New post election/issues blog.

Hey all,

I've started a new blog after the election to keep up on the issues and deal with some new goals of mine.

You can see it here!

More for District 24

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I'm running for the State Assembly. A lot of it is because I've been asked a lot of questions as to what I think I can do for the people of my district and the people of the State of Wisconsin.

I'm running for a slew of reasons. Obviously, I believe strongly in the power and structure of state and local government. I believe that it is our job to pick up the slack from where Congress leaves off. All of you, or at least most of you know that I strongly believe that Transportation, Healthcare, Education and Energy reform can bring about thousands of new jobs to the State of Wisconsin that we so desperately need.

However, I don't just believe this because I saw it from a talking head on a television program. I don't believe it because I've talked to or listened to legislators from around the country. I believe it because I've experienced it.

I have travelled the country to see Portland and Minneapolis' light rail system. I've seen New York and Chicago's heavy rail system. I've worked for organizations that have researched the high speed rail.

I have lived the life of a Hemophiliac. I know that it's hard to pay the bills for my medical expenses. I know that the nurses and the doctors that we have aren't always trained well enough to take care of me when I need it.

I know, as a student, and as a teacher-to-be what our schools are like across the state. I know, from a student's perspective what gets them through school and how to succeed.

Experience is what counts most in the mind of a voter. I know, because I am a voter (and an avid one at that!). Most, if not all, of the questions I've been asked have asked me about the experience that I have in working in the political arena. I've been accused of having no experience, or that I, in fact, would be worse that the incumbent because I have no experience in paying for everyday things and handling budgets and everyday family issues.

Well, sure, I may not have the years of experience that a single mom raising three kids might have. But who does besides her?

However, I do know what it's like to balance the budgets and to try and pay the bills. I also know what it's like when I have to scramble to get the money to pay off medical bills. I know because I've had to do it. I know what it takes to pay for school. It's hard, let me tell you. I know what it's like to have to pay for a car, the gas, car insurance, and eventually, when an accident happens. I know what it's like to have responsibility. Keeping grades up, keeping an entire university of 9,000 students running, keeping myself healthy and those around me in good care.

Maybe all we really need is a little common sense, down-to-earth candidate to really go to Madison and represent the people of District 24. That's my message.

Sometimes we all have to make tough decisions. But what has the incumbent done for this district lately? Ask yourself that question. If you can't answer, then maybe it's time to get rid of him and start anew.

After all, this is your state, your district, your community; and we have to make sure that we work together to keep making progress. If we don't have progress, we have nothing.

So why not try it out? Help me bring progress back to the State of Wisconsin!

UWSP student eyes Assembly seat

by Nick Paulson, Stevens Point Journal

Dustin Klein realizes some people aren't going to take his candidacy for the state Assembly seriously, but his run is no laughing matter.

"I'm not a typical candidate," Klein said. "But I am a very serious one."

Klein, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, is running for the 24th Assembly District, northwest of Milwaukee.

His candidacy is an uphill battle all the way, and Klein admits it will be tough. He is running against an incumbent, albeit one who is finishing up his first term. He is a Democrat running in a conservative-leaning district. By attending UWSP this spring, he will be living out of the district, although he said he could transfer to a school closer to the district if things are going well in the fall.

But these challenges don't mean his fight will be impossible to win.

"People who are young, students, have won various state offices," said Ed Miller, a UWSP political science professor.

Miller said Klein's two biggest challenges are facing an incumbent and raising enough money to defeat one. Incumbents, especially at the state level, typically must spend far less money to keep a seat than a challenger must to win one.

Dan Knodl, the district's incumbent assemblyman, is a 48-year-old businessman with plenty of ties in the community. He is a member of a number of area organizations and served as a Washington County supervisor for two years before being elected to the Assembly in 2008. Knodl did not return a call for comment.

For every question or problem raised, Klein said he has a plan.

His war chest is small, with about $1,000 raised since he filed his papers about a month ago. But he has begun creating relationships with "shared interests," groups he feels would support him, such as Fair Wisconsin or the League of Conservation Voters. He also is garnering support from county Democratic parties, in Waukesha county in particular. He hopes to gain the support of the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee after the Sept. 14 primary.

"Traditionally, state assembly campaigns take about $100,000," Klein said. "We intend to raise $150,000."

Klein also plans to spend the summer canvassing the district. Once classes end in May, the real work will begin, and he plans to knock on at least 15,000 doors twice. He will share his experience -- having been involved in liberal politics in the state since the age of 14, serving in Amnesty International, the Gay-Straight Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union, along with his current work with the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group -- along with his big issues -- transportation, health care and education.

