Wisconsin State Assembly Rep. Lori Palmeri (D) said that she’ll continue to problem solve for the people of the Fox Valley after winning reelection over Tim Paterson (R) in District 54.
“You know that I’ve served the city of Oshkosh and the greater Oshkosh area for the last eight years, [and] it’s been an honor and a privilege to be a servant leader,” Palmeri said. “I appreciate having the opportunity to solve daily problems and their issues here, not just in the city, but in the greater Oshkosh region and Fox Valley region.”
Palmeri, who served two terms as an Oshkosh Common Council member before serving two terms as Oshkosh mayor from 2019-23, defeated Paterson by about 1,500 votes Nov. 5 to secure two more years in the State Assembly. Palmeri claimed 52.7% of the vote while Paterson obtained 47.3% of the vote.
While in office as a state Representative, Palmeri has helped create a Diversion, Equity and Inclusion committee, worked with city officials to create Oshkosh’s response to COVID-19 and advocated to fund homelessness initiatives and mental health support programs.
In the past month, she’s proposed multiple bills surrounding gun violence, including propositions to introduce an office of gun violence within the Department of Justice, a waiting period after buying a handgun and legislation to require storage of a firearm when in the presence of a minor.
Palmeri said that in the end, everyone wants the same things in life.
“We want to have a good quality of life, we want to have our kids educated, we want to have decent roads, we want to have access to health care, affordable housing and decent jobs,” Palmeri said. “So I mean, those are unifying themes for everyone. Most folks, I think, are here because it’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to recreate, educate and vocation, right? We’re sharing all of this space together. We need to learn how we can get along with conserving our resources.”
One of the biggest issues that Palmeri said that she wants to fight for is clean water.
“We have 10% of the surface water here in Winnebago County of the entire state,” Palmeri said. “So, we all want to have clean water and a decent quantity. We’ve got to clean up our water because otherwise, none of us are going to be here.”
Palmeri said that, among other things, she wants to see public education and the Universities of Wisconsin System fully funded.
“Let’s get some of those bills over the finish line, and [we’ve] got to reverse some of the stuff that happened in the last 14 years,” Palmeri said. “And with these new maps, you know, we have a chance at it. So we’ve certainly got to introduce things that relate to our women’s reproductive freedom. We’ve [also] got to build some new housing in this state. We’ve got to make housing affordable.”
Palmeri said it is going to be different working with new constituents in District 54 after Gov. Tony Evers approved new legislative district lines that were created by Republicans at the Capitol.
“We had 7,900 new voters added to this district, and they were mostly rural north of town,” Palmeri said. “With the new maps, we have more of a urban, rural mix, and 44 new miles on the north side. It’s a different makeup. [District 54] used to be mostly the city of Oshkosh. Now it’s kind of a combination.”
Palmeri said these new maps bring in different issues that constituents would like to see solved.
“With the rural issues, you have more agricultural or non-urban things that you’re dealing with than just the city sewer and city roads and things like that,” Palmeri said. “[There’s] more emphasis on education in our correctional facilities and mental health and things like that [in the city]. But, those are things that we’re all facing as an entire state and a nation.”
Even though he lost, Paterson would like to tell Palmeri to consider all of her constituents in office, not just the ones that believe the same things that she does.
“The reason why I was running is that I just don’t feel that my values, my morals or my priorities are being adhered to at all,” Paterson said. “We need to be considering the entire district.”
Palmeri said that bringing Democrats and Republicans together in the State Assembly is all about building relationships.
“You have to consider those folks on both sides of the aisle as human beings, personally, and I think that there are people who want to work together,” Palmeri said. “Certainly [I hope] we’re going to see that in this next session, more people working together. I’m confident. I’m optimistic about that.”
Palmeri said that the Midwest culture of helping one another will help bring the state together.
“The people on either coast refer to the Midwest as the flyover state, but really we are the third coast,” Palmeri said. “If you think about it, with the Great Lakes, we’re like this kind of hidden gem, and Midwest nice is true. We, for the most part, are decent, hardworking, friendly people, and I think that Wisconsin’s resources, [and] our culture of helping our neighbors, is really the kind of value that kept me here.”
