childcare, school meals, clean water, and paid family leave.”

His woeful environmental record, as tallied by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Conservation Voters, shows he’s voted for conservation proposals just 15% of the time, earning him a “Conservation Dishonor Roll” placement. Jacobson, in contrast, has voted with environmental causes 100% of the time, earning her the distinction of “Conservation Champion.”

Marklein failed to act on adequately funding the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which helps people with disabilities find employment and attain academic success. That failure led to a catastrophic waitlist of more than 7,600 that won’t clear until next June. He didn’t respond to multiple requests for an explanation when the Cap Times editorial board reached out.

Marklein also faced criticism this year for failing to adequately defend against the closure of Wisconsin’s rural schools and UW system campuses. But his failures are really part of a broader disengagement from the values and concerns of the voters he is supposed to represent; indeed, this fall, he didn’t even bother to fill out the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Dane County questionnaire for legislative candidates.

Jacobson offers an energetic alternative to the incumbent. She’s campaigning everywhere from Mount Horeb to Monroe, Dodgeville to Platteville. She’s visited every corner of the district and offered detailed plans to fight in the Legislature for public education, the environment, family farms, healthcare, childcare, affordable housing and women’s rights. And, if Democrats retain the governorship and — thanks to fair maps — win control of the Senate and Assembly, she’ll be in a good position to implement an agenda that truly serves southwest Wisconsin.

We’re highlighting the race in the 17th because it could well be the contest that flips control of the Senate to the Democrats, a change that is critical to achieving effective progressive governance over the next four years.

But every Senate contest matters, and we are proud to endorse a pair of Democratic incumbents who represent the region: District 15’s Mark Spreitzer, who has been a leader in the fight to expand access to healthcare; and District 27’s Dianne Hesselbein, the Democratic leader in the chamber and a strong advocate for regulating data centers, holding down utility costs and codifying a woman’s right to choose.

Hesselbein says that with fair maps and a strong slate of candidates, “Wisconsin Democrats are on the precipice of winning a trifecta — meaning we’ll have real power to deliver for working families across Wisconsin.”

She’s right. But that trifecta requires voters in Dane and surrounding south-central Wisconsin counties to choose Democrats to flip control of the Assembly away from the Republicans who, for 15 years, have relied on Walker-era gerrymandering and special interest money to maintain their destructive control of the chamber.

With that in mind, we’re endorsing the reelection bids of able and experienced Democratic incumbents Maureen McCarville (District 42), Brienne Brown (43), Joan Fitzgerald (46), Randy Udell (47), Andrew Hysell (48), Renuka Mayadev (77), Shelia Stubbs (78), Lisa Subeck (79), Mike Bare (80) and Alex Joers (81).

In the 51st District, which stretches from western Dane County across much of southwestern Wisconsin, we reiterate our strong endorsement last week of Ben Gruber, who will be a legislative leader and absolute champion for rural schools and hospitals.

In the race to fill the open District 50 seat, we encourage voters to choose Bill Oemichen, the president of the New Glarus School Board, who faces Republican Jon Aleckson. We’re impressed with elements of Aleckson’s “Restore Wisconsin Plan” that propose innovative strategies for developing affordable housing. But Oemichen’s more comprehensive approach, and his experience on the school board and as a professor who teaches about law and local government, means that he will hit the ground running as a representative for Green County and southwestern Dane County.

In Madison’s 76th District, Alder Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford will be a great successor to state Rep. Francesca Hong. She’s on the progressive side of issues ranging from data centers to housing and LGBTQ+ rights. She’ll represent her district well and keep Democrats focused on economic, social and racial justice.”