 Hi, my name is Nanette Bolabash and welcome back to legislative update. I am so thrilled to be back after several months I was kind of busy the last couple of months some of you know I ran for state assembly in the 27th district, but now I'm back co-hosting legislative update my co-host Jim Baumgart who founded this show County's board supervisor former state senator. He is retiring, but don't worry. We're not going to let him off the hook So easily he will come back for a thorough roasting So look forward to that but in the meantime, I thought the first show I would do on my own I wanted to invite some friends of mine We all ran for state assembly as progressive Democratic women in the state of Wisconsin. We all did not win our races So this is going to make interesting television. It's certainly made for interesting Life experiences and that's what I want to ask everyone about so You know me. I ran for my second bid for the 27th district. I absolutely loved it So let's hear from my friends. We're going to start with Liz Sumner from Fox Point Hi, thank you so much for having me. Yeah, so I'm Liz Sumner. I live in Fox Point I ran for state assembly in the 23rd district. I Am currently an elected official on the Fox Point Village board. I'm a small business owner I have a women's clothing store that I've owned for 11 years now And then I have two kids that are in public school five and seven So yeah, I mean, you know, I've got kind of a lot going on But you know, I had a great time running for state assembly and it came close, but you did come not quite there Okay, great and Jenny strata So, yeah, I'm Jenny strata. I ran for the 25th district. I am a single mom of five I work in the morning as a dairy farmer and then I work in the evenings as a roefer. So blue collar all the way I Picked up those jobs because I was a statewide organizer for both is the La Frontera the immigrants immigrant rights organization here statewide we have 13 chapters and I still help with that I help with deportation I Was excited to run first-time candidate In a very conservative area, but I was excited. We reached a lot of people. We got new voters out It was just to me exciting to be a part of the fall of Walker And getting to see Evers win and know that we all had a hand in that that was exciting to me So, yeah, thank you for having me. Oh, you bet and Chris Ralph from Cedarburg. Yeah, so I live in Cedarburg I married my two children are grown up both are actually serving in the military Navy veteran myself. Yep, my husband's retired Navy and you know, we take our democracy seriously And that's one of the reasons I ran and assembly district 60, which is Cedarburg Port Washington all the way up to the Sheboygan County line And then it also includes a pretty large chunk of Washington County So again a very conservative district a lot of folks are like really are you sure you want to run as a Democrat? Yes. Yes, I'm sure I want to run as a Democrat. So it was yeah, it was a great experience and Glad I did it even though we didn't win. Yeah, okay So we're gonna backtrack a little bit and we have our coffee mugs because this is a little bit like the view So I want this to be a conversation. So feel free to jump in Don't let me be the the hog of all the camera time here But how are you now think back to election night? It's been almost two weeks This will be airing in December But right now we've only had two weeks to reflect on that and how you felt then and how you feel now how What is going through your mind two weeks after this election that we worked so hard on and I think I'm Accurate in saying we all thought we could win at least I did I knew it wasn't uphill climb I but I still especially near the end when you're caught up with that energy and you've got this team Going to bat for you. You're knocking on doors every day. It's a wonderful experience and I really thought I would until Around 10 o'clock. Maybe even earlier election night and then I didn't so how are you now? I Mean, I think it's definitely a transition You know when that's I mean I spent six months of my life just thinking like campaign campaign campaign all the time You know where am I gonna go knock doors like who do I have to meet with today? You know, what can I do to to to reach voters? And so having that just stop Is is really crazy and so I think I definitely feel a little adrift You know, I need to find something to like focus all of this energy and you know and wanting to make a difference and make a change and Find something that I can you know put all of that into no Yeah, yeah, I you know, I I probably didn't have the level of confidence that you had I was very realistic about my district and what we could do and We looked at the results of the primary How many votes I got compared to how many votes the Republican got none of neither of us were challenged But when we looked at the numbers we realized it was going to be an uphill climb And so one of the things we did very early on as we defined what winning is In addition to winning more votes, you know, what else constitutes winning in this district? And so a lot of it was building infrastructure campaign infrastructure We didn't have anybody who knew how to run a campaign in our district So it was building an infrastructure It was getting out and talking to people about their issues And what's important and really learning the district So I think a lot of times we think of campaigns in terms of single cycles And I think in some of these red districts it really has to be a multi cycle event And so once you've learned all these things from a campaign What do you do next and we were kind of thinking about what do you do next back after the primary And so now we're kind of in that that mode of what