Compete with the Garmin watches.
So it tracks your heart rate and
everything all the time. Yeah, I
mean, regular.
Yeah, I mean, regular Apple Watch does that too,
but this one, it's a longer battery.
It's got some other features like
depth, like if you're
in the water, water temperature.
Are you a diver?
No, but I do swim a lot.
That's cool. I mean, I got in
triathlon a couple years ago.
Okay.
So, I'm into water often,
and I don't have to know
the water, but it helps.
I'm sure, it gives you a sense of,
is it my feeling weird or is it...
Yeah, or it's like, all right, why
am I going so slow or why do
I feel fast?
Like I said, temperature plays a lot
in like the
speed at which you swim.
Especially if you know your body.
If you know your body.
Yeah, and then so, you know long
distance running and
Super long bike rides.
Okay. This is me watch
that can
All right, so first governor to
compete in the Madison Triathlon.
I don't I guess
that would be the case.
I've done it.
I did Ironman last year
Okay.
Oh, did it matter to you? It didn't
matter to me last year.
Okay. Yeah.
I didn't, I didn't want to bring it
up.
I didn't. I didn't want to.
I try not to.
But if it comes up, I have to talk
about it.
We'll keep this in the memory banks
for down the road.
Yeah, my goal, I just wanted to be
under 13 hours.
I did 12 and a half, so.
Cool. Feeling good.
But now I think I could get under
11.
Got to stick. That's the next goal,
but now I don't know how that works
with the timeline.
Are you do you lose energy
over the course of a campaign or
just a kid?
I mean just don't have time to
train. I can't train for that kind
of race. It takes so much time to
try I was just talking to somebody
about this yesterday And
it's like you lose Everything
you lose personal time you lose
personality it's
just like I but I lost a lot of
myself just because
You know, I'd be out.
I see like ten o'clock approaching
my friends be out, you know They
wouldn't eat it's not like we were
out late But we're at a bar like
just kind of talking hanging out
like after a game I see
ten o clock approach approach him
like I believe I have to go,
I have be out of here.
Now they're out, it's midnight, not
super late, but I had to
be super diligent,
just because one, the race costs
so much, and two,
if I do it, I wanna do a
good job, and there's so
many just small factors
that could change everything,
and I didn't wanna mess
up one night, and then
it gives me leeway, and I'm like,
all right, what's another night?
Another night won't hurt, or.
To start getting off track and.
It's interesting because it sounds
like the athletes that talk about
like sleep training and like all
like did just of like how they have
to like factor in 24 7 like
they are preparing for.
For sure, and I
didn't do the sleep training, but I
did, it was eight hours for sure.
Because, I mean, you gotta get eight
hours. You really need more, because
you're just doing so
much.
And it's two a day, too, right?
Most days are two activities.
Like you'll swim in the morning, run
in the afternoon, or bike, but
it's always, for the most part,
two activities a day.
Ha ha!
All right, Mandela Barnes, thanks
for coming in.
For sure, thank you so much for
having me.
So for voters who may not be as
familiar with you, introduce
yourself and say, why are you
running for governor?
Absolutely, I'm Mandela Barnes,
former Lieutenant Governor, former
state rep running for governor
because we find ourselves in a
critical moment here in the state of
Wisconsin, all across the country,
but Wisconsin has certainly been
impacted. We see rising costs,
which is no different from other
states, but when
people are having such a hard time
to pay for groceries, to live in
their homes, to be able
to afford their utilities or even
healthcare, we need leadership
that's going to reject the status
and actually get to work to solve in
our problems.
And this is more than just about
bold leadership to take on Donald
Trump. We need bold leadership
that's gonna provide solutions.
And I'm running because we need to
provide real relief in my time in
the legislature, my time as
Lieutenant Governor, has been
focused on making life better for
people across Wisconsin.
It has been focus on improving
quality of life.
And that's why I'm ready to get to
work to lower costs on the very
first day.
