Thank You Katie Rosenberg

There were a number of disappointing results in this past Tuesday's elections in Wisconsin. In Winnebago County, LaKeisha Haase's loss in the Circuit Court Judge race was deeply disappointing. As she noted in a Facebook post, "The Uihlein funded out-of-state PAC, Fair Courts America, spent tens of thousands of dollars inundating the members of our community with divisive, targeted, and racist mailers and text messages in support of my opponent to prevent me from returning to the bench." The local and state media need to do a much better job of calling out such advertising when it appears.

Another disappointment was the passage of two bogus referendums on "election integrity," both designed to appease Donald Trump's fantasies about the 2020 elections. This too was another media failure: the establishment press needed to do much more to explain to voters the politics behind these referendum questions.

Wausau, WI Mayor Katie Rosenberg lost her reelection bid in a close race. Attack ads funded my dark money from MAGA interests contributed to the results. 

For me the biggest disappointment was the defeat of the great Mayor Katie Rosenberg in Wausau, WI. When Lori Palmeri was Mayor of Oshkosh, I called Katie my "second most favorite Mayor in Wisconsin," and I meant it. There are lots of elected officials who claim to be "progressive" who do not actually have the courage of their convictions. Mayor Rosenberg, an inspiring young leader, actually governed as a principled progressive. Some things I personally admired about her term in office:

• She insisted that Wausau be a welcoming community for ALL people. As such, she did not tolerate attacks on marginalized populations. Everyone targeted for attacks based on their race, or who they choose to love, or their identity, knew that they had a friend in City Hall in Mayor Rosenberg.
• She was, is, and will continue to be a leader in environmental clean up and sustainability. Her leadership in tackling the PFAS issue has been exemplary, and should be a role model for mayors across the state and nation.
• She was an outspoken advocate for public transit and affordable housing, which she understands as key to economic development in the 21st century. During her term Wausau's unemployment rate was 2.3% and the region became known as one of the up and coming places to do business in Wisconsin.

For her efforts, Mayor Rosenberg was attacked nonstop her entire term by far right wing elements. She even suffered anti-Semitic attacks from ignoramuses who saw "Rosenberg" and assumed she was Jewish. Her reelection bid was hurt by the introduction of dark money into the race from MAGA entities.

It's too early after the election for Katie Rosenberg to announce any future plans. I for one would like to see her run for Congress, US Senate, or Governor. Wisconsin needs young, bold leadership that is progressive in DEEDS and not just words.

Thank you Katie Rosenberg for the courageous leadership you showed during your mayoral term. History will show that your term represented a transformational moment for Wausau, WI.

Below is a conversation that Matt King and I had with Katie in 2021: