Photo Via Ryan Clancy - Facebook
Ryan Clancy
Why Support Ryan Clancy
I strongly endorse Ryan Clancy for reelection to the State Assembly. Since 2011, the Wisconsin legislature has been rigged by Republicans. Every bill that has passed since then has had to have the stamp of approval of Speaker Robin Vos, one of the Republicans responsible for the rigging of our maps. Legislation which addresses the issues people care most about has either been flatly ignored or has been watered down to appease corporate interests.
Where has that left us? Public education funding has seen historic cuts for both K-12 and higher education that have yet to be restored. In the eyes of the state, a public school student is valued less now than they were 15 years ago when accounting for inflation. Wisconsin is one of the last 10 states that continues to refuse federal assistance to expand Medicaid, leaving over $1 billion on the table. Wisconsin has the highest rate of incarceration for Black men in the country. Unlike our neighbors in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota, marijuana is still illegal here. Not only has our minimum wage not gone up since 2009, Wisconsin shares the distinct dishonor of having a $2.33 per hour subminimum wage for servers.
On every single one of these issues, Democratic State Representative Ryan Clancy is fighting for our neighbors and for a better Wisconsin.
Before being elected to the assembly, Ryan served in the Peace Corp, stood up to oppose the Iraq war, was a public school teacher, and a small business owner.
As our representative, Ryan remembers who he represents. When lobbyists come knocking, asking for votes on bills that hurt consumers, Ryan Clancy is one of the leaders you don't have to worry about caving to the pressure.
As a former teacher, Ryan has pushed for investment in public education, pushing to replace our broken school funding and voucher systems, and for healthy school meals for all students.
As someone who listens to his neighbors, he believes in affordable health care for all versus runaway costs in an increasingly corporate health care system.
Anyone can say they believe in something. It’s a whole other thing to actually act upon it. On issue after issue, Ryan has not just said what he believes, he’s acted.
After the Minneapolis police department tried to cover up the murder of George Floyd by four of their officers, Ryan was protesting in the street, demanding more police accountability along with thousands of others across Wisconsin. Ryan heard his neighbors and wrote a clear policy for Milwaukee County Sheriff’s body camera footage to be made available to families within 48 hours and to the public within 15 days of a shooting. After he was elected to the state legislature, Ryan partnered with other justice-minded legislators to coauthor legislative packages to improve our broken criminal legal system. He is one of the few elected officials who not only speaks out against the horrible conditions of our prisons, but he also assembled a robust collection of bills to actually tackle mass incarceration in Wisconsin. It’s more important than ever to elect leaders pushing for systemic change.
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And for every recent election - local, state and national - Ryan has been knocking on thousands of doors to help other Democrats and progressives into seats to join him and to help flip the Supreme Court.
His Opponent Didn’t Bother to Vote in the Last Several Elections
What did his opponent do during this time? What’s his record? It’s really anyone’s guess. The voting record that does exist shows that he didn’t vote in the crucial 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin. In 2022, he also didn’t bother to vote for any of the candidates in the ultra-close Barnes vs Johnson and Evers vs Michels match ups. More recently, he also decided to skip the vote in the 2023 election when Janet Protasiewicz was in the most heavily contested judicial election in our country’s history.
These were all big elections that had significant impact on Wisconsin, and he just didn’t bother to make a firm decision and vote.
While the state was still under gerrymandered Republican control, it’s true that Ryan Clancy hasn’t been able to single handedly convince them that democracy is important, or that pregnant women should be able to decide what to do with their own body, or that our public schools and the kids in them deserve our unconditional support and, at the very least, parity with vouchers. That seems to be the biggest hit against him from his monied opponent. But in case anyone hasn’t been paying attention, Republicans have been ignoring the public will for the past decade and instead have been more interested in snatching more power for themselves. What do you think their two constitutional amendments on this ballot are really about?
Voters in the 19th assembly district have a choice between two candidates with two distinct voting records. Who deserves your vote? Someone who has an established history of taking on the toughest fights? Or someone with no Wisconsin voting record before 2024 who is eager to collaborate with Robin Vos, just before Democrats are finally set to retake the majority?
At a time when Wisconsin finally has fairer maps and much-needed change is on the horizon, it’s more important than ever to have Ryan Clancy fighting for us in Madison. Please Vote to Reelect Ryan Clancy.