Is there a single issue that's
driven you in your career, or maybe
a lane within the party that helps
define who you are?
Well, there are a number of issues.
I honestly think about challenges,
situations, circumstances that I've
dealt with growing up.
Unfortunately, I lost friends to gun
violence.
And that was one of the biggest
things that actually
made me think about public service,
who was going to step up, who is
going to answer the call.
And we have these conversations
about crime.
We have these conversation about
violence in general.
It speaks to me personally, because
this wasn't just a one-off.
I don't know. It was my freshman
year, I remember losing my first
friend, lost more after
that as well.
And I think about how
do we address these,
because it keeps happening.
My situation isn't
unique, it's not isolated.
There are far too many people who've
had to deal with this, but we've
seen far too few solutions.
And ultimately, growing up,
I didn't necessarily think about
public service. The household I grew
up in, y'all saw the commercials, my
mother was a public school teacher.
My dad worked third shift on an
assembly line. Of course, I wanna
ensure that we have an economy that
works for everybody.
I wanna insure that every child has
at least the same opportunities that
I grew up in as a proud public
school graduate. I wanna assure that
our schools are fully funded and our
children can go to school without
the threat of gun violence.
And with that being said, I
would look around and say, well,
who's actually responding to this
crisis? Who's actually ready and
prepared to step up to do something?
And it's not that people weren't.
It's just that not a lot of people
carry that personal experience.
I hope nobody ever has to experience
it. But for those who have,
I hope that they know that they can
use their voice to step up into
positions of leadership and actually
be an advocate to show up and
fight for what's right.
How much money are you gonna need to
raise in order to win this primary
and then the election?
An obscene amount of money, which is
the worst part about politics.
There's far too much money involved.
I think about the
amount of spending that's not just
from candidates, but also from
super PACs.
And it feels as if everyday
people don't have a voice
in politics.
I'm proud of my previous campaigns,
where we were grassroots funded.
We didn't take corporate PAC money,
not a dime of corporate PACs money.
And I look at this race and
that's the same case.
We're not taking corporate PAC
money, but it is
going to take about $50 million on
the candidate side for me
to raise.
And it shouldn't be that way.
But if we don't come out
successful, we'll never be able to
get big money out of politics.
And we're looking to have a
grassroots funded campaign,
people power campaign.
And ultimately our goal
has to be ethics reform to ensure
that everyday people, that regular.
Wisconsinites get to have their
voice heard in politics and feel as
if their participation matters
because so many people are checked
out. They feel that their voice
doesn't matter because of
the gross amount of spending
that happens.
And they think, unfortunately,
well, what do my
thoughts even mean in the grand
scheme of things if you have all
these interests that get to dump
virtually unlimited sums of money
into the political process?
It's something that has to change.
You're no stranger to competitive
primaries, so what's the difference
for you between negative campaigning
against a member of your party
versus just defining differences
between candidates?
I have zero interest in negative
campaigning against any of
my opponents.
My focus, as I mentioned, has been
and will continue to be on November.
And I say this, I have a lot of
friends in the race. I respect
everybody in the races.
I think everybody brings something
to the race, but I'm running based
off of my experience.
My time in the legislature, my time
as Lieutenant Governor is unmatched
in this primary.
I've been every single county, my
first year as Lieutenant
governor, continue to my rounds
across the state.
Every year after, even out
of office. I've had the great
fortune and opportunity to be
able to travel the great state of
Wisconsin, just meeting with people,
just existing, living, getting to
enjoy the rich natural beauty.
You can spend money in our small
businesses and just spend time
in communities.
And with that being the case, I
think about the work that
I have put in, and some folks may
say, oh, Mandela's got the name
recognition.
Well, I got the named recognition
because I've shown up.
I've been there.
