<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=34SXzu_1GmrUHS600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=34SXzu_1GmrUHS600" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Starting in January, Democrats will control the Wisconsin Assembly, Senate and the governor's seat for the first time since 2010. RUTHIE HAUGE</figcaption></figure>The Cap Times is an independent newsroom serving Madison and Wisconsin. Sign up for the Morning Update to receive news in your inbox each morning.For the first time in nearly two decades, Democrats will control the Legislature and governor’s seat in Wisconsin, setting the stage for a new era in state politics after years of Republican reign and divided government.In the state Senate, Democrats won races in four key battleground districts and flipped three Republican seats, meaning Democrats will hold an 18-15 majority at the start of the year. In the Assembly, Democrats flipped eight seats, securing a 53-46 majority.Two of the seats Democrats managed to flip in the Nov. 3 election were in Dane County. In the 17th Senate District, Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, beat longtime Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, with more than 55% of the vote. And in the 51st Assembly District, conservationist Ben Gruber, D-Arena, beat another longtime Republican lawmaker, Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville, with 55% of the vote.But after the blue confetti has been swept and the yard signs get put away, the question remains: What will Democrats do with all this power?<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23ax2z_1GmrUHS600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23ax2z_1GmrUHS600" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, and Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, wave to supporters at the David Crowley election night watch party at Landmark Credit Union Live in Milwaukee. RUTHIE HAUGE</figcaption></figure>Democratic leaders began laying out their ideas on election night, saying they plan to be focused on addressing affordability, increasing funding for K-12 public schools, providing property tax relief, protecting reproductive rights and more.“We have a generational opportunity to set Wisconsin on a new path, and we are going to be ambitious. We are going to work quickly in the first days of this session to demonstrate that life in Wisconsin will be different with Democrats in power,” Democratic Assembly Leader Greta Neubauer said in an interview with the Cap Times.<h2>No time to waste</h2>For 16 years, Democrats have had to largely sit around and watch as Republicans controlled state government. For eight of those years, Republicans held their own trifecta under former Gov. Scott Walker, where they were able to install many of their policy priorities.Just five Democrats in the coming Legislature have ever been in the majority party before. And while a major theme of the Democratic trifecta era is likely to be undoing those Walker-era policies, this will be new territory for the party in power.“What stands out about the Democratic trifecta is the amount of time it’s been since it happened before,” said University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky. “The party has been out of power for so long, at least in the state Legislature, that it remains to be seen how they’re going to govern.”Ben Voelkel, a Republican consultant and a former spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, said this will be a test of Democrats’ leadership skills and ability to deliver. Factions within the Democratic Party could cause hurdles for them to get their policies across the finish line, he said.“They made a lot of promises over the years. Those promises are going to come due, and so it’s now a matter of: How are they able to govern? Are they able to govern? And will voters like what they get? And I think that’s all to be seen,” Voelkel said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2qKfMo_1GmrUHS600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2qKfMo_1GmrUHS600" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Greta Neubauer said Democrats' trifecta will usher in a new "ambitious" era in Wisconsin politics. RUTHIE HAUGE</figcaption></figure>But Democrats have been lying in wait, according to Neubauer, who is expected to become the next Assembly speaker to replace Republican Robin Vos, who did not seek re-election. While being in the majority will be a learning curve, Neubauer said she plans to lead collaboratively and that her caucus has been unifying and working for months to prepare for this moment.“We have always worked really well together as a caucus. We, of course, have been on defense for many years, but we’ve come together in difficult moments,” Neubauer said. “We know that we have no time to waste, and I believe that our caucus is going to do really good work together.”<h2>‘Act 10 is a goner’</h2>A big part of Democrats’ agenda involves undoing some of Walkers’ policies. They aim to overturn Act 10, the controversial law that stripped most public workers of collective bargaining rights. Walker also signed a law in 2015 that restricted abortions in Wisconsin past 20 weeks of pregnancy, something Democrats also want to target.