happens next What do we do as a county? What do we do as candidates? What do we do as a state party to to kind of capitalize on that learning And so that's really what I'm focused on Thinking long term, not just about you, but the community and the state Yeah, that's about changing the culture I mean we know I'm a realist as well and I didn't think that I was going to win the district As much as I stayed positive with my campaign, I'm a realist And I looked at the numbers I've been watching The numbers I've been watching the campaigns prior to me And we moved it a bit, which was great It seems like we're moving in the right direction But I do believe that in a district that's so red I mean we it's all about changing the narrative, changing the culture Getting people to not only be interested in voting again We're we're touching the demographics of strong Dems and Republicans But there's so many people left out of that So like with my campaign, we came in at late We had three months from beginning to end was three months In the progress that we made was great I myself do plan to run in 2020 and it's about continuing that now So I'm actually excited I haven't stopped I thought I was going to have a little bit of downtime But it has not stopped So it's about getting out there now And having even more time to make up ground So people watching this would think, yeah, but you all lost You're all sounding pretty upbeat It's exciting I mean Wisconsin did take a turn We now have a Democratic governor A true education governor And we all played a role in that Yes I tell all of the people that worked so tirelessly on our campaign Knocking doors, making those phone calls Our campaign had a lot of single moms That were out there spending their one hour that they had Knocking on doors And you know, they were more crushed I think than I was Because of course you keep up those high spirits But I said, hey, we have a true education governor And be proud that each and every one of us had a hand in that Because without us knocking those doors Without us making those phone calls That would have never happened I want to ask you about that We're all moms We are children are grown But you have young, you have five children You have two young children What was that like? And do you think that's different than if you were a dad running for office? Of course Okay, dumb question Mine were excited I don't know about yours Mine were excited to knock on doors They were excited to go on the parades We made it fun Our campaign was completely different Our parties were different They were exciting A lot of family friendly fun And I think that's what got people excited And wanting to turn out to vote Is because they were seeing different candidates We were in fact changing the narrative All of our incumbents were completely different than us So that was exciting People are I think now starting to think, hey As a mom, we're busy A lot of us, a lot of the women on my cabinet Were like, no, I'm not going to I've never voted before And it's like these are your children's future So it's about through education But it's like yeah Sure that it was the right thing to do Absolutely Oh yeah I mean I think that there were a lot of women In similar situations to me That looked at me And were like there is someone that Stands for what I believe in Who looks like me And is going through the same things as me Like we need people like that In our state legislature That can represent us Okay Yeah And so I really felt that Like I felt that commitment from people And it was really and that support And that I think Was so much more of a takeaway from this Than anything Just like having so many people Like believe in you And it was really cool I only ask because I saw this on Twitter What my friend And maybe it was on Facebook too It was going around A female candidate I think in Wisconsin I don't remember her name But she got this note From a constituent Or a resident of her district Who said, you know It's fine that you were We really think you If you were a mother You should be home with your kids And taking care of them Yeah It was in Wisconsin Okay, well good I just thought, whoa It's 2018 I've gotten those messages on Facebook You did Oh yeah, you did get pushed Yes, especially as a single mom They were like, hey Don't you think you should be Focusing on your children I said, what better way to focus on my children Than to make sure You may actually have a future in our state So you didn't let it affect you Oh gosh, no It gave me more power I'm betting that example That, you know, moms can do everything Yeah And I think And bringing your children to events You know I heard some comments Like there was one event And someone's like, wow Those kids are a little disruptive And it's like, yeah But this is how you're inclusive As a party Is you make things More friendly to bring children There shouldn't be this expectation That you're going to separate your kids From what, from your campaign And so, you know We need to, as Democrats We need to make sure that our party meetings Are kid-friendly Oh, I love that idea I do love that That children are welcome And if, you know And if it means bringing a box of toys in the back So kids can do stuff Or Emily had a great Emily Segrist Who's not here But she ran just to the south of us And she went to a party And she's like, why isn't there a box Like coloring books and stuff here So if people bring their kids They have something to do So sometimes it's just Making those small adjustments So that our meetings are kid-friendly That they, and then young adults So we're not meeting in a bar every time So if you're 17, you can't go Very good point We had on our cabinet Was mostly single moms So we had, it looked like a daycare