Especially when times have been hard
for Wisconsinites, whether a storm
damage tours, or even
when we were navigating the
complexities of the pandemic and
ultimately being able to help
deliver results in
terms of ensuring that Wisconsin had
one of the most successful
bouncebacks in the entire country
post pandemic, or even
our small business tours where
we provided grants and relief,
expansion of broadband programs.
Rural prosperity initiatives and
violence prevention initiatives
and resources and funding for cities
like Milwaukee.
I'm proud of that work and proud to
have been a part of that work, proud
to be a partner to Governor
Evers through two budget cycles
where we got to outline
our priorities to help rescue
Wisconsin, to bring us back from
eight years of hardship before us.
When voters are looking at this
broad field of candidates, do you
think they should look for who
connects best with them on the
issues, or should they be thinking
about electability?
Well, I think people should be
looking at who
is going to fight for them, who's
going to show up, who is not going
to take a no for an answer, who will
be bold, and
who is going to drastically work to
improve quality of life regardless
of where you live and regardless of
who you vote for.
I've been committed to this work.
I will remain committed to it.
As I said, even out of office,
I've helped elect Democrats up and
down the ballot.
I have helped with a number of
initiatives and actually led my
own initiatives to lower energy
costs and utility bills for people
across the state through an
organization called Forward Together
Wisconsin. And now, in
this race, because Wisconsinites
are in real need of relief,
we are in really need of solutions,
and I think that ultimately
experience does matter.
I am the person in this raise who
will be ready to govern on day one.
I am the person who is
ready to fight like hell for
you, again, regardless of who you
voted for, and I'm ready to show up
to make sure that our schools have
the full funding that they deserve.
Our public schools get the resources
that they need so that communities
aren't going to referendum every
single election cycle, putting that
burden on property taxpayers.
I'm really to make that we usher
in a new era
of energy freedom where
Wisconsinites are generating their
own energy instead of spending all
our money out of state.
On coal that is ultimately
making people less healthy and
costing us much more money
with each passing month.
So most of the candidates have
connections to either Milwaukee or
Madison.
What is your outreach plan
for the rest of the state, for rural
Wisconsin?
Well, I can tell you there's not a
person in this race who has the
experience in all parts of Wisconsin
that I have.
In 22, I won the Wisconsin
Farmers Union Friend of the Family
Farmer Award because of my
dedication to rural Wisconsin.
I ran into a guy leaving
that conference a few years ago and
said that he never thought that he'd
be voting for a guy from Milwaukee
based on his rural policy.
And also understanding that rural
Wisconsin isn't just farms,
it is small businesses that make
up rural Wisconsin, and it's also
the outdoor.
Activities that bring tourism
to rural Wisconsin.
And we need to ensure that that
landscape is strong and
is preserved and funded for years to
come because the more that
we invest in, whether it's
tourism or outdoor recreation,
that money comes back, you
know, hand over fist.
Like it is a significant investment.
We get a significant return from
that investment, I should say.
Something we should be proud of.
People look at Wisconsin as a place
to come and visit.
And that's something we should
protect and it's something that we
should be able to figure out,
even in a bipartisan way, to expand.
We're talking about places that are
represented by Republicans, places
that are represented by Democrats
as well, that are some of the most
beautiful spaces in this entire
country, if not this entire world.
And people want to see it.
And I want to ensure that we're
putting Wisconsin on the map.
I want Wisconsin to be the best
possible state, not for you to just
visit, but to live, work, and raise
a family. I do believe that
that reality is possible.
But it takes, you know, having had
that experience that I've had going
across Wisconsin, talking to people
from all different backgrounds,
all different walks of life, and
figuring out what those best
solutions are to improve things for
everyone.
What do you think the impact of
Donald Trump will be on this
election?
Yeah, well, people are dissatisfied.
People were lied to,
people have been lied to.
He lied the first time around, but
people are filling those lies a
whole lot more.
He called affordability a hoax.
The person that's struggling to pay
their utility bills right now, I
don't think that's a hoatz.
