MASON, Wi.--Last Friday, Wisconsin Senate Democrats elected Janet Bewley of Mason, in Bayfield county, to lead their caucus.
She replaces Jennifer Shilling of LaCrosse who isn't running again. Bewley's Senate district includes portions of Vilas and Price counties along with a large portion of northwestern Wisconsin.
Bewley says as the caucus leader, she has to make sure Democrats stay on message, but she also takes on the added duties of leading the election campaigns. She says it adds a lot more to her work load, but she says the Democrats she works with are a wide cross-section of Wisconsin...
"I am honored to not only coordinate all of our legislative intentions, I also get to work outside the building in the political sphere and help get Democrats elected..."
Bewley says she's noticed there's been more attention paid recently to rural areas where she says people need help...
"We're getting kicked in the teeth with the pandemic. People are looking for solutions. They're looking for smart, straight-forward information that they can have faith in...."
Bewley says she's ready to convene another session of the Senate to get more state money to areas that need funding. She says they adjusted statutes so they could accept money from the federal CARES ACT, but she says they didn't put any state money into the programs. She says the counties and the health clinics need more funding to meet current pandemic needs, and also possible future needs.