More than a cabinet meeting And then we had high school students on ours So, I mean, I think it is, like you said, Chris Up to each and every one of us To kind of change not only that narrative When we're going out and knocking on doors But changing the narrative And within our own party of Hey, we're ready to run And who more knows about the issues We're living these exact issues And we need to change that for all of us Well, that brings me to one of the questions That I had emailed to you earlier There were 40, we were among 43 women Who ran as Democrats for the assembly The incumbents got in, I believe A couple challengers got in But not many What does it mean that so many of us ran And is there a difference? I guess you sort of answered my question already About women candidates versus men candidates Are we seeing a change in Wisconsin's Political culture because of this? Or answer any of those? I mean, I don't know if we're actually seeing a change But I mean, I do think it's really important That we do see one I mean, what is it? 25% of our legislature is female? You know, we need a voice at the table And we're more than half of the population Seriously, I mean, you know, it's time And I, you know, I've said all, you know During my campaign, when you surround yourself With a bunch of like-minded individuals You're never going to come up with the best solution To a problem And that's what we're seeing Okay, very, very great Cultural change takes time It's, and I do this for a living I work as a management consultant For construction companies And often when we're trying to do cultural change We focus on those, we call them cave people Citizens against virtually everything You know, the die-hard people That are all never changed, you know And I think one of the things we need to do Is instead of focusing on those people You know you're never going to change As you focus on the early adopters And to really bring about cultural change You don't have to get 50% of the people on board You only need to get, you know, about 20%, 30% And then the culture starts to change And so even though we didn't win By the numbers, we were creating cultural change The next time all, you know The big narrative this time was Look at all those women running Well, the next time there should be a narrative About look at all those competent people running And so people will get past the fact that we're women And I think that's important That, that's awesome I've been watching politics for a long time I remember 1992 Which was the Anita Hill hearings And after that a rush of women ran for office And it was pretty, and a couple of them got in For Senate, the US Senate It was really awesome Because we were so angry about How she was treated And then of course after our current president was elected That also brought in a rush of energy We all took part in some of those marches That came after that They were still going to keep them going We're still angry at our president But we're very glad about the new governor A couple more questions about the campaign And then I want to go into the future of Wisconsin And progressivism in Wisconsin And Tony Evers, which is awesome And Sarah, our friend Sarah Who is the state treasurer But thinking back to the campaign Is there anything, because this was the first time For all of you, it was my second time Second time definitely is better, I can tell you I just loved it Okay, here's my first question What did you love about it? And what I loved about it What was the chase? If I run again It'll be because I just love the idea Of having an excuse To go up to a perfect stranger And introducing myself And asking them about themselves I can still do what I guess I don't need the excuse I just love doing that I love talking to new people And I had this excuse to do it Hey, did you have my card? You know, I'm running? It was awesome Because almost everybody, conservative They were so friendly And most people are happy to talk And a couple aren't But you learn the second time Not to take that personally Because I just don't It just rolls right off Negative comments, rolls And that's made me a better person So what did you love about campaign? What was the best part? I think just the ability to... In Ozaki County, Democrats were feeling very isolated You knock doors and talk to so many Democrats They're like, I'm the only one on the block And so the ability to bring a group together That didn't know that they had that many allies And all of us working for something bigger than ourselves I think that just the camaraderie from that Just seeing people get excited About progressive values in a red area And feeling that we can make a difference Just that excitement and that momentum And that really, that was wonderful Awesome, Jenny? To me, I think it was most exciting Was to see all the families involved We had, I mean, in our parades We had like 50 kids marching with us And it was marching for a cause And I think getting the chance to educate them And knowing that this is our future And investing in them was exciting And seeing moms get more excited About the direction that their children are going But then educating them as well I think that was exciting I think what was super exciting to me Was like, I actually got to talk to even my friends There's a lot of friends that was like, I never knew that they've never voted before And to not only be there that first time That they voted, but to see them so excited That I am with the process was great And knowing that they were out touching other people It's like, we are making a real difference here And that was exciting Anything to add to that? I mean, I think I would probably just agree You know, I think there were so many things That it's really hard to just