People who are struggling to stay in
their homes, they don't that's
hoatz, people who are going to
see their healthcare premiums
rise, who are gonna see their
healthcare premium balloons,
it's not a hoach to them.
And for the president.
Of all people, the most powerful
person in this country, most
powerful in this world to dismiss
their concerns when they voted
for him based on
his pledge, his
promise to get it under control,
as something that's not just, not
sitting well with me, that's
something that not sitting well with
a majority of his voters.
And certainly the people who didn't
vote for him, but he
lied to everybody.
And there's something very sick and
very gross about that.
We deserve so much more.
We contribute so much to this
country as a state.
We feed this country.
We build this country, we make the
parts that power this entire world,
and we should be respected as such.
And this complete dismissal
of our realities, of our
lived experiences, is something
that ultimately those who
pledge loyalty to Donald Trump
versus loyalty to the state of
Wisconsin, they're
gonna feel that impact.
And that's why this campaign isn't
just about me running for governor,
me winning the race for governor.
This is about ensuring that we have
a majority in the state assembly and
the state of Senate to actually do
right by the people because the will
of the people should be the law of
the land.
And we're gonna ensure that it is.
You just referenced it, but as
governor, you could have a
Democratic legislature behind you.
In that case, what's AB 1?
What's the first bill you want to
sign?
Well, as I've said, the first
priority is Badger Care Expansion
right away, day one, special
session if necessary.
I refuse to sign a state budget that
does not include Badger care
expansion if we have not already
gotten to that point.
We're one of nine states, we are one
of 9 states that has yet to expand
our Medicaid program under
the Affordable Care Act.
It's a travesty that is
not the case. Republicans in
legislature have denied people
the care that they deserve.
For the life of me, cannot
understand why.
Look at states like Louisiana.
They actually did it through
Governor John Belt, former Governor
John Bill Edwards, did it though
executive order.
His Republican predecessor, you
know, when you sign an executive
order, the risk you run is that
your successor can actually
overturn that executive order
His Republican successor has not
overturned that executive that
expanded their Medicaid program.
And it's because he knows that
his constituents, his voters, rely
on that Medicaid expansion.
They rely on that support, or else
they will be priced out of care.
So for the last, it'll
be 17 years now,
Republicans have done a disservice,
not just to people in Milwaukee and
Madison as they want to make it
seem. They've done a dis-service to
their own voters.
And that dereliction of duty shows
how unfit they are for office.
Tom Tiffany was in the legislature.
He could have voted to expand
Medicaid.
He could've shown some leadership if
you truly cared about costs
for people in Wisconsin.
And it's another reason why this
election is so important.
Even voting to force the
vote in Congress
for the ACA premiums,
it shows a dismissal of
the actual concerns that people
have. And if you're dismissing the
concerns of people in a state
before, as
a candidate, if you are dismissing
the real concerns of the people in
Wisconsin, then how can you see
yourself fit to actually serve the
people when they've
told you exactly.
What's important to them.
What would improve quality of life?
What would help them out?
What would effectively be a lifeline
for so many people?
And you refuse to throw that
lifeline, it shows that you
just might not be ready for
leadership.
Conversely, though, there could be
Republicans in charge of at least
one chamber of the House.
So what's your track record for
working across the aisle?
Yeah, I mean, even out of office,
I've been working with a bipartisan
group on democracy reform
because there are a lot of folks,
sometimes both sides of the aisle,
who may make
comments, may say certain things,
or we've seen these
issues, obviously, January 6th, but
other instances where people call
into question integrity of
elections and campaigns.
And with a bi-partisan group, we've
worked to...
And still more confidence
in the electoral process.
We've worked with local
electoral officials,
election officials I should say,
excuse me.
We've work with bipartisan groups
of lawmakers to strengthen our
democracy.
I'm happy to work with whoever.
