Meet John Lehman, Democratic Candidate For State Assembly

RACINE COUNTY, WI — John Lehman is running for Wisconsin's 62nd State Assembly seat which serves rural Racine County and northern suburbs of the City of Racine.

As the lone Democratic candidate in the race for the 62nd Assembly District, Lehman will face off against the primary winner between two Republican candidates vying for the seat.

Lehman, a former State Rep. and State Senator from Wisconsin, is one of many Democratic candidates across Wisconsin that sees the importance of putting a legislative "check" on Republican hegemony on the state level. "Republicans have thrown the average voter and citizen and the whole idea of the importance of local control “under the bus” in their quest for/retention of power. Their nasty preemption efforts, gerrymandering and restriction on collective bargaining must be turned back," he told Patch.

Name: John Lehman
Age: 73 on Thursday, August 2, 2018
Hometown: Racine
Occupation: Retired legislator and retired economics and history teacher

Please characterize where you fall on the political spectrum
(liberal/moderate/conservative, etc.): progressive (traditional Democrat)

Please describe your relevant political experience: former Alderman, Racine City Council, 1988-2000(former president), former member: Racine Public Library Board, Racine Sister City Planning Council, Racine Board of Health. 62nd District Wisconsin Assembly Representative, 1997-2005; 21st District State Senator, 2007-2011 and 2012-15. Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, 2014.

Please talk about the top 1 or 2 leading issues in your campaign and how you
plan to approach them if elected:

1. The Republican controlled State Assembly is not looking out for the average citizen as it should. Speaker Vos flies all over the world on lobbyist money. The Assembly rubber-stamps a $4 Billion giveaway to a foreign company. All sense of moderation and caution are lost in the Gogebic Taconite (2013), Foxconn and (proposed) Kimberly-Clark subsidies and rule-bending. We need at least one house of the legislature or a governor who is thinking first of the taxpayers and the environment, not their lobbyist friends.

2. The little guy. We need representatives who remember the average working person, the working poor, the disabled poor, those in need of health care—the people back home, not their corporate friends. The last thing we need in Madison is another guy like Tom Weatherston who defies scores of his constituents to argue for a local quarry expansion. Republicans have thrown the average voter and citizen and the whole idea of the importance of local control “under the bus” in their quest for/retention of power. Their nasty preemption efforts, gerrymandering and restriction on collective bargaining must be turned back.

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