pick one Because it was just a really incredible experience All around What was hard about it? What would you, let me phrase it this way What would you advise someone Who is thinking about running to look out for As they, what would be your best advice to someone? Or what he wished someone had told you Perhaps Answer that however you want I would say stay true to yourself I know there's a lot of people that have different ideas And how a campaign should be run But I think you're going to have the most fun And the most benefit out of these Stay true to who you are And not try to run it Like anybody else has in the past Or will in the future Stay true to yourself and running it How you want to It's fun It is really fun I don't think I would try to talk anyone Out of running I mean I think it's like having a child You go into it not necessarily knowing All the stuff that's going to happen And you do it anyway And then you learn from it So I think everybody's experience Is going to be a little bit different So you know there's certainly tactical things That I would have done differently But there's nothing I would say Oh watch out for this Because I think everybody's campaign Unfolds in a different way And you encounter problems And then you figure out how to overcome them I think maybe just be flexible That you have a plan And then things are going to happen And you have to react to them So you know I think maybe just to be flexible But I'd recommend you know anybody That's thinking about running to give it a try And if your mom pack lots of snacks And it's such a wonderful thing to do I am remembering and This was in Howard's Grove When I was doing doors I was at a doorstop and they had A sign, no solicitation And I never knew how to respond to that Because we weren't really selling anything I still not And nobody was home But the homeowner, a younger woman Drove up in her SUV And she yelled from her car Looking at me And this is what she said If you're a politician Get off my property right now I mean she was angry And that just whoa And then she says didn't you see my no solicitation sign And I said I should have just not argued You know that's the advice I got And I wish I'd felt But instead I said well I wasn't selling anything I'm running for office You're selling your vote I said well that's free And then I kind of walked off I didn't handle it well A learning experience But I was stunned by that Negativness About what we were doing Which is a noble thing Don't you think? So okay and one more question about the campaign We all ran in conservative districts And I don't know about you But I got a lot of I said I loved All my conversations And some of the best debates And give and take was with conservatives and Republicans Just wonderful, wonderful people Who opened their door to me And talked and shared their ideas And listened to mine But I did get, you know What is it that conservatives get wrong About us, about progressives? I got some weird ones Like you guys are all anti-business And you own a business And that was after I had said something In a public forum about Foxconn Which I think we have very good reasons To be skeptical about Even more now Yeah Exactly But he sort of generalized You're all anti-business And another time I'm doing doors I pass the guy on the sidewalk He didn't look very friendly But I'm, you know Hey, do you want to take my literature? You know I'm running? No, you know And then he kept walking And then he turned back And he said Why do you always want Why do you Democrats want to take our money? And again I should have just Smiled and said Have a nice day But I didn't I didn't I had to push back I think there's like a lot of miseducation And I mean because you have more Control on how you sell a product than a person And they see all the negative ads And you know they paint Democrats To be this certain way They just want to give money away to everybody And it's like for complete liberals When that's the exact opposite But we do know that there's enough money In the budget if you're fiscally responsible To get the things done That we need to get done I think the most interesting conversation That I had was again With a conservative And I was actually in a Section 8 housing unit And I knocked on the door Because there was a big Confederate flag in his spot Why not? So I knocked And he was like Which side are you running on? Are you a Democrat? And I said yeah And he said well I don't want to talk to you I'm like well can I just ask why? And he's like well because you want to take away our guns And I was like well First of all it's not true I'm a hunter I have my hunting license I don't want to take away your guns There's a difference between gun reform And taking away your guns Excuse me And I said well Let me just ask you a question So how long have you lived here? And he's like I've lived here five years And I said so you've lived in Section 8 housing for five years So in those five years you haven't been able to have a gun But you're voting against the very people That want to take the very roof Above your head away from you Because they want to take away badger care They want to take away food share Which are things that you need in order to live in Section 8 housing I said so I hope when you vote this next time You're just Think about it a little bit more On what's more important Yeah I think it's hard You know think about most The normal person spends maybe five minutes a week Thinking about politics And so they are bombarded With propaganda messaging And then they have to sort through that And figure out what's true and what's not And so what sticks are these little sound bites Like Democrats want free stuff I heard that a lot Well you just want to You want to take my