My goal is not just to
be representative of the Democratic
party, my goal is to represent the
state of Wisconsin and the issues
that are important to the people
that live here. And advancing an
agenda. That helps to
make things better, make things
easier for people in this time of
crisis.
The fact is partisanship has
taken us down this road that
has effectively left far too many
people behind.
And in this moment, people are
calling for leadership, not party
leaders.
And until we have
that sort of understanding, things
may just get tougher for people.
We need to usher in a new
era of leadership that is responsive
to people over party.
Right now, the Public Service
Commission is looking at billions of
dollars of rate increases and
there's data center proposals.
How would you like to address those
issues?
Well, I can tell you we need to have
a real tough look at the PSC, but
unfortunately we see PSC
commissioners who have been,
you know,
have been a little bit hesitant
because they saw what happened
when somebody took a bold
stance.
When you know Tyler Hebner, right,
he quote unquote got out of line
and Republican state senators fired
him from his position, all
because, you know, he dared
to stand up for
the people of Wisconsin and do the
right thing,
there are PSE commissioners that
don't want to see a similar fate who
want to do the right thing.
But if they're not in those seats,
they can't do the right thing they
can do anything.
And so I think that it is important
again for us to have
a majority in the state legislature,
both houses specifically, but
especially the state Senate who
has that unfortunately,
to control the fate of certain
people.
In certain appointed positions.
And we need leaders who are there,
who are gonna be committed to
ensuring best case scenario for
rate payers.
And it is my goal,
you know, these positions are every
six years, I think the next one
isn't up until 2030.
With that being the case, I want to
ensure that whoever is filling the
seats on the Public Service
Commission is going to have a real
dedication to keeping costs
low for people and also ensuring
that we have the most options.
In terms of renewable energy.
It's a resource here that we have an
opportunity to invest in.
As I mentioned before, a significant
portion of our energy generation
comes from coal.
There are no coal fields in
Wisconsin.
You know, there's no oil here
for people to drill, but
there are resources, and it's hard
to say it on today, or you know,
it's to say on a day like today, but
there is sun, and we do have
opportunities with wind energy.
Iowa, Republican controlled state,
they've gone all in on wind.
And I do believe that They're
not just opportunities for wind and
solar, but also geothermal,
some larger industrial
or even the
scale of a school district and
school building. They're investing
in it because it saves money and it
provides a significant return
at a time where people are trying
to cut costs or finding ways
to be able to save money.
What about data centers?
Yep, so data centers is important
for us.
If they are going to be built here,
there has to be a community benefits
agreement.
If they are to come, that
means ensuring that there's local
hiring.
That means ensuring that utility
rates are not going up for
customers.
It also means ensuring the community
input is prioritized.
There shouldn't be data center
construction if there's mass
opposition from the communities
that they are going to go in.
And this also means addressing
concerns like water quality.
And some of this comes down to
messaging, too.
Some of this comes down to research
and making sure that the facts are
out there for people.
And nobody wants to feel like
they're being taken advantage of,
especially after we've had a Foxconn
here in Wisconsin.
People have felt let down, people
have been frustrated, and
there are those who may say, well,
yeah, these data center operations
feel sort of similar.
It feels as if they're coming into
my community and I don't have a
say-so.
And when people feel like don't they
have a says-so and people feel
powerless, that effectively
makes people lose trust and faith
in our democracy.
And if we lose the faith and trust
in democracy, then what are we as a
state, who are we is a country?
So it's important for any operation
that looks to construct a
data center to have input
and support and buy-in from the
community that they're going in.
And a community benefits agreement
is a broad-based
approach that gets
us to a point where there
is a level of agreement before
that construction happens.
Um, but.
We can't just have communities
that feel as if they're being taken
advantage of.
When it comes to public education,
is it just a matter of funding or
does there need to be an overhaul?
Oh man, there's so much in public
education.
But we haven't reached our
two-thirds funding pledge that the
state is technically
mandated to provide for
public schools.
