Standing Up Against an Insufficient Budget
In a rushed process forced by Republicans who had earlier abandoned Governor Tony Evers at the negotiating table, Wisconsin’s legislature passed a 2025-27 state budget which the Governor signed very early on July 3.
Alongside 38 Assembly Democrats and 1 Republican, I was the only Western Wisconsin legislator to vote No on this budget, calling it a “Republican public-school-closing budget.” Here’s why I opposed it so forcefully:
- Public school advocates have been clear that we needed new general aid to public schools, 90% special education reimbursement, and a moratorium on private voucher spending. This budget did none of that.
- Healthcare advocates have been clear that accepting federal Medicaid expansion — like nearly every other state — should be non-negotiable. This budget didn’t include that.
- Childcare advocates have been clear that our childcare infrastructure is at risk of collapse, yet this budget only extended state support for one year of the biennium.
- Criminal legal reform advocates have been clear that we should divest from incarceration and invest in restorative justice. This budget abandoned a timeline for closing the archaic Green Bay Correctional Facility and will do nothing to meaningfully reduce Wisconsin’s disproportionate prison population.
- Put simply, education, healthcare, food, and housing are human rights. With Republicans in charge of our legislature, this budget treats these rights like profit commodities for Republicans and their friends to get their hands on.
We worked hard last year to flip the 93rd and put principled leadership in the capitol. But, as the CapTimes argued, we need to grow our power in 2026 if we want budgets better than this one. Its editorial board wrote:
“Among the most informed and engaged members of the current Legislature, [Representatives Ryan] Clancy, [Francesca] Hong, [Darrin] Madison and [Christian] Phelps represent diverse urban and rural constituencies, and they spoke during the budget debate for a great many Wisconsinites when they expressed frustration with the fact that:
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“[This budget is] a betrayal of Wisconsin’s future, gutting the public systems families rely on while bending to Republican demands.”
Follow our campaign to stay in the loop about how we can grow our power and get better budgets in the future. The stakes are too high not to.