WisDems: Green Bay Democratic candidates hold town hall to urge NO vote on Constitutional amendment ballot questions on August 13 primary

Contact: press@wisdems.org

MADISON — Yesterday, Eighth Congressional District Candidate Dr. Kristin Lyerly, state Senate Candidate Jamie Wall, and state Assembly Candidates Amaad Rivera Wagner, Christy Welch, and Ryan Spaude held a town hall in Green Bay to encourage Wisconsinites to vote no on the two constitutional amendment questions appearing on the August 13 primary ballot.

Speakers highlighted the devastating impact these risky and misleading constitutional amendments could have on communities like Green Bay and highlighted the positive impacts Governor Evers’ quick action had in Green Bay in the wake of the pandemic as Republican politicians in the Legislature have stonewalled efforts to distribute funding for PFAS mitigation, child care, and affordable housing.

Watch the town hall and see what speakers had to say, in part, below:

“These GOP extremists aren’t serious about governing,” said Eighth Congressional District Candidate Dr. Kristin Lyerly. “They’re not serious about fixing the problems that everyday Wisconsinites are facing. All they care about is their own power, and that’s exactly what these referendums are about. This Republican-led legislature is the least effective, the least responsive legislature in decades, and they want the reins in the case of an emergency when decisions for the benefit of the people of Wisconsin need to be made quickly and efficiently.”

“These amendments could pose a real problem in case of an emergency. If God forbid, we have another pandemic or a major wildfire or flood in some part of the state, we want the state government to be able to respond quickly,” said state Senate Candidate Jamie Wall. “And the legislature is not a body that is designed to respond quickly in the best of circumstances, and under current leadership, it sure as heck hasn’t been able to do so. Our legislature essentially went AWOL during the pandemic. It was the least active full-time Legislature in the entire country. Legislative leaders were happy to criticize the governor for the hard decisions and the actions that he had to take as an executive, but they did very little to work with him to try to address a very serious public health emergency.”

“These questions are about the division that we’re trying to move past,” said Assembly Candidate Amaad Rivera Wagner. “And voting no is voting for Green Bay, for your neighbor, for your friends, for people that you care about, but also for good health care, for good housing. And so I’m asking you to vote no because it matters that we put progress over politics, and we’re tired of the gerrymander legislators legacy, and it’s time to turn the page on that work.”

“We cannot let these amendments pass,” said Assembly Candidate Christy Welch. “The Federal funds are essential for state agencies and programs to operate and support these consequences. Creating gridlock and obstructions to getting this funding out the door will jeopardize the programs like Child Care Counts […] We should not give the legislature the sole power over critical funding that helps child care providers keep their doors open.”

“[The Amendments] are deliberately written to be tricky, to be confusing, to be deceptive,” said Assembly Candidate Ryan Spaude. “And that’s not just some coincidence. You don’t see people moving Amendments forward. You don’t see them out here arguing against the COVID relief money. You don’t see those people saying the COVID relief money was a bad idea. That’s because that money saved lives. That money kept folks like us from going to the hospital, and it kept our family and friends alive, safe, and healthy. That’s the bottom line.”