Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com
Published - Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Hancock launches Assembly run on platform of change
In talking with people over the past year about the possibility of running for state Assembly, Cheryl Hancock heard one thing over and over: the political atmosphere in Madison is poisonous, and it needs to change.
“I was struck by the frustration at the tone in Madison, the seeming unwillingness to cross over the aisle to find common ground and the blocking of bills from even being heard and debated,” Hancock said May 29 in announcing she will run as a Democrat against longtime Republican Rep. Mike Huebsch. “I know a school district couldn’t function like that, nor could a family and certainly a state shouldn’t.”
 Cheryl Hancock last week announced she will run as a Democrat for the 94th District Assembly seat held by Mike Huebsch, who is Assembly speaker. Contributed photo |
Part of the problem, she said, is so many people get elected to the Legislature and go to Madison with the idea that their main job is to get re-elected and gain or preserve a majority for their political party. Hancock said she would take a different approach.
“My No. 1 job wouldn’t be preserving my job,” she said. “My No. 1 job would be getting the people’s work done.”
Although Huebsch presided over the Assembly as speaker last year during an interminable budget stalemate, Hancock hesitated to lay the whole blame for the divisive tone in Madison at Huebsch’s feet. That division was in place before Huebsch assumed the leadership role in the Assembly, she said.
“Is he responsible for it himself, no, but he is the leader of the Assembly,” said Hancock, who was first elected to the Holmen School Board in 1996. She has served as board president since 2005, and she also serves as executive director of the Scenic Bluffs Chapter of the American Red Cross.
More of the blame can be placed on Huebsch for bills not coming before the Assembly for a vote, Hancock said. She cited two examples, one the statewide smoking ban and one a bill that would have distributed last year’s increase in school aids according to the school aid formula. The way it worked out, Hancock said, Holmen and most other La Crosse County school districts lost money because Huebsch refused to bring the bill to the Assembly floor for a vote.
From his perspective, Huebsch has changed the tone in Madison. Huebsch, an Onalaska High School graduate who now lives in West Salem, was first elected to the Assembly in 1994 and he said he’s proud of “changing the demeanor” of the Assembly since becoming speaker last year.
“If that’s the one point she’s going to bring up, that may have been the case a few years ago but not with me as speaker,” Huebsch said. “It hasn’t been the case, and it’s one of the things I’ve worked hard to change.”
Huebsch also issued a statement May 29 saying he’s proud of Republican efforts during his tenure to get Wisconsin out of the top 10 taxed states and warned taxes will go up again if Democrats take control of the Assembly in November.
“The importance of steady leadership and common sense in Madison has never been more important than right now,” said Huebsch, whose party has a 52-47 majority in the Assembly.
Joe Heim, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor, said Huebsch has been able to work with Democrats in Madison, especially Gov. Jim Doyle.
Heim said Huebsch “does what he can to moderate” some very conservative members of the Assembly Republican caucus, though he wouldn’t call Huebsch moderate.
Hancock’s announced her candidacy three times in one day, first with a press conference at Viking Field in Holmen, a baseball field renovated through a concerted community effort.
In her statement, Hancock cited the baseball field as an example of what can be done by working together. She also cited family members and community members as inspirational examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Some of the inspirations she cited included volunteer extraordinaire Lloyd Dresen, former Onalaska Town Chairman Dave Paudler, Holmen school Superintendent Fred Frick and former state Rep. Virgil Roberts, who lives about the distance of a Barry Bonds home run away from where Hancock was speaking.
Hancock, who graduated from Cashton High School, also made her announcement in Melvina, where she grew up and where her parents had a small supper club, Running’s Club. Melvina is part of a small portion of western Monroe County that is included in the 94th Assembly District.
And Hancock made it again at the Mulder Health Care Facility in West Salem, where her mother, Lucille Running, has been getting care for at least six weeks. “That was for my mother,” said Hancock, who has two grown children, Brian and Jessica, with her husband, Victor.
Hancock admitted she faces an uphill battle trying to match Huebsch’s fundraising prowess, even though she was president of the Holmen Area Foundation when it reached its fundraising goal for the Halfway Creek Trail. At the end of 2007, Huebsch had $51,285 in his campaign coffers already.