Talk about my public school
experience.
My public school was a challenged
public school.
And I've said before, there's no
such thing as a failing school, just
a failed community.
If we have students who are showing
up to school hungry, people who
are, you know, students who are
shown at the school homeless, like
there was at one point, at least in
the last 10 years, could still be
the case. I haven't seen recent
numbers, but one in nine
Milwaukee public school students
were homeless.
This is within the last ten years.
It could still the case now, could
even be worse.
If our students aren't shown at
school on level playing field,
that creates a significant
disadvantage that dictates
educational outcomes.
Now we have world class K-12
education right here in the state of
Wisconsin.
If you were to go to some of these
school buildings and go three to
five miles down the road, it's
a completely different story.
And it's not because of the rick and
mortar of that school building.
It is about what resources
one community has versus
another.
I believe that every school in
the state of Wisconsin can be a
world-class school, but it takes
the investments.
We can't compare students
who have every single need met
versus those who have hardly any
needs met.
We have to invest in the whole
child. And that's the kind of
overhaul that I'm looking at.
Ensuring that all of our students
are fed, all of
students are housed, all of the
students have the health care,
mental and physical health care
and make sure that they have all
their needs met.
So when they're showing up to
school, they are ready to learn.
So that when they go home, they have
a foundation that retains the
education that they got in that
school building.
Until we start looking at complete
outcomes for all of out children,
then the conversation about is
it funding, is it not funding,
it's immaterial.
What would you like to see done with
the voucher system?
It all comes down to accountability.
That's the most important thing we
can do. That has to be paramount.
We have to ensure that there
are structures in place that
don't create a
playing field where some
schools operate by one set of rules
and another set of schools operates
by a different set of rule.
Any public funding should come with
public accountability.
And that's the bottom line.
Over the course of the last year,
we've seen the Wisconsin Supreme
Court strip back a lot of
legislative oversight in the
rulemaking process and some
claim that's unbalanced now.
What would you like to see done?
Do you think there needs to be some
more legislative oversight or are
you happy with the way it stands
now?
Sometimes we see politically charged
or politically motivated what
effectively feels like
witch hunts as I mentioned with the
PSC, as I've mentioned with,
you know, now Senator Brad Paff who
was the Secretary of
Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection.
And legislative oversight is
necessary. I don't believe that all
the power should rest in the
executive branch.
I feel of course there should be a
balance. But too often.
You have those who
are leading legislative
chambers who feel as
if they wanna have even more
power than the executive just
because the executive is not a
member of their party.
If you remember in 2018, right
after we were elected,
Governor Evers and myself,
they went into special session to
take away power from the attorney
general's office.
They went into a special session to
take way power from the governor's
office that was politically
motivated, that wasn't
based in.
Fundamentals of democracy.
So if it's politically motivated,
no, we have to pump
the brakes there.
But if we're actually talking about
strengthening democracy, I'm all for
it.
When it comes to local funding for
local governments, what needs to
happen there from a state level?
Well, there's long been a funding
flaw that has made it more
difficult for
municipalities to be able to get
the resources or even
the money that goes to Madison to
come back at the same rate.
This has been an issue in Milwaukee.
That's why we've seen the
raise in sales tax in the city of
Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.
But that didn't change
the formula.
The percentage is still the same.
So effectively there's even more
money coming in.
But at a time also,
When people are feeling the
pinch, you know, at
the grocery store or anytime,
they're at any checkout counter, now
we have this increased sales tax,
which is making it even harder for
people.
But the reason that is the case
is because Madison has
failed, and the legislature has
failed to actually implement a
real solution to make it easier
for municipalities to get the
support they deserve. And we're
gonna be convening a group of
local elected officials, of mayors,
very soon.
To be able to have this
conversation, have this discussion
in a real way.
I have not served in local office.
