Madison – Encouraged by
supporters across the 16th Senate District, State
Representative Mark Miller today announced his intentions to run for
the Senate seat this fall.
"We’re at a critical
juncture in our state, we need to keep a strong Democrat in the
Senate to help move us forward and stand up to a Republican agenda
that focuses on what divides us,” said Miller.
Miller, who currently
represents the 48th District in the State Assembly
continued, “I look forward to serving in the State Senate and
promise to ensure that the voice of the people is heard, to advance
the progressive values of the district and to move Wisconsin forward
on critical issues like health care, education, protecting our
environment and creating jobs.”
Miller noted that he learned
the importance of community service from his mother, former State
Representative Midge Miller. Miller carried on that family
tradition by serving in the Air National Guard for thirty years, two
terms on the Dane County Board, and three terms in the Wisconsin
Assembly. He and wife of 36 years, Jo Oyama Miller, have been
long-time leaders in school, church and community issues.
“Real leadership and
community service requires bringing people together,” commented
Miller. “It’s not enough to say you support something and vote for
it, you need to roll up your sleeves and work for it. I have worked
hard in the Assembly, and I will continue to work hard and exercise
real leadership in the Senate. Wisconsin faces serious challenges
on health care, education, jobs, and the environment. We cannot
afford to waste our energy on emotional wedge issues that divert us
from these fundamental challenges.”
As a state representative,
Miller demonstrated leadership and a commitment to many important
issues, including:
Expanding access to health care:
- Authored and introduced
legislation to expand health care coverage to every
Wisconsin resident; and
- Strongly supported
SeniorCare to help senior citizens afford the cost of their
prescription drugs and BadgerCare to provide health
insurance to uninsured children in working families.
Improving education:
- Strongly supported
proven strategies to improve our children’s education,
including early childhood education and the SAGE smaller
class size program;
- Sponsored legislation
for the fair treatment of teachers; and
- Worked to preserve the
quality of the technical college and UW System and keep
tuition affordable.
Protecting clean air and water:
- Opposed measures that
would have weakened state protection of clean air and water;
- Introduced legislation
that would expand Wisconsin’s recycling program to reduce
waste from TV’s, computers and other electronic devices; and
- Introduced legislation
to increase Renewable Energy production in Wisconsin.
Creating good paying jobs:
- Introduced legislation
to ensure taxpayer business subsidies focus on good paying
jobs and achieve their other intended public purposes.
Protecting all citizens’ rights:
- Consistently voted to
protect a woman’s right to make her own reproductive
choices;
- Introduced legislation
to provide contraceptive equity in insurance coverage and to
make emergency contraception available to victims of sexual
assault; and
- Sponsored legislation
to prohibit discrimination of same-sex couples and opposed a
constitutional amendment that would deny same-sex couples
the right to marry or enter into civil unions.
“The citizens of the 16th District deserve leadership
that will continue the strong tradition of active, progressive
representation they’ve received over the years. I look forward to
meeting the voters across the 16th District to listen to
their concerns and be a catalyst for moving forward on the issues
important to us,” concluded Miller.
