Fox Valley Legislators Agree Partisan Politics Bad for Wisconsin

APPLETON, WI- (WISS) – At a Legislative Lunch sponsored by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, two Wisconsin legislators from opposite sides of the political aisle agreed that bipartisanship, if achieved, will save Wisconsin politics.

Senator for District 18, Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton), and 53rd Assembly District Representative Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) spoke to business leaders and community members from the Fox Valley Monday afternoon.

Both said the highly partisan Wisconsin politics are bad for the state.

“We need to try to work together. My three months back in the legislature, I haven’t seen much of that,” said Kaufert. “It’s on both sides. I’ll be honest with you, but we’ve got to do better.”

Dassler-Alfheim agreed that the discord between the parties makes getting things done difficult.

“When the rules are changed by leadership that doesn’t allow any bill to come to the table that might have bipartisan support initially–That causes harm. If you have a Republican party majority, then the governor vetoes everything you want. That’s going to cause a negative reaction,” said Dassler-Alfheim. “Back in the day, we used to have to work together because no one was drawn an automatic victory. It forced us to have to deal with bills from both sides. It forced us to have to work at amendments to find the most tolerable version any bill. That is what the public wants us to do.” 

Partisan Politics in Madison

Kaufert added that legislation and government business are controlled by party leaders and the “cult of personality.”

“But it’s so polarized,” Kaufert said. “Robin Vos, you bring his name up to some people, and people just cringe. You bring up some of the Democrats’ leadership, and they just cringe. So, everything is run so much by the leaders because they’re the leaders of the party. And then on top of this, now we have this Trump factor.”

Dassler-Alfehim agreed. “Civil dialogue will always take place. I’m not angry at any individuals. What I’m angry at is that we can’t make the decision to start moving forward together, and we can’t control leadership. No matter what we want, we can’t. But we can expect their civilized behavior and rational thought.”

Kaufert and Dassler-Alfheim will co-host a budget listening session to discuss Wisconsin’s 2025/27 budget on May 1, 2025, from 5 to 6:30 pm at Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha.

“I’m really very grateful to Representative Kaufert,” Dassler-Alfheim said. “He and I, I believe, are the only bipartisan effort doing a joint listening session in the state of Wisconsin for our budget this year. That’s a big deal. That means we’re starting out in the right mindset, in being there together, trying to accomplish things.”