Citizen Action Weekend ’26 Newsletter, Friday, April 10th
Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin.
Attend Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s Governor Candidate forum on April 14th, 6pm
These seven candidates for governor are coming to our Governor Candidate Forum – are you??
Join us virtually or join us at a watch party! Either way, make sure to join us April 14th at 6pm!
We’re ready to give folks the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates about values such as healthcare, climate change, democracy, and more.
RSVP by April 13th and make sure to share with your fellow Wisconsinites!
Attend $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Green Bay, Friday, April 17th at 6pm
Wisconsin State Legislators have introduced a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage to $20/hour.
Join us next Friday, April 17th at 6pm for a $20 Wage Town Hall in Green Bay at the Greater Green Bay Area Labor Council, 1570 Elizabeth St.
Hear from local residents about their daily struggle to make ends meet at less than $20/hour. Learn more about the legislation, hear from Green Bay area state legislators who support the bill, and find out how you can get involved.
The state bill would immediately start at $15 and raise to $20/hour by 2030, index to inflation, reduce the tip penalty and increase the tipped minimum wage, and restore local control on wage policy.
TAKE ACTION in support of a $20/hour bill.
For more information, contact: g.degrave@citizenactionwi.org
Congratulations to Judge Chris Taylor on her victory Tuesday in the State Supreme Court Election!
Thanks to everyone who volunteered to talk to voters.
Congratulations to Citizen Action endorsed candidates who won this Tuesday!
Citizen Action Driftless Organizing Cooperative
Trevor Sprague – La Crosse School Board
Kelly Leibold – La Crosse County Board District 1
Grant Mathu – La Crosse County Board, District 6
Beth Piggush – La Crosse County Board District 7
Lia Manock – La Crosse County Board District 17
Citizen Action Northwest Organizing Cooperative
Matthew Crowe – Mayor of Menomonie
Greg Banchy – Eau Claire County Board, District 7
Dan Hardy – Chippewa County Board, District 18
Citizen Action North Central Organizing Cooperative
Dr. Elizabeth Potter-Nelson – Stevens Point School Board
Tom Neal – Wausau City Council District 4
Bill Conway – Marathon County Board District 16
Citizen Action Northeast Organizing Cooperative
Samantha Meister – Green Bay School Board
Jason Kolpack – Appleton Area School Board
Jon Shelton – Green Bay City Council District 4
Joey Prestley – Green Bay City Council District 6
Rachel Maes – Brown County Board District 2
Vered Meltzer – Appleton City Council District 2
Dana Johnson – Outagamie County Board District 2
Citizen Action Southeast Organizing Cooperative
Jack Eckblad – Milwaukee County Board District 4
Caroline Gomez-Tom – Milwaukee County Board District 14
Citizen Action North Central Organizing Coop Update: Action in North Central
Members of Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s North Central Organizing Co-op, Citizens for a Clean Wausau and neighborhood residents, attended the City of Wausau’s Economic Development Committee meeting on Monday, April 6th.
One of the agenda items was about the survey results from community members, as to how they would like to see 1300 Cleveland Avenue redeveloped. This site has contamination from years of industrial use, and is centered in a residential neighborhood. There is a significant number of people that have had serious health issues in this neighborhood.
Founding member of the NC Organizing Co-op and Citizens for a Clean Wausau, Tom Kilian, spoke to the committee. Others did the same, encouraging the committee to listen to the survey results and to remain committed to no new industrial development. They also asked that the contamination at the site be remediated prior to being redeveloped.
This victory has been a decade in the making and is possible because of grassroots organizing in this neighborhood by people that live there, and people in the community who support them.
Volunteers in NC also got out on doors for candidates that had been endorsed in the region. Four of the five candidates won their races! Thank you to those that ran, and that helped get out the vote.
Lastly, Tom Kilian has a weekly publication in the Wausau Pilot and Review, and recently, he wrote about some local concerns connected to one of the biggest hospitals in Wausau, and the region.
You can read all about that here, and it is just one of many reasons why we need our legislators to support the Hospital Accountability Act.
Get involved, contact: Joel.Lewsi@citizenactionwi.org
Citizen Action Data Center Virtual Town Hall well attended.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin brought over 115 people together virtually on April 1st to talk about a growing threat to working families: data centers and rising utility bills. As more massive data centers are proposed across Wisconsin, residents are raising serious concerns about who will pay for the new energy demand, grid upgrades, and utility infrastructure. If we are not careful, everyday households could end up subsidizing billion-dollar corporations while already struggling to afford basic energy costs.
That is especially alarming when so much of our electric bills are already going toward corporate profits. The Energy and Policy Institute’s Utility Profit Tracker shows just how much of your monthly bill may be paying for utility profits instead of service. You can check your own estimate here: It is one more reminder that Wisconsin’s utility system is too often built to protect shareholders instead of the people paying the bills.
That is why Citizen Action is fighting for both a 2% Utility Rate Cap and the Data Center Pause bill. No household should be forced to spend an unreasonable share of their income just to keep the lights on, and Wisconsin should not fast-track massive data centers without first putting protections in place for residents, communities, and our grid. If corporations want to come here and use enormous amounts of energy, working families should not be the ones left paying the price.
Our statewide team is also meeting once a month to organize and fight back against harmful data center expansion.
Sign the petition to support the 2% Utility Rate Cap and Data Center Pause bill here.
Join Citizen Action at Eau Claire Earth Fest April 18th!
Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s Northwestern Organizing Cooperative will have an exhibitor booth at Eau Claire Earth Fest on Saturday, April 18th from 10am-4pm at The Sonnentag Center (1075 Menomonie St, Eau Claire.
Dozens of exhibitors, workshops, and activities FREE and open to the public!
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action Executive Director Robert Kraig was interviewed for a Spectrum News One story on an anti-semitism bill, signed into law by Governor Evers last week, which potentially criminalizes criticism of Israel.
You can watch the story here.
Listen to “Election Day Ceasefire?” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We reflect on Trump’s flirtation with Armageddon in Iran and the unstable ceasefire announced on Election Day.
We review this week’s Spring General Election that resulted in a romp for liberal Chris Taylor, leaving the state Supreme Court with 5-2 center-left majority. Turnout was down but still strong for a state court race. We discuss our top election takeaways. We talk about the story behind over 70 school referendums and the Menomonie mayor.
We encourage our listeners to RSVP to Citizen Action’s virtual Governor candidate forum next Tuesday, April 14th at 6pm. Hear directly from 7 Democratic candidates for governor. RSVP by April 13th to attend.
We close with a review of Trump’s attack on cheap, reliable renewable energy that Clean Wisconsin says will cost Wisconsin more clean energy than peak demand for an entire year.
Listen to the show.
