Robert Longwell-Grice
Retired
ShorewoodElected Experience
None
Q&A with the Candidate
Why should voters elect you?
First and foremost, I pledge to prioritize environmental issues once I am elected. I have spent my career working with people of different ages, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds to accomplish shared goals. I will bring my experience working with diverse groups to my work in the state assembly to ensure that legislation protects Wisconsin’s environment now and in the future. After earning an undergraduate degree in social work, a master's degree in counseling and a doctorate in counseling pyschology, I worked for 40 years in higher education, the last 20 at UW-Milwaukee. I have lived in the 10th district for 24 years. It is my home. I will support the district, the state, and our shared futures through service in the legislature.
What is the top issue in your district? How would you address it?
Sustainability is the most important issue facing the 10th district and Wisconsin today. I will take, and I will encourage others to take a pragmatic look at the issues facing Wisconsin through the lens of what is environmentally sustainable and fair for all the people. As AI grows, Wisconsin needs state oversight of data centers. I will prioritize the development of alternative energy use to ease our reliance on fossil fuels. We must reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Act, Wisconsin’s primary land conservation funding mechanism. I will work to rescind the law that prevents municipalities from limiting single-use plastics. I will champion a bill to require deposits on all bottles and cans in the state.
How should Wisconsin government operate differently than in the past?
The current system in Wisconsin government has operated as two parties battling against one another to protect a preferred ideology. This approach has led to retaliatory decisions on significant issues. Our government must make decisions that work today and set up future generations for success. The goal should be legislation that prepares a good future for all Wisconsin residents. Independent voices are needed. Without them, we will continue to experience the stalemate we have seen recently. Ideological voting has led to the Knowles-Nelson Act expiring. It has also led to the failure to enact a compromise proposal, supported by 80% of Wisconsin voters, related to the $3 billion budget surplus. As a Green Party member, I will bring an independent voice for the people.
What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?
Senator Gaylord Nelson, state senator, Governor and three-term U.S. senator, is considered the founder of Earth Day. It started on April 22, 1970. Working with a Wisconsin-born college student, Denis Hayes, he inspired the creation of the teach-in on April 22, 1970, focusing the nation on environmental issues. Sen. Nelson’s work spurred the creation of the Clean Water, Clean Air and Endangered Species Acts, as well as the creation of the EPA. He was considered Capitol Hill’s resident environmentalist. It is that energy and attention that is needed to address the environmental crises like data centers facing our state today.