Campaign spotlight: Assembly district 11
Amillia Heredia and Sequanna Taylor are running in the primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 11 on Milwaukee’s North Side. Unlike other races we’ve covered, where one candidate lacks community connection, or frequently votes with Republicans, or worst of all doesn’t vote at all and tells desperate lies, people in District 11 have the good fortune of choosing between two compassionate candidates who can be counted on to vote in the community’s interests. Milwaukee Beagle doesn’t endorse candidates, but we do feel affinity with and inspiration about Amillia Heredia, who goes by Mia. We are excited to talk with her and share her goals with our readers.
All quotes used have been lightly edited for clarity.
Mia Heredia is an Afro-Latina Milwaukee native and a grad student. She grew up on the south side, has a masters degree in criminal justice, and is working on a second in African and African Diaspora studies UW-Milwaukee. She is also a mentor, a leader, and a survivor. She is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) for youth in Milwaukee, an intern at the Milwaukee County Board, and served two terms as UW-Milwaukee Student Government president. She is a survivor of abuse and neglect in the foster care system, and has also been directly impacted by lack of healthcare infrastructure and support for her adopted mom.
These experiences inform her activism and her desire to run for office. “There were support systems that I needed in place that simply just weren't there, right?” Mia said, “that kind of forced me to get multiple jobs and navigate the world the way that I am navigating it. And again, I have survived, but you know, when you go through trials and tribulations, you want things to change. And I'm watching other folks go through those same trials and tribulations that I survived, and I don't want that for them, and I don't want that for anybody.”
Child advocacy and basic needs
Heredia’s platform is focused on child advocacy. Since 2015 Milwaukee has been at or near the bottom of the list of worst places for Black people to grow up, and it still is. Statistics do not tell a whole story, but Heredia has navigated the institutional neglect that produces those statistical outcomes, both as an advocate for youth in the system, and as a survivor herself. In office, she will fight to correct it. “I want to see more funding for folks that are going to age out of the foster care system to have a stabilized place. Making sure that things like wrap-around are also funded correctly, and doing what they need to do.” Her platform emphasizes holistic solutions to systemic problems, pointing out that if a child’s provider doesn’t have healthy food, or stable housing, then that child isn’t going to either.
I challenged her on some of the difficulties getting even these most bare necessities funded by the conservatives controlling the state legislature. “I think it is something to say about me and about my passion that I can provide focus” she replied. “I'm going to want to do work when it comes to the inside. If we're seeing that the other elected officials are not advocating for their constituents, there is a problem, and we need to address that. So my response is going to be to address it, instead of being complacent.”
A specific example we discussed was Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. These are youth prisons where terrible abuse was exposed, inspiring a huge push to shut them down. The legislation that passed, though, was a compromise bill that required building several replacement prisons. I asked Mia how she plans on voting in situations like there, when there is a bill that is better than the status quo, but not aligned with her values?
“I'm going to stick to my values. I don't think it's fair that we force people to pick between non-innovative, lesser than both evils situations. I recognize that it's a compromise, but I also don't know that we need to compromise. We're taking youth out of one correctional facility and we're putting them in another. How does that make sense?
Why aren't we thinking more innovatively? Why aren’t we asking why? As a CASA advocate, somebody that has interned with the public defender’s office, that ‘why’ is important. The ‘why’ usually is ‘I didn't think I had another choice.’ And you know how disheartening that is? To hear a 14 year old, justice-impacted youth who made a really unhealthy decision go: ‘I just didn't know that I could have just not did that.’ We as adults have the option to not do that, so let's pick that option. What I would propose is–if we have to build a new prison, if we have to, and we don’t, but let’s say we do–build a new correctional facility without the type one requirement, right? So that's a lower cost, and we use the savings to bolster those re-entry, credible messenger, youth needs, and diversion programs that I talk about.
How the race is going
District 11 is an open seat, formerly held by Dora Drake, who won the State Senate seat Lena Taylor left to become a judge (Drake is facing a rematch primary to run for a full term this Tuesday, August 13th) District 11 is also the bluest Assembly District with a primary this year. Sequanna Taylor is currently a County Board Supervisor. She has secured endorsements both from establishment elected officials, labor unions, and some community leaders. According to campaign finance reports, Taylor raised $13,430, from 34 contributions, though nearly half of that is personal loans to herself. Meanwhile, Heredia has only raised $1,800 from 26 donors. Mia is certainly the challenger and underdog in this race, but she did get endorsements from key progressive groups, including Wisconsin Citizen Action and Black Leaders Organizing Communities. These organizations have real clout and the infrastructure to turn out voters for their preferred candidate.
When asked about strategy and what gives her confidence in the race, Mia said: “This is not just a title for me. This, for me, is a way to push the community forward. People are dying, people are being harmed. We're losing people every single day from a lack of innovative policies, and I cannot explain how disheartening that is, how frustrating that is. I don't want my community, District 11, the Northwest side, or the State of Wisconsin, to continue to feel like that is okay or that is normal. Folks do not feel like they're being heard. So, I show up authentically at that door every single time to have those conversations. There's always a surprise when I do. Of course, I want to talk to you about my campaign intentions. Of course, I want to hear you. I am doing this with you, right? It's that strategy of showing up and being present and being real about it and sharing my stories that I think is a winning strategy.”
Volunteer and learn more at AmilliaForAssembly.com