By getting face time and talking with as many people as will listen, Klein hopes to overcome the assumptions many constituents might have when they hear his age.

"I think the most serious thing you can do is meet a person," he said. "If a candidate comes to my door, the first thing that's going to hit me is their appearance. But you can learn a lot about them in that first five minutes."

Am I the candidate for you?

 If you believe that 50,000,000 people in the United States do not deserve health care through insurance or a public option, then I am not the candidate for you.

If you believe that people should have to pay for gas when it reaches 4.00+ dollars a gallon instead of ride a train for half the cost and half the pollution, then I am not the candidate for you.

If you believe we should be spending an average of 2.2 million dollars on the death penalty per case then I am not the candidate for you. 

If you believe that education around our state should continue to see cuts so kids can't afford college then I am not the candidate for you.

If you believe that bringing jobs to the state of Wisconsin through building infrastructure like rail, repairing roads and building schools is not the way to go, then I am not the candidate for you. 

If you believe that corporations should continue to pay little to no taxes instead of taking their fair share of the responsibility, then I am not the candidate for you.

If you believe that Lake Michigan isn't a vital resource to our environment and the issues of zebra muscles and Asian Carp are not a big deal, then I am not the candidate for you. 

If you believe that our environment and economy will not benefit from creating a green energy structure like wind mills and solar panels then I am not the candidate for you. 

My new Senate Position!

I gained in a step towards becoming even more politically involved. On this past Thursday night, the 11th, I was confirmed, in a unanimous vote, to the Student Government Association on the Legislative Branch as a Senator representing the College of Professional Studies.

It's a very exciting step, in my opinion at least. When I was being confirmed, the current senators would field questions to the candidates in a way to understand why they should confirm them, much like our supreme court nominations in the senate. I was asked some very good questions.

One of those being: what are the three most important issues to you on campus?

Answer: The way that I see it Wisconsin has always had a very active role in student governments. However, it's time that we take that role further.

One of the huge things that I see, especially on the Stevens Point campus, is that this school is a national leader in the natural resources department, yet we are not a green campus. I would like to see more solar panels and also set up an initiative for this campus to be 50% green by a certain date. At this level it's very possible.

Another thing is creating what I call a new student organization and emergency fund. For those students who are trying to set up new organizations, it is very hard for them to even advertise if they are not funded at all. By creating a fund for these organizations they will at least be able to advertise for their group. This fund can also be cracked into if a club or organization uses their funds to early and runs out. So that they do not become inactive. It is important to make it a goal to get every student involved in some way and this will make it easier on those students attending to that goal.

But another thing that I feel is extremely important is this association's role on campus. We need to be more transparent and more involved. Most of the time the Student Government Association is something that students know nothing about. We need to make sure that we are taking an active role in getting our students involved and that they know about what we are doing.

To this I got a redirect from a Senator Laabs: How will you get these goals achieved?
Answer: Legislation. I've learned that the only way to actually get something achieved is by getting involved and actually meeting with people or in this case writing these bills myself so that they can be brought to the table.

Action is the antidote to despair. I remember a quote by the late Senator Robert Kennedy that read "There are those who look at what they have and ask why, I look at what we could have and ask why not."

Statement of Purpose

Our great state of Wisconsin has long been known as the greatest progressive state in the Union. We have led the way on many important social issues, not only in this country, but also around the world. Unfortunately, we have abandoned our standards. Our state is becoming stagnant on many issues. It is time that we look back at our progressive history and once again take up our tradition as a state that makes history

Our great state was one of the first in the Union to ban the death penalty. Since the formation of our state, we have looked upon the death penalty as something that hindered our progress-oriented growth. But in recent times we are now questioning our own progressive idea. We cannot allow the death penalty to return. If I am elected, I will never vote for the death penalty, or anything that would allow its restoration.

We have also been extremely progressive in our educational system. The best thing Wisconsin has to offer to its families is our system of public education. That system has surpassed those of many other states for decades. But lately we have watched that system plummet, especially in our metropolitan areas, such as Milwaukee. Over the past few years, we have seen Milwaukee fall farther and farther behind the rest of the state in attendance and graduation rates; the latter has been less than 50% for the past three years. The only way we can improve is by electing people to office who care about our education system and realize its full potential.

Educational institutions cannot perform to their highest ability without the proper resources. The schools that are falling behind the most need to be center of an educational rejuvenation. Some schools do not even have the basic necessities for conducting class: broken desks and chairs, outdated textbooks, small classrooms, and even in some cases, schools have no light bulbs. Updating our school system needs to be a priority of our government, and I will try my hardest to make it so.

Education can save the future. Children are the people who deserve the best from us and we have the responsibility to give it to them so they may have the best possible future. Therefore, it is time that our schools become the focal point of our communities once again. Schools have the ability and the responsibility to take care of their surrounding communities.

