By Kim McDarison
The Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Jefferson Chamber of Commerce have announced that they will be hosting “Assembly Candidate Interviews” Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Jefferson County Fair Park Activity Center, 503 N. Jackson Ave., Jefferson.
According to information released by the groups, the event will feature a question-and-answer session with candidates running within three Assembly districts: 46, which includes voters within Waterloo, Lake Mills, Cambridge and Fort Atkinson; 97, which includes voters within Sullivan, Hebron, and Palmyra, and 38, which includes voters within Watertown, Johnson Creek and Jefferson.
Also included in this story, but not a part of the upcoming interviews, is information about candidates running in Assembly District 43, which includes portions of Jefferson County, such as the town of Cold Spring and the city of Whitewater.
The chamber-sponsored interviews will take place in three segments, with the first beginning at 5 p.m., the second beginning at 6 p.m., and the third beginning at 7 p.m.
Megan Cooper, executive director of the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, responding to questions by phone, said five of the six candidates running within the three districts will be attending the interview. Running in the 38th Assembly District, she said Izzy Hassey Nevarez has declined participating in the event.
Running in November to represent Assembly District 38, Izzy Hassey Nevarez, D-Juneau, above, has declined an offer to participate in the upcoming candidate interviews, according to Megan Cooper, executive director of the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.
William Penterman, R-Columbus, above, will be on-hand to answer questions during the upcoming candidate interviews event sponsored by two area chambers of commerce. The candidate is running in November to represent the 38th Assembly District.
Candidates running in Assembly District 38; interview beginning at 7 p.m.
In November, Nevarez, D-Juneau, will face candidate William Penterman, R-Columbus. Nevarez advanced as the successful Democratic candidate following the Aug. 13 primary after facing write-in candidates. The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Nevarez last ran for an Assembly seat in District 39 in 2020, losing that race to Republican incumbent Mark Born. Wisconsin Assembly Districts in February of this year underwent redistricting, placing Nevarez within the 38th district.
Nevarez’s offical website is here: https://www.izzywi.com/.
His challenger, Penterman, also emerged victoriously after facing write-in candidates during the Aug. 13 Republican primary. Penterman currently represents Assembly District 37, having assumed office in 2021. His term ends Jan. 6, 2025. Following redistricting, he will be running in District 38.
The candidate’s official website is here: https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/37/penterman.
Jennifer Quimby, R-Waterloo, at left, and Joan Fitzgerald, D-Fort Atkinson, will vie for a seat representing Assembly District 46 in November. Both candidates will be in attendance during a candidate interviews event sponsored by two area chambers of commerce later this month.
Candidates running in Assembly District 46; Interview beginning at 5 p.m.
Voters in November will find a race between candidates Joan Fitzgerald, D-Fort Atkinson, and Jennifer Quimby, R-Waterloo. The district is currently represented by Melissa Ratcliff, D-Cottage Grove, who is running on the November ballot for a seat in the state Senate.
Both candidates emerged successfully after facing write-in candidates during the Aug. 13 primary.
Fitzgerald’s official website is here: https://www.joanfitzgeraldforassembly.com/.
The candidate’s announcement before redistricting, making know in early February on Fort Atkinson Online her plans to run in the 33rd Assembly District, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/fitzgerald-announces-campaign-for-33rd-state-assembly-district-seat/.
After redistricting, on Feb. 19, the candidate announced her intentions to run in the 46th Assembly District. The announcement is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/joan-fitzgerald-candidate-for-wisconsin-state-assembly-offers-statement-on-new-district-46-lines/.
Quimby’s official website is here: https://www.quimbyforassembly.com/.
Cindi Duchow, R-Delafield, above, will run against Beth Leonard, D-Hartland, not pictured, to represent Assembly District 97. Both candidates will attend the upcoming candidate interviews event sponsored by two area chambers of commerce. Leonard’s photo and campaign website were not found online by Fort Atkinson Online.
Candidates running in Assembly District 97; interview beginning at 6 p.m.
Voters in November will find a race between candidates Beth Leonard, D-Hartland, and Cindi Duchow, R-Delafield, who currently represents Assembly District 99. She assumed office in 2015, with her term ending in January of 2025.