“It’s not going to be pretty for conservatives and Republicans,” Chergosky said.“I think Republicans during the Walker years hoped that the conservative rise in the state had fundamentally reshaped state politics, and now they’re in the position of facing a Democratic trifecta that is poised to undo and reverse many of the conservative policies that were enacted during the Walker years,” Chergosky said. “I mean, Act 10 is a goner.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3UbOcd_1GmrUHS600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3UbOcd_1GmrUHS600" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>The crowd cheers Nov. 3 as Wisconsin Gov.-elect David Crowley gives his victory speech at Landmark Credit Union Live in Milwaukee. RUTHIE HAUGE</figcaption></figure>It won’t be as easy as snapping their fingers, Chergosky said. And Democrats have developed a large backlog of their own policies over the years that they will likely also want to prioritize, like legalizing recreational cannabis and offering universal school meals, for example.One of Neubauer’s top priorities is increasing school funding in the state budget. Gov.-elect David Crowley said he wants the state to increase its special education reimbursement rate to 90% from the current rate of 45%. Neubauer said they are also considering changes to the school funding formula that decides how much state aid districts receive.In an interview with the Cap Times, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind said he wants Democrats to be laser focused on addressing the affordability crisis. And while much of that falls in the hands of the federal government, Kind said he was optimistic with the plan put forth by Democrats heading for the state Capitol.But Kind said he also wants the new majorities to be humble.“It’s going to be important that they don’t overreach, that they don’t overread this mandate that’s been given to them, because I think this is a loaner. This is a trial period,” Kind said. “They want to see what progress is being made, and we might be looking at an entirely different environment in a couple of years again. But there’s an opportunity here.”<h2>Stars aligning and licking wounds</h2>New state lawmakers will be sworn into office and kick off the new session on Jan. 4. Between now and then, Neubauer said, Democrats are meeting to make a game plan.Assembly Democrats had already been strategizing in the months leading up to the election, and collaborating with Senate Democrats and the Crowley campaign as well. Between now and the end of the year, Neubauer said, her caucus plans to meet weekly to map out their first 100 days in office and iron out procedural details.Some of the first orders of business for Democrats in the Legislature will be selecting leaders in both chambers, making committee assignments and setting a schedule for the coming legislative session, which will last through 2029.Got a news tip?While lawmakers will be able to begin introducing bills and pushing through legislation quickly, one of the first — and largest — priorities will be crafting the state budget, which is supposed to be signed into law by the summer.Chergosky said the budget is an enormous opportunity for Democrats who have not had much say over the two-year funding plan for nearly two decades, and their plan will be bolstered with the help of a roughly $3 billion budget surplus.“Democrats have a once-in-a-generation opportunity here with the stars aligning for them,” Chergosky said.Meanwhile, Republicans will need to begin to regroup, Voelkel said.He said he hopes Republican legislators uphold their party’s values against a Democratic majority. Because Democrats have narrow majorities in the Legislature, he said, they might need to rely on some lawmakers from the other side of the aisle to get certain bills passed, and he’s hopeful Republicans can help shape the final result on some policies.The state party needs to rebuild its bench of candidates, grow its donor base and look to the next generation of Republican leaders, Voelkel said.“Really no time to stop and lick the wounds. It’s kind of got to be get back up on the horse and get going right away,” he said.Chergosky said it is likely to get worse before it gets better for Wisconsin Republicans.“The good news for them is that we have seen parties in the wilderness before, after suffering devastating losses, and (they) have been able to rebuild in a relatively short period of time,” he said.</div></body>

Block Source: captimes.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

The Cap Times is an independent newsroom serving Madison and Wisconsin. Sign up for the Morning Update to receive news in your inbox each morning. For the first time in nearly two decades, Democrats will control the Legislature and governor’s seat in Wisconsin, setting the stage for a new era in state politics after years of Republican reign and divided government.

'Act 10 is a goner,' and other ways Wisconsin Democrats will use power

NewsBreak

The Cap Times is an independent newsroom serving Madison and Wisconsin. Sign up for the Morning Update to receive news in your inbox each morning. For the 

'Act 10 is a goner,' and other ways Wisconsin Democrats will use power

Comments / 53