4 candidates line up for Assembly seat being vacated by Chris Taylor – Madison.com

So far, Madison police officer Tyrone Cratic Williams, Madison School Board member Nicki Vander Meulen, Madison Ald. Marsha Rummel and former Dane County Board candidate Heather Driscoll are vying to compete in the August primary to advance to the November general election. The district is heavily Democratic, so the August primary will likely determine who takes office in January.

Assembly District 76 is being vacated in January by Taylor, who was first elected in 2011, prompting more local political jockeying amid a local election season that also includes the race to replace retiring Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, the longest serving lawmaker in American history, and Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona.

Cratic Williams has served as a police officer since 2014 and has frequently patrolled the neighborhoods of District 76, which covers much of the isthmus. He said the job has helped him better understand the strengths and challenges of the community. Cratic Williams graduated from Edgewood College and has worked as a youth educator, program coordinator and mentor to at-risk youth and families. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Common Wealth Development Inc., which addresses issues of affordable housing, unemployment and youth development. 

“I have a deep history with this community,” Cratic Williams said in a statement. “The people here have molded me into who I am today. I have first-hand experience working in the community supporting Wisconsin based start-ups and small businesses, providing access to healthcare, combating racial disparities and investing in workforce development programs.”

Vander Meulen announced her bid for the Assembly seat following her decisive victory in being re-elected to Seat 7 on the school board in the April 7 election. She said she plans to complete her time on the board if she is elected to the Assembly. If elected, she’d be the first openly Autistic legislator in the country. 

“There are many disability rights activists who wish to be involved in politics,” Vander Meulen said in a statement. “Often these individuals are patronized or told to wait and let others who are ‘more electable’ run for office. I’m done waiting. The time for change is now!”

As a member of the board, Vander Meulen, 41, said she secured cost of living increases for teachers, passed increases in education funding. If elected, she said she’d prioritize legislation expanding rights for people with disabilities, overhauling the criminal justice system and increasing public school funding. 

Besides being a school board member, she also has a law practice focusing on juvenile and mental health cases.

Rummel and Driscoll announced their bids earlier this month. Rummel, who represents the city’s 6th district, has served as an alderwoman for seven terms, since 2007. Her term runs until April of next year. Besides her city council service, Rummel works at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue with state tax law programs. Before that, she worked for more than 20 years in the private sector.

She has also served as the president of the Marquette Neighborhood Association. She currently serves on the Plan Commission, Public Market Development Committee and the Madison Water Utility Board. 

“I believe I am well prepared to fill Representative Chris Taylor’s shoes,” Rummel said in a statement. “My service as a local government official has made it abundantly clear how state policies impact the ability of local communities to meet their residents’ needs.”

If elected, Rummel said she would seek to work on a recovery plan for the fallout from COVID-19, and call for increased spending on social safety nets, public education, local businesses and support for first responders and service workers. 

Driscoll ran unsuccessfully in 2018 for Dane County supervisor for District 6. She is an advocate for environmental issues and violence prevention, having served as the Madison legislative lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety in America. She also worked with the Madison School Board to pass the 100% renewable energy MMSD resolution.

Driscoll was appointed to the Sustainable Madison Committee, served on Madison’s Beyond Coal campaign and leads the Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara Board’s environmental committee. She also co-leads the board’s equity and inclusion committee. 

“In the Assembly, I will continue to fight every day for those who worry about our climate and the water around us, of having adequate medical coverage if they get sick, of being discriminated against and those who are in fear of gun violence and sexual assault,” Driscoll said in a statement.