AD 89: Ryan Spaude (D) vs Patrick Buckley (R)
The 89th Assembly district is located in Northeastern Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Brown County. It includes the village of Ashwaubenon and much of the west side of the city of Green Bay. The district contains Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
I know it is hard to keep track of all the numbers and changes in the districts under the new maps. So much change is coming and that means new faces in the new districts. The old 4th Assembly District is now the new 89th Assembly District and includes Ashwaubenon and most of the west side of Green Bay. These districts kind of did a flip flop in labeling of district numbers.
In 2018 voters in Brown County expressed high support for reform on the county referendum. In 2022 the decision to lower the fines in the City of Green Bay to $0 for possession of 28 grams or less of cannabis, plus $61 in court fees, breezed through city council in a unanimous vote that took less than 10 minutes to pass.
This is an open seat in the Assembly with no incumbent on the ballot. Interesting enough, this district representative was David Steffen (R) under the old maps. Steffen is no longer in this new 89th District, but lives in the new 4th Assembly District boundaries with pair him against fellow Republican Elijah Behnke. Steffen has long opposed cannabis reform as an elected official and Behnke has not shown himself to support this issue either. Noteworthy is also that three Republican Senators, Jacque, Wimberger and Cowles also all live in the boundaries on the new 89th Assembly. I think the Republican declared so late in this race that shows it is probably going to be a Democrat seat. If the marijuana vote counts for any % of the vote in this district, the Republican is going to get crushed.
No incumbent. New maps. And as the publishing of this article, according to projects.cnalysis.com this race, the Assembly District 89, is one of the top three competitive races in the whole state assembly field of 99 races. Top three! One of the other top three most competitive races is right next door to this one, which is the Assembly District 88 race between Welch (D) and Franklin (R). The other race in the top three is Assembly District 85 between Incumbent Pat Snyder (R – relocating to run) and Yee Leng Xiong (D – Weston).
Ryan Spaude (D – Green Bay)
About Ryan from his website: I’m the fifth generation of my family to live in northeast Wisconsin. I didn’t come from money – my dad is a welder and my mom is a dental hygienist. I grew up in Little Suamico, and I went to public school in grades K-12. I then went on to earn my bachelor’s degree from Princeton in 2016. After that, I worked for a few years in the Washington D.C. area, before returning home and graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2022. I currently work as a prosecutor in the Brown County District Attorney’s Office. My focus is on prosecuting drunk drivers & keeping our community safe.
Depending on your trusted source of political percentage games and election predictions, the new 89th district could favor the Democrat on the ballot anywhere from 1.4% to 3.2%. The more conservative projection shows a 50.8% district performance to favor the Republicans.
It is a competitive toss up district that is for sure and the early bird Democratic candidate Ryan Spaude is hot on the campaign trail and in April was already being very local about the need for and his support of reforming the cannabis laws.
I found this very detailed map on Ryan Spaude for Assembly Facebook page that has a comparison of the districts with additional emphasis on partisan lean within the district itself.
If we had to put Spaude on a list, he would fall under the “Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it” heading. You can visit his campaign website Stand With Spaude to learn more about this candidate.
Please follow his campaign on Facebook and visit his website for more information on his candidacy.
Patrick Buckley (R-Green Bay)
Brown County Board Chairman Patrick Buckley announced his candidacy May 9th. Patrick (Pat) Buckley began his career in public service as a decorated Green Bay Police Officer. In 2010, he returned to public service as a Brown County Board member and was unanimously re-elected by his peers to serve as Chairman.
In 2018, Green Bay Supervisor Patrick Buckley voted NO to placing a marijuana referendum on the Fall ballot. The referendum went onto pass with 76% of the vote.
In 2019, Patrick Buckley joined the John Muir Show as a Green Bay Mayor Candidate and spoke about marijuana fines in the city. Pat disagrees with lowering fines for marijuana possession or use, but recognizes that many fines have gotten quite high “In some cases… Are we better off… And it’s got to be a punishment… People have to be able to afford to pay it… In some cases, If they can’t afford the ticket, how much are we spending to house them in the jail?” – source
Green Bay area activists had this to say about Buckley “It seems that, when marijuana becomes legal, Buckley will be very harsh towards the businesses dealing in it. He sounds more anti-pot than pro-business.“
If you live in this district, probably best to tell Buckley you have a difference of opinion on this matter.
Stay tuned and get active!
I will provide you additional 2024 Wisconsin State Election coverage throughout the campaign season. This next election is extremely important for marijuana reform and I will continue to bring you information as more candidates make their political moves.
In the event that we end up with divided government in the 2024-25 legislation session, the official formation of The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus would be a must first step towards reform. The official establishment of this Caucus will represent the growing, bipartisan support in Wisconsin.
Although session as ended we still urge you to contact your elected officials. The top four action alerts are still functionable on The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Action Network for you immediate use.
Sources: CNanalysis (Toss-Up +2 Dem) WisPolitics /2024 Assembly Races (50.8% Rep), Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps, Ballotpedia
