Welcome to Open Mike

Hey friend!

I’m one full term into the State Assembly and one thing that’s really stood out to me during my time: just how difficult it is to know what’s really going on in the Capitol. If you’re not there watching it unfold I bet it’s pretty mysterious.

I’d love to help change that. So, welcome to “Open Mike!”

I’ll use this platform to give you a look behind the scenes at what’s going on in Wisconsin. Or maybe a deeper dive into a story that’s in the news. Per its label, it’s open! And I’m definitely open to suggestions about what is interesting or helpful to you, so please use the comments!

For this first Open Mike,

I’m answering a question I got asked by a third grader last year. In between questions about fighter jets (I know a couple things!) and where I sleep (Better question is “When?”), a kiddo asked me: “What’s been surprising about your job?”

My answer surprised me. I hadn’t really thought about this before.

“I work in a place where grownups are unkind to each other.”

Maybe I was influenced by being around elementary school manners. But it suddenly hit me just how much my job surrounds me with people who would make their teachers shake their heads.

I first got involved in politics when I was in college. I interned on Capitol Hill for Wisconsin’s former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. I then worked on the 2004 “coordinated campaign” doing field operations (phone calls and doors all day every day!) for the Feingold and Kerry-Edwards campaigns. I was 21 years old and still quite green in politics.

I got a great piece of advice from Tom Lohr, then the Chair of the Ozaukee County Democratic Party. Ozaukee County was–and is–one of the most Republican places in America. Tom told me: “Grow thick skin.”

I’ve stuck to that advice ever since. But sometimes it’s difficult. When I was serving on the Dane County Board, we considered a resolution to make Dane County a sanctuary for trans people. We got an email that said: “Watch how fast Second Amendment rights get exercised if trans rights get protected.” That letter didn’t scare me. I read it aloud during the Board’s meeting and used it as further proof that protecting trans people was important. Though I was clear that not everybody has the privilege I had to ignore that threat.

The most successful members of the State Assembly are the ones who can separate the real work from the theater. It can be difficult, but making progress on things I care about requires keeping my eye on what matters, and refusing to engage in the theater. Especially when it’s unkind.

In the last couple weeks, I’ve been working with my Democratic colleagues on the Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency (GOAT) Committee, to ask the Republican members of the Committee to themselves commit to accountability and transparency. Read more about that from Wisconsin Watch.

The Republican we were most concerned about “did not respond to questions for Wisconsin Watch about his information requests and the committee’s work,” but he did post a reply to our letter via Facebook, paraphrasing: “Dear democrat Legislators, You’re whiney, thanks for the free advertising, and I’ll keep doing it because I think I can.”

Every time I encounter such unkindness, I use it as fuel in my quest to make progress on our challenges and ensure that our government works for those without power or privilege.

This was fun! At least it was for me. Did you enjoy it? Have thoughts? Hit reply and let me know what you think? I’m building the plane–actually it’s a fighter jet–as I go!

If you enjoyed this “Open Mike”, please share it with a friend!

Send me ideas or share in the comments if there are topics you’d like me to dig into. I few I already have in the works:

What does the word germain mean and why is that word how we avoid debating healthy school lunch?

How can we better help people get from point A to point B in Wisconsin?

Why would an Abundant Species Act work better than the Endangered Species Act?

Thanks and stay tuned!

Mike

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