Campaign Spotlight: Assembly District 9

Deisy España and Priscilla A. Prado are the two candidates in the Democratic Primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 9 on Milwaukee’s South Side. While Milwaukee Beagle does not endorse candidates, we also do not shy away from having opinions. We base our opinions on the facts and hope to help our readers make informed decisions this election day. We recognize that political races do not take place in a vacuum and often those resisting positive change have access to much more resources. We hope to help even the playing field a bit while not compromising our commitment to truth. This is why Milwaukee Beagle interviewed España for this article. While not every Democratic race can be clearly split into a Corporate Democrat vs an actual progressive candidate, in this case, the contrast between Prado and España could not be starker. 

All quotes used have been lightly edited for clarity.

Prado is a small business owner from Los Angeles and España is a life-long South Side resident and active community organizer. 

In a world where every Democratic candidate uses the buzzwords “progressive,” “equitable,” and “for the people,” it can be hard to tell which candidate actually believes in these values and which one is just using them as a marketing gimmick. Often the only real way one can tell is by looking at a campaign’s finances, endorsements, and what each candidate has actually done.

Campaign Contributions

Prado’s campaign has received $8,031.69 in campaign contributions. This includes $5,266.12 of loans she has made to herself. Her expenses include the typical flyer printing etc.. but also of note is she has paid someone to canvas for her and a consulting firm to design her website. We would be remiss to not flag that documented liar Jarrod Anderson donated $250.00 to her campaign. España on the other hand has only received $2,434.92 in contributions, none of which are personal loans and her contributions are made up of a large number of small donations. Thanks to those personal loans, Prado’s campaign has been able to drastically outspend España’s.

We asked España how she feels this disparity in resources is affecting the race. ”She [Prado] has money and so if she is able to reach 1,000 people, I’m only able to reach 200 people on doors. That in itself is difficult. However, how she chooses to present herself is kinda scary. She seems like she’s not from the district. She lives here but I feel like she can’t connect with the people who live around here. She presents herself in very formal business attire and the one thing that she is very passionate about is the police. And how we need more police which she advocates on her flyers. It’s very interesting to me because I don’t think the majority of the district sees the need for more police. I think we need to be distributing those funds elsewhere. [The police] don’t make us safer.” 

We asked España to elaborate on this and what she was hearing as she knocked doors. “People talk about public safety. It's definitely understandable, the public safety concern. I tell them having more police will only make things worse. But if we focus on redirecting these funds to mental health services or having people who are professionally trained respond to calls for an unhoused person, or someone who's having a mental health crisis, we can get these people to a place where they can thrive... I was a bit nervous when I started telling people about this. But people are very intrigued. When I mention this, people are excited for the other options that we can provide for the community. You can tell no one has brought it to their attention that there’s other things we can use the money for.”

And despite being vastly outspent, España still feels confident “…I have a good support system. I have people on doors. I’m very proud of the endorsements I’ve received… I think we're in a good place. I’m a bit nervous because, you know, anything can happen. But overall really proud of the work we’ve done.”

Endorsements

On the topic of endorsements, the organizations that have endorsed España’s campaign include multiple unions, the Working Families Party, Voces de la Frontera, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance, and progressive State Representatives Ryan Clancy, Francesca Hon, and Darrin Madison. 

The organizations to endorse Priscilla A. Prado, on the other hand, are the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Local 215, Wisconsin Realtors Association, and Milwaukee Police Association. So essentially cops and realtors are on the side of Prado. Notably, she also has the endorsement of State Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, who frequently abandons the majority of her party to vote with Republicans in order to increase charter school funding, pass Republican proposed bad maps, and take part in Republicans’ culture war to exempt houses of worships from closing during a public emergency.

We asked España what won her so many endorsements. She responded with “One of the things that I think sets me apart from my opponent or, is the reason why I've been able to get these endorsements is that I show up, no matter what…Since I was a kid I’ve been going to marches. When I was finally able to do things on my own, I started getting involved and volunteering. Not in the sense of growing my career, but it was more of what can I do to make a difference. For people who are not able to do it for themselves. A lot of it has to do with my upbringing. You know I'm a woman. I'm young, I am a Latina. And all of that, they put targets on my back. However, I'm a citizen of the United States and that's privileged. How can I use that privilege to get something good out of it? …I’m not afraid to make a little noise and to upset people.” 

Upsetting the Status Quo

And on the topic of making noise, establishment Democrats like Ortiz-Velez have attacked España even outside of the campaign. España told us about how when she was invited to speak as an organizer at a Wisconsin Democrat Latino Coalition event to celebrate Biden’s DACA executive orders, Ortiz-Velez and allies used the forum to attack España for not being a “real Democrat” and not whole-heartedly endorsing Biden (though given how frequently Ortiz-Velez is the only Democrat to vote on a Republican bill, one must wonder if she even is a ‘real’ Democrat).  They then went on a tangent about how we need people who are “actually educated in office” and “just because you're Mexican and want a cool title doesn't mean you should run for office.” The rampant racism and classism aside, it’s clear that España has stirred things up to the point that at an event celebrating DACA, Ortiz-Velez and her allies would attack her for something completely unrelated.

And if folks like Ortiz-Velez and other Corporate Democrats are upset by her, she must be doing something right.

España feels that it’s folks like Ortiz-Velez who “brought in my opponent. They’re mad because I didn’t kiss the ring. I didn’t ask permission to run. My policies are quote-unquote too far left. And I’m just like, you know what? If we continue to kiss the ring and compromise nothing is ever going to change. Our neighborhood is going to stay the same. Our community is going to stay the same. If anything they’re going to get worse. So I’m actually happy that I didn’t get their approval or support. It just shows that District 9, Milwaukee, the State, the people are ready for a new perspective.” 

For those that are interested in learning more about these candidates there is an online candidate forum this Saturday at 11am. 

You can also donate to Deisy España’s campaign or volunteer.