Steffen, Benson face the voters in 4th District

Southeastern Oconto County will get new representation in the state Assembly after the Nov. 5 election due to the redistricting that was finalized earlier this year.

The maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers, and approved last winter by the legislature after a court battle, reconfigured the 4th Assembly District to include part of southeastern Oconto County in addition to Brown County, beginning with the new term that begins Jan. 7.

The district now includes the Oconto County towns of Abrams, Lena, Little River, Little Suamico, Maple Valley, Oconto, Oconto Falls, Pensaukee, Spruce and Stiles; the cities of Oconto and Oconto Falls; and the village of Lena, as well as Howard, Suamico and part of the city of Green Bay in Brown County.

State Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, faces Suamico Democrat Jane Benson on the ballot.

Benson, 68, has lived in Suamico for 22 years and has been married to her husband, Jeff, for 24 years. An independent web development specialist for 16 years, she has worked with teams of people to identify what’s important to businesses and create an internet presence for them, similar to researching issues and writing bills for the Assembly. She has been active in the League of Women Voters and Fair Maps Coalition and serves on the board of the Northeast Wisconsin Clean Water Action Council.

Steffen, 53, describes himself as a husband, father to one son, and a 40-year resident of the 4th Assembly District. He owns two small businesses in Howard and has represented the district since 2015. Prior to serving as a state representative, he served on the Howard Village Board and Brown County Board.

The two candidates responded to questions regarding issues facing the legislature and the 4th District.

What is the first thing you plan to tackle if you’re elected to the Assembly?

Benson: Enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, so women are full citizens again. It’s at least a three-year process to accomplish this. Drafting a bill, passing it in two consecutive legislative sessions, then putting a referendum on the ballot for Wisconsinites to vote on it.

Steffen: My first bill to be introduced will be to make retirement tax-free for Wisconsin residents. Our seniors have been particularly hard hit by the sky high prices for food, fuel and housing. Putting them in a situation where they are living their golden years without paying any income taxes will certainly enhance their quality of life and keep our retirees from moving to no-tax states like Florida, Texas and Tennessee.

With abortion becoming an issue that differs from state to state after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, what should Wisconsin’s law be?

Steffen: I am a pro-life, conservative Republican. I have been a leader in the Pro Life movement and have also been recognized by Wisconsin Right to Life for my efforts and support of their agenda. However, it will be difficult to reduce the number of abortions in Wisconsin as long as Tony Evers remains our governor.

Benson: I trust women. Health care workers should be protected as they care for pregnant women. They should not be threatened by Republican legislative bills with fines and felonies, effectively abandoning women in their greatest hour of need. Privacy should be respected as a decision is considered about how to handle a pregnancy. Fetal viability should be a guideline, but because so many variables can occur, “health” of the mother should be the primary consideration.

What should the Assembly do to improve Wisconsin’s agriculture industry?

Benson: The agriculture industry in Wisconsin is undergoing fundamental change. Where we once had “family farms,” we now have an “oligopoly,” where four or fewer companies control sectors of the industry. The state justice department needs to enforce existing antitrust laws. Legislators need to properly fund staff to break up the unfair concentrations of power. A straightforward example is fertilizer. Local cooperatives are concentrated, so farmers experience a fixed price, and can’t “shop around.”

Steffen: I have worked with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau for many years to find ways to assist our family farmers. At the top of the list for next session includes increasing the health insurance options, expanding the markets for crops and making the Agriculture Road Improvement Program (ARIP) a permanent line-item in the state budget.

Social media has become a concern for people across the country, including in Wisconsin. What do you think Wisconsin’s policy on social media should be?

Steffen: The harms of social media on our children has been a focus of mine over the last two years. Research has indicated that social media is a direct cause of anxiety, depression and self-harm in our youth, especially amongst girls. I was the lead author of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). This legislation provides common sense default settings for youth social media users to protect them from online predators, addictive AI-driven advertising and limits social media access during the overnight hours. Parents and children are struggling to deal with the dangers associated with social media. It is time for us to establish modest safety guardrails to project our children.

Benson: Social media companies are not state-owned; therefore, the state does not have the right to tell them what to do. Facebook and other tech companies are global and so enormous that Wisconsin does not have the resources to try to control them. Handle this at the national level. We should make our wants known, so that families have the controls they need to protect the safety of children and young people online.

Public school funding continues to be an issue. How much of the schools’ funding should come from the state?

Benson: The Wisconsin constitution requires providing equitable public schools for “all” children. Our schools are not being fairly funded by the state or the federal government. We need to re-do the state funding formula to make it fairer. School districts are constantly asking taxpayers to pass referenda to cover state and federal mandates and too little reimbursement for special education pupils. Meanwhile, state money is given away to private and religious schools through vouchers.

Steffen: Public education continues to be the largest line-item in the state budget. Additionally, the last three state budgets have all added record increases I funding to or public schools. While the state taxpayers will continue to pay two-thirds of the cost of public education, our local taxpayers, residents and local school boards need be increasingly engaged to address the remaining costs associated with public education.