EAU CLAIRE — Eau Claire County Board member Michele Magadance Skinner, who also serves as president of the Altoona Lake District, announced her candidacy Wednesday for the state Assembly.
Skinner made the announcement at the Eau Claire County Republican headquarters, saying she has “wits and common sense.” Skinner worked in broadcast TV for 20 years, including starting her career at WEAU in 1981.
“I’ve learned to be a really good listener, ask all the questions, and ferret out all the right information,” Skinner said. “I know how to get the information.”
The new 91st Assembly District includes portions of Eau Claire, Altoona and Fall Creek. The only current legislator living in the district is Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, also had lived in the district, but three weeks ago, she moved to the town of Withee, north of Thorp. Hurd intends to run for the newly-created 69th Assembly District that has no incumbent. Emerson is holding an event Thursday night to kick off her re-election campaign.
Skinner is a city native and graduated from Regis High School. After leaving WEAU, Skinner worked at TV stations in Atlanta and Minneapolis. She moved back to Altoona in 2000. She said she worked so hard on being neutral, she didn’t even vote during her years working in the media.
“I’m really not a politician; I truly am still a journalist at heart,” she said.
If elected, she believes she can work effectively with Republicans and Democrats.
“We do not govern; we lead the people,” she said.
Skinner said she didn’t seek out the party nomination, but she was asked to run for the Assembly seat the night she won her District 11 seat on the Eau Claire County Board last month. District 11 is made up of Wards 2, 6, 7, and 11 through 15 in the City of Altoona, and Ward 9 in the Town of Washington.
“I really do have a lot of support from various groups in the community,” she said. “I am answering the call and willing to take the job.”
Hurd introduced Skinner, praising the work she has done to obtain a sediment collector for Lake Altoona.
“She is an incredibly hard worker; she is a go-getter of a woman,” Hurd said. “She has fought tooth and nail to keep the lake alive.”
Skinner said she doesn’t anticipate problems serving on both the Eau Claire County Board and the state Assembly, adding she could be an “effective conduit” between them. If the Assembly work were to interfere too much with her duties on the county board, Skinner said she would finish her county board term and not seek re-election to that seat.
Currently, Republicans hold 64 of the 99 Assembly District seats and 22 of the 33 Senate District seats. The new Legislative maps that Gov. Tony Evers signed into law in February mean Republicans could hold about 52 seats in the Assembly after the November general election, and the Senate will be closer to an even split as well.
Each Assembly seat has roughly 59,000 Wisconsin residents.
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