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King and Shilling sworn in

Last week, two pro-working-family state senators that AFT-W members fought hard to elect were sworn in: Jennifer Shilling (32nd District)  and Jessica King (18th District ). Shilling and King defeated two knee-jerk Walker yes-men, state senators Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) in the August 9 recall elections. Their wins trimmed the Walker majority in the state senate to a razor-thin one-vote margin and have opened the possibility of a working majority of Democrats and moderate Republicans in the senate, one that could counter future extremist Walker proposals.

Shilling shellacked Kapanke 55-45 percent in the recall election—thanks in good part to the public employee voters whose presence in his district Kapanke deplored in some caught-on-tape remarks at a May 25 talk to La Cross County Republicans, in which Kapanke said he hoped state employees would be “sleeping” on election day (we weren’t).

As an Assembly representative, Shilling fought to safeguard our state university system; she was also an outspoken critic of Walker’s anti-working-family agenda, and is a recognized advocate for accessible, quality health care for Wisconsinites. Shilling pledged at her swearing-in to keep the focus on job growth and investing in schools that characterized her campaign, telling the crowd of more than 200, “Today is the first day of a long journey that we will have together. Onward, upward, and forward.”

King, the rising Democratic party star and Assembly rep who beat Randy Hopper in a close-fought race, became known to many as a leader who spoke out powerfully about the value of public services. A daughter of disabled parents who became a ward of the state at age 15, King openly thanked Wisconsin’s public services for helping her survive a tough childhood and go on to achieve, writing in an April 2011 e-mail posted on Daily Kos, “I was born in the 18th Senate District and raised as a ward of the state in foster care. I understand what it’s like to benefit directly from the programs and values that are under attack today. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned the importance of hard work and dedication.”

Bringing working-family advocates like Jennifer Shilling and Jess King to the state senate is a real accomplishment in these tough times, and AFT-Wisconsin members helped make it happen. We know from experience that both of these new state senators will focus on what’s really important: job growth and protecting the things that have always made Wisconsin a great place to live. They won’t play partisan politics, and they won’t put lavishing money on the rich ahead of the real and pressing needs of the middle class. Their arrival in the state senate is something to cheer about.