The Fight for Fifty: Empowering Wisconsin's working class with working-class elected leaders
The Fight for Fifty: Empowering Wisconsin's working class with working-class elected leaders
Guest column from State Rep. Francesca Hong. "It's time to cut through the bullshit and elect leaders who understand the lived experiences of working families."
The Recombobulation Area is a ten-time THIRTEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award-winning weekly opinion column and online publication written, edited and published by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it here.
This is a guest column from State Representative Francesca Hong, a Democrat from Madison. With new maps, Democrats have the opportunity to reach 50 seats and flip control of the State Assembly. But it’s going to take good candidates. This is a call to those who have thought about running for office.
In Wisconsin and across the country, there's a growing disillusionment with politicians who seem out-of-touch, power-hungry, and disconnected from the realities of everyday Americans.
But here in Wisconsin, our people are disciplined and resilient. Amid this disillusionment is an opportunity, a call to arms, for the working class to rise up and reclaim their rightful place in the halls of power.
We're living in an era of the personal — a time when emotional appeal and authenticity is what drives voters. So now is the time to be real about the stark future we face if we don't change who our leaders are. With fairer maps, we now have a real chance at centering the voices already leading in our communities as the best to take on this fight and this truth.
Take, for example, our educators — the teachers who every day live through the harm caused by defunding our public schools and disrespecting the very core of our education system. Our service industry — bartenders, servers and cooks — who have seen the best and worst behaviors, but can hold compassion and patience to keep a conversation going with anyone. Our grassroots organizers who are fighting for human rights and dignity for all.
When these voices get loud, they're right. And we need our politicians to be loud and right, to drown out the dumb noise of extremism and misinformation that threatens to disintegrate democracy.
It's time to cut through the bullshit and elect leaders who understand the lived experiences of working families — the struggles of finding affordable child care, the challenges of making ends meet, the dreams torn down by systemic inequity.
We need politicians who aren't afraid to share their stories, to be themselves, to bear witness and affirm the real challenges people are facing. I've sat in rooms where community members fight tooth and nail for policies they believe in, and let me tell you — those are the folks we need to run for office. I don’t want anyone to feel like they're "just a bartender" or "just a mom." Every voice matters, every story counts.
So, let's run. Not just for office, but for a movement to move Wisconsin forward. Let's bring forth leaders who are unapologetically pro-family, pro-work, and committed to creating a chance for all communities to thrive.
The Fight for Fifty starts now, and it starts with us — the working class, the heart of our nation, reclaiming our power and reshaping our future.
Francesca Hong (she/her) is a mom, service industry worker, and community organizer. Elected in 2020, Hong serves as the first and only Asian American elected official in the Wisconsin State Legislature. She represents the 76th Assembly District in Madison, Wis. Francesca has received numerous awards for her work, including the National Association of Asian American Professionals Inspire Leadership Award (2021), the Bon Appetit Heads of the Table Award (2021), the Wisconsin Conservation Voters Conservation Honor Roll (2021-22), and the School Nutrition Association of Wisconsin Legislator of the Year (2022). Francesca is Co-Founder of several Madison and Dane County organizations, including the Culinary Ladies Collective, Cook It Forward, the Dane County Food Collective, and the Healthy School Meals for All Coalition. She also serves on the Asian American Pacific Island Coalition of Wisconsin Executive Committee, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, and the Kennedy Heights Community Center Board.”
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You couldn't have picked a better group of women to join you in the photo to go along with the message in this story. All three of these women have been fighting for years, putting their lives out there for all of us, running for office, while working in jobs focused on improving/protecting our lives, serving their communities every waking moment, all while raising for their kids. I've been blessed to have known them all and continue to be amazed how much they've done and continue to do. I've witnessed so much of their work as they've gone from taking that first step and running for office to becoming strong voices for their communities, their region, and so far beyond. They are also out there to helping mentor others, offering guidance and support to amplify their voices. Just like you, these women have been important assets to Wisconsin, great examples to others of how to step up and make a difference to make our lives better.
We need more like Francesca Hong in our Legislature! Thanks for the guest column.