Emerson, Stanley to vie for State Assembly seat

Oct. 26—EAU CLAIRE — State Rep. Jodi Emerson is seeking a third term representing the 91st Assembly District. She has a challenger in Josh Stanley. The two will square off on Election Day coming up on Nov. 8. Both candidates say they will fight for the constituents of the 91st, which covers most of the City of Eau Claire.

Emerson, a Democrat from Eau Claire, has been representing the 91st Assembly District in the legislature since 2018 and is seeking a third term to continue to work for the constituents of the 91st. If re-elected to her seat, her priorities would be to use the state’s surplus (estimated to be about $5 billion by the end of the fiscal year) to better fund initiatives like affordable housing and the daycare system, among other things, and to continue working towards making post-traumatic stress disorder-related problems a workman’s compensation issue for all emergency response workers.

“I think we really seriously need to look at what we are doing with our state tax dollars and make sure we’re doing right with what people need, what our communities need and what’s expected of a government entity,” Emerson said.

Emerson’s Republican challenger Stanley is a former firefighter who was born in Durand and grew up in Eau Claire. Should he be elected to the State Assembly, Stanley says he would prioritize eliminating the personal property tax for small businesses and balancing the budget.

“I will do whatever is necessary to stop the reckless spending in Madison. I will do all in my power to balance the budget while working to put money back into the pockets of the deserving citizens here in the 91st District,” Stanley wrote in a statement to the Leader-Telegram.

Both candidates are passionate about supporting education, higher and K-12, in the area and around the state.

Each of them supports including funding for UW-Eau Claire’s new Science and Health Sciences Building project in the state budget for next year. The UW System has requested $235.5 million from the state for phase two of the project. Phase one was funded two budgets ago by the legislature.

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Emerson has been involved in talks about the second phase of funding since phase one was approved. She was glad to see the request and now it’s just about making sure it gets through the budgetary process.

“(The building) is going to be a huge thing for our community; not just the university, but our community as a whole,” she said.

Stanley says moving forward with the project will be “fluid in the process,” and if elected he will encourage the community to support area higher education.

“We are fortunate to have the university and the tech college in District 91. When elected I will encourage the community to help support both of those higher education platforms,” Stanley said.

As for the K-12 schools, Emerson says levy limits on districts should be lifted and special education programs need to be better funded.

“We need to stop starving our public education,” she said.

Additionally, Emerson says funding for the private voucher system should stop in order to level the playing field between public school students and private school students.

Stanley takes the education of the children very seriously because he says parents and the education system are “raising the future of Eau Claire.” He said he will fight for parents’ rights to manage the educational need of their children and will look into ways to enhance the teaching experience for educators.

“To be a teacher is rewarding, however, can be stressful and exhausting. We must find ways to support teachers as they take on this life-changing career,” Stanley stated.

As to why people should vote for her on Election Day, Emerson said she will continue to fight for the people of the 91st District.

“I’m a strong fighter for the people of the 91st,” she said. “I take this job very seriously. I know some of my colleagues look at this as a very part-time job. I look at it as a full-time job because the people of the 91st put their trust in me and I’m working all the time for the people of the city of Eau Claire whether we’re in session or not.”

Stanley said people should vote for him because he will work for the people, not a political party.

“When elected I will govern with a commonsense leadership approach. I will focus on the concerns of the community and not on political ideals,” Stanley stated. “We must work together as a governing body and take politics and party affiliation out of the decision-making process. I am committed to fighting for all of the people in my district regardless of party affiliation.”