Thread by @AIWashburn

1) Why am I running for Congress, what is my background, and what are my chances of winning?

As to my background, I'm an attorney. My undergrad degree is a BA with a major in political science and a minor in public administration, from Albion College, in Michigan.

2) Then I got my J.D. (law degree) from Washington & Lee University School of Law, in Lexington, Virginia. I have practiced law for nearly 20 years, taking time off now and then for various reasons...

3) ...including some time off when my grandmother died and I handled her estate, and this past year, which I took off due to Stage Four uterine cancer, which I beat.

4) My career includes lobbying work, contract work, & complex class action litigation, including appeals - & 1 case in which I was part of a team that brought $23.5M back into the Wisconsin economy, and saw the proceeds distributed to various entities, including a convent...

5) and the Milwaukee Public Schools. In my career, I have worked on two modern-day slavery cases, one of which was a class action. I have the education, training, and experience to do an excellent job in Congress.

6) As to my chances of winning, I like them. First, the Ds haven't run a serious candidate here in years. In the last election, the D challenger was from out of state, the nephew of a former Senator with the same last name. He ran a milquetoast campaign of a few TV ads...

7) made no personal appearances, and relied solely on name recognition. His one policy objective was to set term limits on Congress. We already HAVE term limits - they're called "elections" and they happen every two years.

8) Before that, the Ds ran a lovely woman who owns a dairy farm w/her husband. She's pleasant, but has no background in law, policy, or public admin, & had no agenda beyond milk subsidies. While dairy farming/subsidies are important parts of WI politics, they can't be the

9) only thing a candidate knows how to talk about.
I live in the district where I'll be running. My husband was born/raised here. We lived & got married here, from 2003-10, then moved to Milwaukee for work, then moved back to the district in Aug '18, when we bought a house here.

10) So the comparisons to prior years' elections for an evaluation of my chances are, I feel, invalid.

11) I have been through a lot, medically, in my life. I am mostly healthy now, except for a few lingering side effects from chemo that will pass, and diabetes (my sugars are well-controlled with insulin).

12) But my experiences with illness have given me insight into (1) areas of health care policy that are broken, where current legislators aren't looking for a fix, if they are even aware that there's a problem, and (2) how to get to some solutions that might actually help people.

13) For example, when a sick person applies for disability benefits, if their application is approved within six months of when they applied, they still have to wait a full six months to start receiving benefits. Why? Delay makes no sense.

14) I think everyone should have access to care, regardless of cost, but that insurance should also be available for those who choose to buy it. But the insurance companies should have to participate with every policy they offer, not just limited "exchange plans".

15) It's actually cheaper for taxpayers to fund preventive care at a basic level, than for people to only get care when they reach the crisis stage. They go to the ER, they can't pay, the hospital writes it off, and taxpayers fund that.

16) Fund basic preventive care, pay less in the way of tax dollars, and have a healthier populace. That's just common sense.

17) And, for those who ask where the Constitution provides for access to health care, I would point to the Preamble, where it says government should, among other things, "provide for the common defence, [and] promote the general Welfare...."

18) Having a healthy population is a smart defensive move. Providing health care is the basis of promoting the general welfare.

19) I live in Sheboygan, WI, and will be running in Wisconsin's Sixth District. I will post additional information from time to time, as the campaign progresses, and I hope I will have your support.

Thank you.

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