Knowing Our Representatives

By Felicia Zheng

Senate

Wisconsin has two senators that represent us in the Senate, which is a part of the legislative branch. This specific branch of the government is responsible for passing legislation. Interestingly enough, there is arguably no other pair in the senate that vote as differently on issues as the Wisconsin senators.

The senior senator is Ron Johnson, who has been serving since 2010. He will be up for reelection in 2022. As for his political stances, Senator Johnson is a registered Republican. He has been vocal of his support for President Trump and traditionally conservative stances. Some relevant positions include his support for less federal control over education. He has also opposed the Common Core standards in the past. Concerning climate change, Mr. Johnson has been unyielding in his support for fossil fuel companies and vehemently opposes legislation to address global warming.

Our other senator is Tammy Baldwin, who was first elected in 2013. She will be up for reelection in 2024. Senator Baldwin is a Democrat. Some of her education related stances include not investing tax money on private schools, lowering student loan rates, funding for teacher training, and more. The National Education Association gave her an “A” grade for her votes in the Senate. Senator Baldwin is a proud environmentalist who supports more funding for the EPA and environmental protection measures.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is the other body of Congress. Number of seats per state is determined by the population size, and land within the state is divided into congressional districts. Election terms in the House are two years, so politicians are constantly up for review.

Mark Pocan represents our district, the 2nd Congressional District of Wisconsin. He first joined the House in 2013, and was reelected this year. Senator Pocan is a Democrat. In education, he has openly supported more funding for public schools and teachers, along with a free first two years of community college. On the environment, he was rated a 100% by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters for his latest session in Congress. Senator Pocan has taken a strong stance on the environment and supports more protections.

State Senate

The state senate is a part of the Wisconsin State Legislature. They have many of the same powers as the federal senate, just on a state level. The senators are from different districts in Wisconsin. They also provide a check on the executive branch of the state government, which includes the governor and their appointments. Our current state senate has 33 members, with 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

Our local state senator is Mark Miller. He has served the 16th Senate District since 2012 and is a Democrat. Mr. Miller has announced that he will retire, and his successor will be chosen in the early 2021 election. According to his profile, he supports health care reform and a statewide plan in Wisconsin. He also is committed to protecting the environment and conservation.

Jimmy Anderson is our state assembly representative. He is a democrat, and a member of the committee on Environment, the committee on Colleges and Universities, and a number of other committees.

State Assembly

The Wisconsin State Assembly is the equivalent of the House of Representatives for Wisconsin. They have two year terms, and have more districts than the Senate. The current size is 99 members, with a large Republican majority. There are 63 Republicans and 34 Democrats. They recently had an election on November 3.

State Supreme Court

The State Supreme Court is the highest court of Wisconsin. They can choose which cases to take on and overrule lower courts. There are 7 justices on the court that serve 10 year terms. In any one election, only one justice can be up for reelection. Our current justices are Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, Ann Bradley, Annette Ziegler, Rebecca Bradley, Rebecca Dallet, Brain Hagedorn, and Jill Karofsky. They consider important cases that affect our daily lives, such as the validity of a mask mandate and the other actions of the governor and state legislature.

Village Board

The McFarland Village Board makes decisions for our village. According to state law, they can manage and control the village’s property, finances highways, streets, public service and more. They serve to protect the order, health and safety of the local public. In many ways, the village board has the greatest impact on our daily lives. They can instate taxes, fines, and other rules to protect their constituents.

School Board

Our school board is composed of members of our community, and makes decisions that affect the administration of our district. There are five members at a time; currently, Arlyn Halvorson, Ann Molitor, Tom Allen, Christine Pribbenow, and Craig Howery make up the board. They meet regularly and keep their agenda minutes up on the district website.