Community-that word is a resounding sign of hope for Wisconsin. We, the people of this state, know better than anyone else that our state is the place where people can truly come together to get things done and to get them done in a progressive and unique way. However, since the late 1950s there has been something that is harming our ability to make our communities come together and grow as we have in the past.

When General Motors decided to buy the Milwaukee County Transit Authority in the 50s we were told that nothing would change and that the system would actually grow. Little did we know the buyout was only an attempt at selling more cars to a larger audience.

Milwaukee, up until about 1958, had the most comprehensive and technologically advanced mass transportation system out of near any place in the world. While we did not have a subway system as New York did, we had rail lines, busses, trolleys and street cars.  We had lines that went all the way out to Madison, south to Chicago and North to Fond du Lac. My grandparents have told me many times how amazing and easy it was to use the old lines. Today though, those lines are just memories and track beneath the asphalt that covers them. Sometimes, when we are lucky, we can catch a glimpse of the old rail tracks that are uncovered from construction on the old Milwaukee Streets.

In a modern world it is imperative that we have a mass transit system that works for its people and also works for its communities. Wisconsin has the ability to be connected. At one point in time, as mentioned before, we were well on our way to becoming connected through our transportation. With a new system being put in place through our metropolitan areas, such as Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Eau Claire and La Crosse our state will be what it has the potential to be: a true community.

When Wisconsin will eventually be connected by our transit we can actually realize what we can really do with our schools, our neighborhoods, law enforcement, business and our standard on the environment.

It has long been said that the key to a community working and surviving is its transportation that it offers. I cannot agree more. We can no longer allow the failure of the government to let this go unseen. While those rail tracks sit beneath the concrete and asphalt we have people driving their cars, wasting gas and money that they could save through mass transit. While those old stops on the circle line have been turned into shops we are allowing our children to have only one mode of transportation to get to school. While there is only one trolley left in Milwaukee that runs, for three months out of the year, our communities have fallen divided by differences that our borders of transportation created.

But there is something good that can come of this. We, as a state, can rise above these challenges and save that gas, and our money. We, as a state, can assure that our children are getting to school. We, as a people, can make sure that our differences are smashed apart by a light-rail car, rolling down the tracks, directly into the wall of those invisible borders. Wisconsin is a community; we have to get to a point again where we can be a connected one.

In that community, though, we have one of the most pressing issues of our time; it is an issue that is interconnected to all of the above mentioned points. Healthcare has been a prominent focus in many campaigns, and also has been a prominent problem in people’s lives.

Due to the rising cost of living and the rising cost of education and everything else of monetary value, it is becoming impossible for people to afford their healthcare. I have travelled to many places in this state where I meet people who are having troubles paying health insurance bills, or even just trying to attain health insurance. My friend Mike, a good citizen that votes and works for his living is unable to have health insurance for a year interim period at his place of employment. While he does not have health insurance he remains vulnerable to the kinds of illnesses that you and I are. He remains susceptible to the exact kind of accidents that you and I see and experience every day.

This is a problem. When people cannot make sure that they can be covered for their health, what do they have to count on? In Wisconsin we have recently expanded Badger Care. Single citizens who are unable or not eligible for health insurance can now be covered by the state for Badger Care up until the age of 65. While this is a step in the right direction it does not go far enough.

Badger Care and Medicaid have taken care of some of the people who are very near and dear to me. I was in Madison a little while ago advocating the continuation and expansion of funding for Medicaid and Badger Care recently where I spoke to many people whose medication costs them upwards of $1,000,000 per year. This is wrong. This is so utterly wrong that it is, most times, hard for me to believe that we allow this to go on.

Wisconsin is rated as having the second best health care plan in the nation. But I say this: why not attempt a shot at first place by making universal coverage in Wisconsin a reality? In Wisconsin it is vital that we come together as a community, as a people to make sure that every single human being has their health and is allowed to keep their health no matter what. It is a human right. If I am elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly I will make it my first priority to present legislation to ensure that every single person in Wisconsin is covered for their health care needs.

Wisconsin, I come to you with hope in my heart, let’s realize this: We are Wisconsin. We are, and always will have our history to look upon as a jumping point to a new progressive era. Universal healthcare, an education system that works for our students, parents and community, mass transportation, and a respectable justice system that disallows cruel punishment are all possible and realistic things. It seems idealistic, but when we come together to do things as human beings we are capable of getting anything done in a manner of civility and respect.

I think we’ve waited long enough, Wisconsin. Let’s get back to it. Let’s show the rest of the nation, the rest of the world that we are going to bring back progress.