money To give free stuff to other people Well when we talk about giving free stuff away You know there's one party That decided to give four and a half billion dollars away To a very profitable foreign corporation For the promise of jobs And now if they deliver those jobs It's like three hundred thousand dollars per job More than we've ever spent I'm a you know I'm an In any other country I'm a state in the country I'm a data person And I know that you know from a business standpoint That's just a poor business decision So the idea that we're the ones giving money Away you know one person's entitlement Is another person's investment So almost any discussion about government Is really a discussion of resource allocation And so I think as Democrats We ran on a fiscal accountability platform That if you're going to invest There needs to be a return And I think we all agree One of the best investments You can make is education If I teach if I if I give a child a great education They're going to grow up And they're going to be a productive member of society They're going to generate revenue And they're going to pay taxes That's an economic argument And so the idea that Democrats are bad for the economy I think that's that's the biggest fallacy And I think you know we we we ought to do A better job of messaging that But I you know that's the one area I think that the folks folks get it wrong Because the Republicans thrive on that That wrong messaging Yeah We all sound so reasonable We all should have won I think that was sort of one of the biggest Like joys though of knocking on doors Was talking to Republicans And then just seeing the look on their face Completely changed realizing that I am not crazy You know I am not just going to come and You know tax them 75% of them Or income or whatever like I have There I have genuine ideas About how to make this state better And they're not crazy You know And that was that was really cool You were talking to people who really didn't Talk to many progressives Well right and I mean I think that's so That's so important about what we all did Was had the conversation Because so many people don't And I think the doors that frustrated me the most Were the ones that just got slammed in my face Because I was like I'm here on your doorstep Like willing to talk to you to find out What's important to you like And so tell me let's have this conversation You know I want to hear your side Okay So what happens now We've got Tony Evers We've got Sarah Godluschi for state treasure We've got Josh Kahl I believe who won And we've got the lieutenant governor As well Mr. Barnes So this is this is terrific So statewide I've been I've been telling people we We are progressive But our little districts are not What's going to happen? Are you I mean I'm hopeful about Tony But then he's got these Powerful legislature Both sides very strongly conservative How's that going to work? Well the governor you know Just by holding that position He's got a megaphone So all these messages that You know as individual candidates We struggle maybe reaching everybody With education healthcare We now have somebody in the governor's office That can help message So I think the critical thing Coming out of Madison Is we need a very frequent And consistent messaging And education about the issues that matter And I think it still is our responsibility Continue even though he's a democratic governor Is to make sure that he's doing What he is supposed to be doing I mean there's so much divide on the sides But I think it says not only candidates But people living in our community We need to make sure even though We have a democratic governor that He's you know Stepping up to those promises that he made And that in that campaign And that's it's our responsibility To hold everybody accountable Well including our assembly people You know my opponent All of a sudden decided to adopt A bunch of democratic you know Policy issues All right And so I think you know Making sure that they're actually Following through Yep So we only have a minute or so left What happens next? What are each of you going to do politically And personally if you want to share that What's next? I'll start I have the show Which is great which is a platform They don't mind I am going to invite Our lawmakers on I don't know if they'll come It was hard to get them to talk to me But we will see And I have some ideas for the show I will still be active in the Democratic Party Still active in Forward Sheboygan So and I'm going to mentor And encourage young people to vote What about you Chris? I don't know yet To run I mean Yeah I have no idea Right now I'm just working on learning Trying to capture what we learned From the campaign and make sure that That knowledge is passed on to You know for anybody that wants to run again In the future and then after that We'll have to see Okay Jenny I will be running for office again in 2020 And it's about still staying active in the community And in fact my energy level is still 100% And we have hit the ground running Even though it's two years away We have two years to get people excited And to change things around so And Liz Yeah I'll continue my service on the Fox Point Village Board And yeah and I'm just looking to To find some outlets to make a difference in my community That's great It's great that you're still in the Village Board Yeah So thank you all And thank you audience for watching This has been our first single legislative update We are going to come up with a new name for the show So I'm open to ideas It has to reflect I think the fact that Wisconsin and Sheboygan Are undergoing a renaissance So that's my working title for now This is Nanette Boulevage Thank you so much for joining us on legislative update