At one point I was a receptionist in
Mayor Tom Barrett's office, but I've
never served in a local office and
I'm not gonna sit here and claim to
be an expert on local government
funding and financing, but I
do wanna come to a solution with
those who are managing city budgets
every single day to
be about to provide the best
solution to ensure that
city services go on, especially at a
time like this where we had an
earlier snow than usual you know,
and some communities.
Snow plows were a little bit late.
And it's because government
and local, excuse me, cities and
some counties have been unable to
hire the people they need to
be able to get out on the streets to
keep our roads safe and
clear.
Right now in northern Wisconsin
there's multiple mining operations
where they're doing drilling to look
at future mine potential.
The mining law was changed before
you came into office.
Do you think that mining law is
good, or would you like to see any
overhaul there?
Well again, we need to ensure that
there are environmental protections.
We can look at this the same way as
we had that data center
conversation. There has to be
community buy-in and community input
for people who have
made their homes in
an area 20, 30 years
passed down generation to
generation. I think that folks
should have some input on what
happens in their backyard.
And all I'm saying is have the
conversation.
That's the important part.
We've gotten away from having the
conversation, Some people don't want
to have conversations because they
can be difficult.
I think the difficult conversations
are probably the most necessary ones
to have.
So when we have those
times where mining may
come up in a part of the
state, yeah, we'll talk to the
community, like let's talk it
out because the only thing that
happens is more resentment if
that conversation doesn't happen.
Do you have any concerns about your
own safety in this political
environment?
But we are in a politically charged
environment, and it's kind
of hectic out there.
I had threats before
that were made to me.
It's not a fun thing to experience,
and, you know, it's
always back of mind.
But I can tell you, like, I'm
focused on doing what's right.
I'm going to continue to stay
focused on what's doing right.
Violence is absolutely a
problem. It's an issue.
Is something that we cannot
ignore.
But I can't let that slow me down
either.
What's your plan to increase
affordable housing?
So the plan to increase affordable
housing is to ensure that we put a
stop on corporate monopolies
that are buying up wholesale
properties. This is going on in
Milwaukee.
These monopolies are making it
difficult for first-time
homeowners.
These monopolys are making a easy,
or excuse me, making it more
difficult for people
to be able to afford rent because
if they own all the properties, they
can price people out or
just charge whatever they wanna
charge and where else are people
gonna go? That's the first thing we
gotta do.
When it comes to the Department of
Corrections plan that Governor Evers
has in place, would you keep that
going forward?
Uh, you gotta speak specifically
about that plant.
His plans to shut
down Green Bay eventually and
build new facilities or overhaul
some facilities but not build a
brand new corrections.
Yeah, so with Green Bay, I know that
there are a number of safety
concerns, structural concerns.
Of course, I mean, we can't have
people, or even
whether you're a person who's housed
at that facility or a person whose
working at that facilities, we have
people in substandard conditions.
So, the overhaul of smaller
facilities, more regional
facilities, I think that
might get us to a place where we can
more effectively rehabilitate
people, and that has to be
our baseline as well.
Ensuring that rehabilitation.
Actually happens.
What would you like to see in terms
of Wisconsin's abortion law?
Well, Wisconsin's 1849 criminal
abortion ban, you know,
it shouldn't be in place, for one.
This is
something that came at a time where
women couldn't vote, you know,
like people couldn't. There were a
lot of people who were kept out of
democracy when we had our 1849
Criminal Abortion Ban, which
should be immediately disqualifying
on its face.
And that law was triggered by the
Dobs decision.
And I would love to see this country
get back to a pre-Dops
era, because
Roe was the law of the land that
was generally accepted
by Democrats, of course,
but even Republicans who didn't
necessarily like abortion wasn't
their thing, Roe is sort of
a compromise for them and something
they felt comfortable with.
That was actually the last question.
Mandela Barnes, thanks for coming
in.
For sure, thank you so much.
Perfect timing.
All right, thank you so much, really
appreciate it. Thank you.