Dana Schultz officially announces bid for 87th Assembly District seat - Calls for growth in rural jobs, protection of natural resources
From the Star News, Medford, WI - 22 April 2010
News Editor Brian Wilson
On a platform that includes support of public schools, a call for environmental responsibility in agriculture and industry and addressing the need for quality jobs in rural areas to stop the brain drain, Dana Schultz has formally announced her candidacy for the 87th Assembly District.
Schultz, a Democrat, will challenge incumbent Mary Williams, a Republican, for the seat Williams has held since 2002. The 87th Assembly District sprawls across much of Taylor, Price and Rusk counties with portions in western Marathon and southeastern Sawyer counties. Schultz describes Taylor County as a major battle ground in the effort to take the seat noting she believes it is winnable based on the results of challengers Williams has had in recent elections.
Schultz was born in Medford to Doreen and Ed Schultz. She was raised on the family dairy farm in the Town of Bern, just across the Marathon County line southeast of Medford. Her mother, Doreen, is a fourth grade public school teacher in Marathon City. Her father, Ed mills lumber, harvests maple syrup and deer.
Schultz attended St. Anthony's grade school in Athens with her older brothers, Tony and Ben. When she was in seventh grade, plummeting milk prices forced the family to sell the cows. She said this was formative for her understanding of the changing rural economies. She attended Newman Catholic High School, participating in numerous academic and athletic activities. As captain of the basketball team, she earned a Division I basketball scholarship to UW-Milwaukee.
Schultz began graduate school while still playing basketball. After her final season, she worked as a teacher's assistant while finishing her master's degree in political science. During this time, she also organized for a nonprofit organization called 9to5. As a community organizer, she began to work with local, state, and even federal legislatures on policies for working families.
Now Schultz is helping on the family farm where she grew up and volunteers as a coach with the Medford High School girls basketball team. She is a member of the Wisconsin Farmer's Union, AFSCME Council 48, and a former AFT member.
Schultz made the official announcement and campaign kick-off today (Thursday) at the Lewandowski family farm in the Town of Little Black.
Choosing Earth Day and a farm near where a proposed 4,000 cow concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) will be located to make her announcement, was no accident for Schultz who in a recent visit with The Star News editorial board emphasized the need for environmental responsibility and greater local control in determining siting locations for such facilities. She opposes any effort to streamline the CAFO approval process and noted the growing influence the Dairy Business Association, a lobby group which represents large dairy operations, has had in the political process in the state.
According to Schultz, CAFOs have a negative impact on small agricultural operations in the areas in which they locate and contribute to increased pollution. "Infant mortality rates go up 7.5 percent in two years after a CAFO moves in due to air and water pollution," Schultz said of the social and environmental impact the operations have.
Schultz said the state, under the leadership of Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle, has opened its arms to CAFOs encouraging the massive farms to locate in the state.
"We need a change in leadership," she said. She supports measures such as the proposed groundwater protection legislation. Concerns over water quality and access to resources for farms and residents around the proposed 4,000 animal unit North Breeze Dairy proposed in Little Black has fueled opposition in the cornmunity against the proposed operation.
In addition to the environment and conservation of resources, Schultz thinks more needs to be done to bolster education in the state. "I am a big proponent of public education," Schultz said. However, she also noted there is a brain drain in rural portions of the state as the top students from area schools do not have options for jobs if they wish to come back to the area after college. She said more must be done to encourage job creation for this younger group of people to encourage them to return to the area, raise their families here and keep rural communities strong.
Over the course of the campaign, Schultz said she will further outline her vision for creating jobs and bolstering the local economy and highlight how she feels her strong work ethic and home-grown values make her the right choice to represent the 87th Assembly District.