Representative John Nygren aims to protect his seat in the 89th District Assembly. He’s running against upstart challenger Heidi Fencl, a Democratic Candidate.
John Nygren
Nygren was first elected to the State Assembly in 2006 and resides in Marinette, where he and his family are deeply rooted in the community. Nygren is proud of what’s been accomplished with his time in office, but he remains aware of fighting for what they people want.
“I got elected because of some things that were important to people in Northeast Wisconsin,” Nygren explained. “The property tax burden was the big issue for my constituents, and I’m proud of the fact that property taxes are lower today than in 2010. Really, now continuing to reduce that burden, but also to fund our priorities, whether they be schools, whether they be roads, those will be my priorities if I’m successful.”
One thing Nygren has been successful in was the establishment of the Heroin Opioid Prevention Education (HOPE) Agenda.
“That was something that personally hit my home, but the reason I really try to make a difference there is because I see how significantly it was hitting the area I represent. Marinette County led the state in overdose deaths for a couple of years in a row. I’m proud that we’ve been seen as a lead on the opioid issue nationally.”
As it stands now, Nygren believes one of the biggest problems facing Wisconsinites in his district is transportation funding.
“We’ve seen inflation over the last ten years. Inflation in our road projects go up over 47%, yet our revenue has only gone up 2%. All options need to be on the table. I disagree with the governor in this case; he’s simply looking at cutting projects. I think cutting projects and deciding what our priorities are, should be part of it, but to be the most responsible we need to look at all options.”
Nygren admits for this to be possible, it’s going to take a bi-partisan effort, which will be the challenge after a tumultuous election.
Heidi Fencl
UW-Green Bay Educator, Heidi Fencl will be running on the Democratic ticket for the 89th District Assembly. Fencl, who teaches physics and scientific writing, says her decision for running in the election came down to a few fundamental ideas.
“I believe that every person should have the chance at opportunity and security,” said Fencl. “The three things that matter for that are strong system of public education, both K-12 and higher educations, it means fair wages, and then the last piece is health. There I mean both personal health and I also mean local voice, to be able to have control over a healthy environment.”
Fencl says those things are important for people to have opportunity in their lives, but also important for state economic growth, and making both a priority is something Fencl believes can be done.
“There’s been the narrative that we have to choose between people and the economy, that we have to cut back on education, that we have to cut back on environmental protection to get jobs, and that’s not true. The reverse is true. Wisconsin’s economy has only grown about two thirds as fast as it should have if we look at the country as a whole, coming out of the recession.”
While some may argue Fencl may not have the experience necessary to hold office in the 89th District, she argues that her outside perspective can provide a different view in an assembly that is lacking diverse viewpoints.
“I do think that coming in with this broad perspective of education and from being on the inside is a real strength I can bring to the assembly. The more perspectives, the more opinions, the more backgrounds we can bring. There are so many people in the assembly that have political experience, so many people in the assembly that have law or business experience. We need to diversify and have a broader conversation if we are going to truly represent people in the state.”
Fencl believes it’s her outside perspective as an educator that will help her make a difference in the State Assembly. She thinks she would be more than capable for the position.
