51st Assembly: Steve Hilgenberg's a leader for small-town Wisconsin

By the Capitol Times Editorial Board

10/27/2008

Small-business man, high school coach and veteran Dodgeville School Board member Steve Hilgenberg joined the Legislature after his election two years ago as a man on a mission.

Hilgenberg wanted to provide real representation for working farmers, small-business owners and the residents of rural communities. And he knew that, to do so, he had to be a leader in the fight for health care and education reforms, which are essential not just to his constituents in southwest Wisconsin's 51st District.

Within days of being sworn in, Hilgenberg was speaking up about the need to do more to help farm families gain access to affordable health care. And he hasn't stopped.

Hilgenberg has proven to be a tremendous asset to the Democratic caucus and the Legislature as a whole. He forces not just Republicans but his fellow Democrats to pay attention to farm, rural and small-town issues. He knows how to compromise when necessary. But, unlike Republican rival Nathan Russell of Sauk City, Hilgenberg is committed to the cause of returning Wisconsin to its progressive roots.

As such, he's been a legislative reformer, working hard to pass an ethics bill and promoting nonpartisan redistricting that creates competitive legislative districts. With state Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, he wrote legislation to limit campaign spending on judicial races and proposed steps to reduce the special-interest expenditures on Supreme Court races. And he's not stopping there. Once he gets our judicial races cleaned up, Hilgenberg says, "There's really no reason this shouldn't eventually apply to all state races. It's not that radical a proposal. We're trying to make the districts fairer, get the special-interest money out, limit spending, limit campaigns and make candidates run competitive races."

Hilgenberg is the old-fashioned rural reformer with exactly the right ideas for the 21st century. He has our enthusiastic support as he seeks a second term.