Dear Neighbors,
The sun is going down earlier, the kids are back in school and we are entering fall which is budget time for Dane County. In this update, I will outline the budget process, provide details on redistricting, discuss how I am fighting for clean water and to regulate PFAS pollution as well as talk about an innovative resolution to help our housing insecure neighbors.

Hello Neighbors,
I hope you are staying cool and enjoying your summer. I look forward to running into many of you at AtwoodFest, Orton-Front Fest and other community gathering. As we continue to vaccinate our community, we can slowly return back to normal. Please reach out to me if you need help scheduling a vaccination appointment as the Alliant Energy Center vaccination site has closed.

In this update, I discuss the progress on sediment removal to prevent flooding, County Board recommendations on No-Knock warrants and protecting our land and water from PFAS pollution from the F-35 basing at Truax Field.

Dane County recently put out an update with information on how Small Business Grant Funding was distributed. Here are the details from the County Exec’s office:

More than $14 million was made available to assist small businesses that were locally owned in Dane County and reeling from the economic downturn related to our ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Neighbors,
I am so happy that our Federal and State governments have efficiently rolled out Covid-19 vaccines to our neighbors in Wisconsin. We still are seeing some gaps in distribution but both the State and County are working hard to efficiently and equitably distribute the vaccine.

In this update I express my gratitude for the support that you all have shown for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, express my disappointment in the Jail design and architecture contracts (along with proposing solutions going forward) and have some quick updates for issues affecting our district.

I have been carefully following the Dane County Covid-19 dashboards. The good news is that the number of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine is now more than double the number of people who have gotten COVID-19 over the past year. The bad news is that we are fighting the more infectious B.1.1.7 strain.

In this update I will cover the current state of Covid-19 and vaccination, programs to help support tenants, F-35 updates and neighborhood news.

Dear Neighbors,
Dane County recently passed our 2021 budget. There are a number of projects to highlight along with some disappointing outcomes. It was a challenging budget in light of Covid-19 and we expect more challenging budgets in the coming years. I am grateful for how diligent everyone has been in pulling together to survive this pandemic.

In this update, I will also cover stormwater and illicit dumping ordinances, arts funding, medicare for all, and new colleagues on the board. I always want to give a special sendoff to Alderperson Marsha Rummel who has represented our district with dignity and grace for the last 14 years.

Dear Neighbors,
We are on the cusp of the most important election of our lifetimes. Democracy is in peril. The president is actively trying to disrupt the election with misinformation and by crippling institutions like the US Postal Service. District 6 is always among the statewide leaders in voter turnout. Let’s push for 100 percent voter turnout. In this update, I also cover the County Budget process and updates on the Jail project.

Dear Neighbors,
It has been an incredibly busy and challenging summer. As the kids return to virtual school (in most cases), I have updates on Jail Analytics, a tough budget cycle, arts funding, land purchases, dredging, an acceleration of Covid-19 in our community and a critical fall election. I will also update you on pausing the jail project and various resolutions related to the criminal justice reform.

Dear Neighbors,
I have been working with Supervisor Richelle Andrae on a proposal to improve Jail Inmate Data sharing and Analytics. I also have updates on the five phased dredging project that has started and I share the latest on the public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic response.

Dear Neighbors,
On May 22nd, Public Health Madison and Dane County released emergency order #3 authorizing phase 1 of a re-opening plan in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to phase 1, I signed on to a public letter expressing concerns and encouraging a dialogue. I was happy to see a detailed response from Public Health that addressed many of the points. As a results of the response letter, I requested a meeting with Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health to better understand the challenges of phase 1 re-opening and mitigation strategies going forward.

Hello Neighbors,
I am hope you are staying safe and healthy and following all of the recommendations of Madison Dane County Public Health. I know it is mentally and physically challenging to practice social distancing but I am real proud of how seriously our community is taking the pandemic and how we are working to protect our most vulnerable neighbors.

I am happy to announce that I was elected chair of Land Conservation Committee (LCC) and Vice-Chair of the Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources (EANR) committee. In this update, I will focus on Covid Relief efforts at the County level and give a detailed recap on the pressing environmental issues that LCC and EANR will tackle.

I am beyond grateful to my neighbors for electing me to another term on the Dane County Board. In this election, we saw unprecedented efforts to endanger the health and safety of our community and our democracy in order to influence our election. But we faced it down and said in a clear unified voice: No.

Fellow Board members,

We are in the beginning of a crisis like we have never witnessed before in our lives. The next few weeks will be a real test of the strength, character and resilience of our community. It has been encouraging to see everyone helping each other. Let's hold on this spirit as our patience wears thin and the situation potentially deteriorates.

Dear Neighbors,
With the budget behind us and in the midst of a new year, I am working on setting priorities for 2020. In this update, I will cover a resolution I wrote in support on UW Nurses unionizing at UW Hospitals and Clinics, provide details on how our lakes are managed in the winter, and give you lots of quick updates at the end.

Dear Neighbors,
We recently concluded the 2020 County Budget. As Supervisor Patrick Miles so eloquently put it, we are planting seeds for our future to invest in housing for our neighbors, increase our resilience to flooding in the wake of accelerated climate change and continuing to work on transparent and accessible government.

In this update, I will cover budget amendments, a manure spreading emergency in wake of a wet year and early winter, an F-35 update, and lots of neighborhood news.

Dear Neighbors,
We are knee deep in the budget now and it is very busy time for the County Board. In this update, I will highlight initiatives I am supporting to increase flood resilience, be aggressive about yahara watershed flow improvements, and fight racial disparities and make strides toward equity in our community. There is lots of other news to catch you up on as well.

Dear Neighbors,
With summer winding down, our family is getting junior ready to go back to school, and getting ready to adjust our schedules as well. This was another great summer in District 6. In this update, I go in-depth on Aquatic Plant Harvesting, provide a recording and analysis from our quarterly flood update, bring you highlights from our EANR committee tour of the lakes, and express my opposition to the F-35 fighter jets.

August 5th is always a tough day for the Sikh community. In 2012 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin a white supremacist opened fire on innocent victims at the Oak Creek Gurdwara in an act of domestic terrorism. Lt Brian Murphy who bravely and quickly responded was shot 15 times by the domestic terrorist but did survive. The attack happened when the temple was preparing Langar, a community meal served to any one regardless of religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity. This meal is a powerful statement of how we are all equal and an occasion to celebrate our shared humanity.

Dear Neighbor,
Time flies and I have completed over one year in office. Thanks for working together with me to help improve our community, our government, and environment for all of our neighbors. I am hosting a celebration at the Harmony Bar and Grill (2201 Atwood) on Tuesday June 25th from 5:00 to 7:00. There will food, a music mix that I will put together and some free beer (get there early!). Full details are here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/446957082800019/

Please keep reading for a list of all we accomplished together so far!

The County is hastily moving forward to approve a new jail with borrowing of $150 million which will cost over $225 million dollars over 20 years. In this update I will summarize why I think we should follow the lead of jurisdictions all across the country and approach our criminal justice issues from a public health lens. I will also cover our first quarterly update as a result of the Lake Levels Task Force and the ground breaking of an Agroforestry pilot project and Continuous Cover Crop program.