By Press Times Staff
The race for the 89th Assembly District will be incumbent John Nygren against challenger Ken Holdorf.
Nygren has held the seat since first being elected in 2006. He last defeated Heidi Fencl in the 2016 general election.
Holdorf ran unopposed in the 2018 primary election, as did Nygren.
The 89th Assembly District stretches from Marinette through Peshtigo, Oconto and Abrams to include parts of Suamico and Howard.
Name: John Nygren
Party: Republican
Hometown: Marinette
Immediate Family: Married to Maggie; Children: Cassie, Cali, Colin; Grandson: Henri
Occupation: Insurance Agent
Why should people vote for you?
Since 2006, I have worked hard to hold state government accountable and make Wisconsin a great place to live, work and play.
Unemployment is at a record low of 3 percent, the tax burden is the lowest it has been in over 50 years and funding for public education is at the highest level ever.
Although we have been able to accomplish much for this region and the state, there is still more work to do.
As the only candidate in this race that is a lifelong resident of Northeastern Wisconsin, I am most qualified to understand the 89th Assembly District and I have demonstrated an ability to accomplish great things for Northeastern Wisconsin.
I have been able to secure funding for the Maritime Center for Excellence to support Marinette’s shipbuilding industry and a STEM Center and engineering program at UW-Green Bay to support the region’s manufacturing industry.
Most significantly, I authored and passed legislation to address an over 25-year inequity in the school funding formula which benefits every school in the 89th Assembly District.
As a lifelong resident of northeastern Wisconsin, I am fully invested in making it a great place to work and play for generations to come.
What is the single biggest issue facing Wisconsin?
I continue to believe addressing substance abuse and mental health issues should be a priority.
I know all too well the devastating effects of substance abuse on a family and have worked hard in my time as a legislator to break the cycle of addiction in our state.
We have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, but as long as our family members, friends and neighbors are afflicted with substance abuse and mental health issues, there will be more work to do and I look forward to continuing that work.
In terms of work that has not been finished, I believe we need to find a sustainable revenue source for our transportation infrastructure.
As I discuss later, I will continue to work to ensure accountable use of resources at the Department of Transportation and innovative ways to maintain and build our infrastructure.
Finally, we need to continue to invest in education and workforce development.
Employers across the state have a need for skilled workers and I believe the state can help build and grow our workforce.
What are your views on what’s known as the dark store loophole? If it’s not a problem, why? If it is, what will you do to close it?
I have been an advocate for maintaining a competitive tax climate in Wisconsin.
Property taxes are lower today than they were in 2010 and Wisconsin’s tax burden is the lowest it has been in 50 years.
Republicans have made Wisconsin a place where businesses want to locate and expand.
I will continue to support efforts to keep taxes as low as possible. The dark store issue is a complicated issue with no easy solutions.
Recognizing this, the Legislature created a study committee to research the dark store issue and I look forward to its findings and recommendations.
What should Wisconsin do to ensure funding on the state level is available to repair roads?
Adequate funding of our transportation infrastructure continues to be an important issue for Wisconsin.
In the last budget, I supported increased transportation funding for local government and full funding of the Local Bridge Improvement Fund for the first time in over 10 years.
I also supported reforms to reduce costs at the Department of Transportation to ensure accountable use of taxpayer resources.
Long-term, we need a sustainable revenue stream that will adequately build the high-quality transportation infrastructure our state needs.
I have been an advocate for finding sustainable revenues and will continue to do so in the next legislative session.
How would you like to see K-12 education funded in Wisconsin?
Last budget, I supported a historic investment of over $630 million for public schools.
After the budget, I passed legislation addressing funding inequities between high-spending and low-spending school districts.
Because of this legislation, every school district in the 89th Assembly District will have more resources in the classroom.
Put together, this will mean more money in the classroom to provide top-notch educational opportunities to students all across the state.
Going forward, I believe we need to make strategic investments in education so that we continue to offer world-class education to our children.
This means building on investments in early childhood education to help students get an early start on learning.
Helping failing school districts improve so that no child is held back because of their zip code, and building relationships between employers and schools so that students have the skills needed to fill high-paying jobs in our state.
As we have done over the last 8 years, we can do all of this without massive tax increases and I look forward to working with fellow legislators, teachers and parents to continue to make our schools better.
Name: Ken Holdorf
Party: Democratic
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa, now Marinette
Immediate family: I have been married to my wife, Michelle, for 30 years.
Occupation: Retired military. I am a Navy veteran having completed a 20-year career in 2002.
Why should people vote for you?
I take the time to listen to people and hear their concerns. I believe that by including citizens in developing solutions to the many problems our state faces, we make them feel valued.
By focusing on issues such as pollution of water sources, skilled labor shortages, developing plans to help our struggling farmers, and infrastructure challenges the state faces as reported by the American Society of Civil Engineer’s 2017 report we can achieve the overall goal of “A Wisconsin To Believe In.”
What is the single biggest issue facing Wisconsin?
There are many significant issues Wisconsin faces but probably the greatest challenge is Wisconsin water supplies being compromised by various pollution sources that include contamination from manure, PFOA/PFOS, lead, and the looming threat of sulfide mining.
Water is crucial for life, other industries such as tourism, farming and commercial fishing. Controlling these pollutants requires, planning, laying out strategy, identifying resources and a commitment to preserving water.
What are your views on what’s known as the dark store loophole? If it’s not a problem, why? If it is, what will you do to close it?
The dark store tax loophole creates a tremendous burden on our society.
By fleecing local government out of much-needed revenue, our public schools, which heavily rely on property tax revenue, suffer the most.
When schools are underfunded, oftentimes taxes go up or new taxes are implemented, creating more of a burden for homeowners.
What should Wisconsin do to ensure funding on the state level is available to repair roads?
Funds come through a mix of state, federal funds and bonding.
The largest source of funding for our transportation programs is our segregated Transportation Fund. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau reports the Transportation Fund is facing a $1 billion dollar deficit.
One problem is that debt payments will double from 11.5 percent in 2010 to almost 22 percent by end of fiscal year 2019.
I believe we must reduce our reliance on bonding and rely more on state and federal dollars to fund our road projects.
Additionally, reduce cost overruns on projects at the Department of Transportation.
How would you like to see K-12 education funded in Wisconsin?
School districts derive their revenue from four major sources: state aid, property tax, federal aid, and other local non-property tax revenues such as fees and interest earnings.
Most of the funding comes from state aid and property taxes.
With less state aid, schools attempt to soften the blow by greater reliance on property taxes but they are limited here as well.
In most states, it is sales and income taxes (both corporate and personal).
However, on a local level, these funds usually come from property taxes, which are set by the school board, local officials or citizens.
This system causes the most dramatic differences between states, and even within districts. Determining how to fund our schools involves consideration for direct trade-offs that involving spending more money on education or reducing property taxes.
That said, depending on the property wealth of a community, their schools might boast state-of-the-art buildings and equipment while others might be struggling with the burden of outdated equipment and unpaid bills.
Consideration for needs in various school districts across the state should be considered to address funding gaps.