“Money can buy you lots of ads, lots of brochures, lots of things, but for me it goes back to ordinary people getting out there and doing the work,” Hancock said. “I don’t even presume to think I’m going to be able to raise more money than he will. ... My treasury is going to be my people.”
She pointed to her weekend of doorknocking as an example. Hancock said she and a small band of volunteers knocked on doors over the weekend and collected well over the 200 signatures required to get on the ballot as an assembly candidate.
Hancock said she knows there have been concerns expressed about her running for office while running the Red Cross chapter. One thing she has done is to turn the chapter’s spokesperson role over to Jeneen Ablan, who chairs the chapter’s board of directors.
By doing that, Hancock will avoid any appearance of using her position to get extra positive press during the campaign.
“It’s important that I keep the campaign separate from my Red Cross work,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to accuse me of trying to capitalize on something.”
La Crosse Tribune reporter Reid Magney contributed to this report.
Cheryl Hancock
Cheryl Hancock's candidacy statement
As a young person growing up in the Cashton area I had the opportunity to observe people working hard together to get things done
At first it was my family, my father’s example of working two jobs in order to make ends meet, being proud to be a member of the machinist union at Trane company and even prouder to be a union steward. Or my mother, Lucille who worked hard every day to keep their small business going, the pride she showed when making her famous chili and Friday night fish that people would come from all over the area to enjoy is something I will always remember.
And then there was my brother in-law Tom Green who served this country well as a Seabee during the Vietnam War while my sister Sharon held down the home front. Or my brother Richard, also a veteran, who organized unions in Iowa and eventually served in the state legislature there.
And my sister Mary who has worked hard as the assistant treasurer in Monroe County for many years or Debbie who along with her husband Jerry have volunteered for many years so that Frog Day’s in Melvina can continue to provide good clean fun for families from all over the county.
Later when I was a member of the Sparta Jaycees I had the opportunity to witness many fine leaders accomplish amazing things. I am proud of the fact that I was the first female and 50th president of our chapter but most importantly, I learned that service to humanity is the best work of life. And I also met my husband Victor, who is the most supportive and genuine partner a person could have.
Vic and I moved to Holmen in 1990 and I continued to see ordinary people do extraordinary things. People like Lori Laxton who saw a need in the community and decided to open a place for people to bring household items they no longer needed and for those in need to come to acquire the things they did.
People like Lloyd Dresen and Dave Paudler who are the go to people in this area when you want something done. Or dr. Fred Frick who truly believes in the potential of every person given the chance.
And individuals like Virgil Roberts a true public servant who continued to support the needs of area residents long after his term in the legislature was done.
One of the most meaningful lessons I learned during my two years spent in the Wisconsin Rural Leadership program was that you do not always have to lead from the front n in fact many times leading from the middle can be the most effective manner in which to do so. I have taken that lesson with me in my current work and service as a school board member and believe the successes we have seen is because people from all walks of life have come together to meet the needs of those we serve. Again, ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things.
It was important for me to bring you here today with this beautiful baseball field as the backdrop because of what this park represents. It is a beautiful facility n one that any school district would be proud to have.
What makes this field special is the fact that it’s refurbishing and updating was accomplished through the efforts and generosity of many residents and individuals n working together to provide a field where our young players could feel a sense of pride when playing here - some said it couldn’t be done but once again we saw what happens when a group of people comes together committed to one goal.
And doing the work of the people is what this is about. As I talked with family and friends and even strangers about the possibility of running for the Assembly I heard about concerns we all share n about the economy, the environment, school’s ability to set their own direction, a healthcare system that some think is broken but time and time again I was struck by the frustration at the tone in Madison, the seemingly unwillingness to cross over the aisle to find common ground and the blocking of bills from even being heard and debated. I know a school district couldn’t function like that, nor could a family and certainly a state shouldn’t.
There are many things that need to be addressed n much work to be done. We need to invest in Wisconsin jobs and workers, we need to provide access to affordable healthcare, we need to stand up for our schools and our children and we need to restore responsive and responsible government to Wisconsin.
It is indeed an honor to stand before you today to announce my candidacy for the Assembly - with the memories and lessons learned to guide me n ready to lead n ready to do the work of the people, the people of the 94th Assembly district.
All stories copyright 2006 Holmen Courier and other attributed sources.