Both candidates emerged victoriously having faced write-in candidates during the August primary.
Duchow’s official website is here: https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/99/duchow.
Leonard’s picture and official website were not found by Fort Atkinson Online.
About the chamber-sponsored event
According to information released by the chambers, prior to the event, members of the Fort Atkinson Area and Jefferson chambers of commerce will be given the opportunity to submit questions which will be posed to the candidates.
“These responses will determine the topics and questions the moderator will ask during the interviews,” the release stated.
“We’ve noticed that voters want more opportunities to learn about their candidates’ positions prior to the elections. I’m glad that we have the opportunity to partner with our neighbor chamber and provide this event as a resource,” Cooper said within the release.
“These local races are very important for both voters and businesses, and it can be challenging to find clarity on what candidates believe. Thus, we are excited to provide voters with this benefit via our partnership with the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce,” Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shauna Wessely noted in the release.
The interviews will be recorded and made available through the two chambers’ social media sites, the release read.
Two candidates, Scott Johnson, R-Jefferson, at left, who currently represents Assembly District 33, and Brienne Brown, D-Whitewater, will vie in November to represent Assembly District 43. The district includes a small portion of Jefferson County, including the town of Cold Spring and the city of Whitewater, a portion of which resides in Jefferson County. The district, and its candidates, are not included in the upcoming candidate interviews event sponsored by the Fort Atkinson Area and Jefferson chambers of commerce.
Assembly District 43; not included in the chamber interviews.
Also of interest to the Fort Atkinson Online and WhitewaterWise readership area is a race in Assembly district 43.
The district includes a portion of Jefferson County, including the town of Cold Spring and the city of Whitewater, a portion of which resides in Jefferson County.
In November, voters will find the names of Brienne Brown, D-Whitewater, and Scott Johnson, R-Jefferson, on the ballot. Johnson is the current representative of Assembly District 33. He assumed office in January of 2023. His term ends in January of 2025. Johnson defeated incumbent Democrat Don Vruwink to win the seat. After redistricting in February, Johnson is choosing to run in the new District 43, a legislative aide working in Johnson’s office, Kevin Vesperman, said. The candidate will move into the 43rd District should he be elected in November, Vesperman noted, which, he stressed, is the requirement. He said the candidate, would he make the move, “has several options, including the old homestead,” which, he said was in a rural area near Janesville and Milton.
In 2024, Johnson emerged victoriously after facing Republican challenger Dylan Kurtz during the August primary. Brown emerged victoriously in the August primary after facing write-in candidates.
Brown last ran for a seat in the district in 2022, losing that bid to Republican candidate Ellen Schutt, R-Clinton, who is the current office holder in Assembly District 31. She assumed office in January of 2023. Her term ends in January of 2025.
Schutt was disqualified from the Republican primary schedule in August of 2024. She announced publicly that she did not intent to run.
Johnson’s campaign website is here: https://www.scottforassembly.com/.
The candidate’s announcement on WhitewaterWise.com, a sister publication of Fort Atkinson Online, of his intention to run for a seat in the 43rd District is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/scott-johnson-announces-candidacy-for-43rd-state-assembly-district-seat-district-includes-whitewater/.
Brown’s campaign website is here: https://brienneforwisconsin.com/.
The candidate’s announcement on WhitewaterWise.com of her intention to run for a seat in the 43rd District is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/brienne-brown-announces-candidacy-for-43rd-state-assembly-district-seat-district-includes-whitewater/.
An earlier Fort Atkinson Online story, offering an understanding of redistricting as it affected the cities of Fort Atkinson and Whitewater, enacted as law by Gov. Tony Evers in February, is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/evers-signs-into-law-new-legislative-maps/. The story includes a chronology of redistricting as it affects Assembly districts 33, 38, 31, 43, and 46, and state Senate districts 11, 15, and 16.
Click on the image above to find an interactive map, as supplied by the Wisconsin State Legislature, of Assembly districts within the state as of 2024.
Click on the image above, and then the “Senate Districts (2024) box, to find an interactive map, as supplied by the Wisconsin State Legislature, showing state Senate districts as of 2024.
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