“There were people who didn’t have the opportunity to run because of the way the maps were drawn,” Hong said. “I think beyond opportunity, it’s been difficult for folks to resource and support races in red areas with majority Republicans in the district for folks to get that candidate support because the counter for them to win. Now I think more candidates have opportunities to run for office and win with fair maps. It gets harder to support and fundraise and get volunteers when we have candidates who are in districts that are much harder to win. But we’re seeing they are still doing a lot for the party to get out the vote for statewide candidates.”

While some work is done across the political aisles between individual Democrats and Republicans, Hong doesn’t expect too much collaboration until Robin Voss, the Assembly Speaker, is no longer in office.

“There has always been working relationships between the Republicans and the Democrats for drafting legislation,” Hong said. “I think what you are seeing more of is Republicans introducing legislation that Democrats have worked on or they are working with Republicans on to try to pass it. For example, I made sure that it was a Republican author on the Asian American Education Bill to help it pass. I don’t know about this year. I think there may be more conversations. But Speaker Voss has said openly that he does not plan on passing legislation that is introduced by Democrats. But we’ll see. I don’t think we’ll have representative government or good government until Robin Voss is no longer in the Assembly.”

Governor Evers and the Wisconsin Legislature will be busy for at least the first six months in order to pass the 2025-2027 biennial budget. Evers has released his proposed budget, which he calls the “Most Pro Kid Budget in Wisconsin History.’

It’s one thing to propose a budget. It’s another thing to get it through the Republican State Legislature.

“We’re currently sitting on a $4.2 billion surplus as well as the $1 billion rainy day fund,” Hong observed. “We have every opportunity to better fund and work towards adequately funding public education. But Speaker Voss has stated that he does not plan on funding new programs. And we are not sure where the Republicans will be on increasing funding for public education, especially indexing per pupil revenue to inflation. I think there is still an opportunity for Republicans to do the right thing by our kids and increase funding for our schools.”

In almost all communities, public schools, in particular, are centers for community life and the safe place where their children are while the parents are working their day jobs. They are a source of opportunity for children to enjoy a better life than their parents have. And yet the funding is very uneven in the state because they are primarily funded by property taxes.

“We know that public schools are important for every community,” Hong said. “We had 240 districts pass school referendums in 2024. This means that communities are willing to raise their own property taxes in order to better fund their schools. We know that because Robin Voss and Republicans choose not to adequately fund public education that they are forcing communities to raise their own property taxes. It’s a priority for Democrats to ensure that we are funding our schools. And the Governor’s budget includes $3.1 billion for public schools for the upcoming biennium.”

With the wide spread passage of referenda in red and blue districts, Wisconsinites have spoken with their wallets about the need for adequate funding for the schools. And yet there is reluctance on the part of the Republican leadership to increase the funding.

“If there are districts whose communities are lower income, they often cannot pass a referendum,” Hong said. “And we see not only inadequate funding, but also our students are losing opportunities. They are having to travel further if their local community school has to close. And as inflation is increasing and we are seeing rising costs for working families, we know that schools are truly one of the places where unfortunately, a lot more basic needs are having to be met through our schools. Also going to referendum causes division. I think with a lot of folks, it’s difficult when they see their property taxes go up to fund schools. But I think seeing how the majority of these referenda have passed, it’s important for every community to have a strong school.”

A sister bill to adequately funding public education is Hong’s bill to ensure that all children are having at least one filling, nutritious meal a day, which is included in Evers’ budget.

“Healthy Meals for All is a very important issue across the state, a bill that I’ve introduced for two sessions now,” Hong said.