Priorities

Ryan Clancy has authored and passed a long list of legislation - from the Right to Shelter to the Right to Counsel. He's brought that legislative experience to the state, to fight to ensure that our budget and policies reflect our community priorities. and to undo the worst harms of capitalism. 

Supporting public schools

As a former Milwaukee Public Schools teacher, Clancy has been an advocate for public schools. He works to transform the funding formula; raise revenue limits; increase funds to special education, mental health supports, to provide additional support for students in poverty, rural areas and ELL learners; and to roll back privatization and to address the teaching crisis.

Safety through community investment

Wisconsin's residents want real safety, not abusive and unaccountable policing. Punitive efforts through abusive policing and incarceration has harmed our communities, not made us safer. Clancy fights for safety through community investment and by funding programs which make our neighborhoods better, safer places to live. 

A statewide Right to Counsel

Clancy authored Milwaukee County's groundbreaking Right to Counsel, which provides a lawyer to help reduce the 14,000 evictions in Milwaukee every year. He has continued to fight to expand this right - and more - for all Wisconsin residents, bringing economic growth and stability households across the state.

Clancy on the issues


​Public Schools

As a former MPS teacher, both as a substitute in schools across Milwaukee, and as a full-time classroom teacher for years, it's clear to me both that education is in a crisis across Wisconsin and that the solutions are clear, and needed urgently.

Our students deserve a fair system of funding untethered to property taxes. We should raise revenue limits. And we need to provide additional supports for special education, mental health, and for students who are in rural or high-poverty areas or learning English as a second language. 

Public schools, and therefore education itself, are under assault by the right, and have been so for decades. We must roll back privatization and non-instrumentality charter schools, which are unaccountable to the public, are disincentivized to teach all students, and which leech funds away from public schools, generating profits rather than opportunity. Now is the time to finally invest in our public schools, our teachers, students and communities. I will fight to do so.


A Right to Counsel for every Wisconsin resident

I spent much of 2021 pulling together a wide coalition of groups and individuals to support the Right to Counsel. From Legal Aid, to Legal Action, to the United Way, this was a monumental undertaking. It was also incredibly urgent: even before the pandemic, Milwaukee County evicted 14,000 households a year.

I listened to residents, and did the research, and it told a dire story: the effects of eviction go well beyond housing, and that they negatively impact so many parts of our community. It was also clear from data from municipalities which had provided lawyers to people facing eviction how effective it was: reducing court backlogs, keeping people in their jobs, and even providing better educational outcomes for children, as they were kept in their schools and away from the dangers of increased lead exposure in moving in and out of run-down housing. With the moratorium ending, it was clear that we needed action.

And so I wrote the legislation, informed by both the people doing the work to prevent evictions and by the many residents who have struggled through it. And the community supported it, showing up - and sometimes waiting hours to give their compelling, heartfelt testimony.

Because of these efforts, residents in Milwaukee County now have a right to an attorney when facing eviction. Between my Right to Counsel legislation and advocacy for direct rent assistance, we're on track to prevent thousands of evictions a year moving forward.

Declaring and funding a statewide Right to Counsel would extend these same vital protections to households across Wisconsin, and would share the costs of this groundbreaking effort with residents outside of Milwaukee County. And we can - and should - remove means testing for eligibility to this program and expand it to also include individuals threatened with foreclosure. 

At the state, I worked to release the Tenant Protection Package - a package of 22 bills which seeks to protect renters from the worst abuses of landlords and to even the playing field between landlords and tenants. For too long, the state's answer to housing has been to just throw handouts at developers and landlords. We can do better.

If you live in Milwaukee County are in need of legal services regarding eviction, see EvictionFreeMKE.org


​Working conditions and wages

For years, Milwaukee (and other municipalities across the state) have passed or considered legislation to raise working conditions, protections and wages, only to see those important actions undone or pre-empted by state laws. I will continue my work with state legislators to reverse those preemptions, continue to fight at the national level for legislation such as the One Fair Wage Act, and to find creative solutions to protect working families, and to reduce the ever-widening gap between corporate profits and working class pay.

As COVID-19 laid bare, Wisconsin's striking down of Milwaukee's 2008 mandatory sick-time ordinance must be reversed. Employers allowing employees to stay at home when sick, and employees being able to do so while making ends meet, is not just an equity and social justice issue, but - especially in the service industry - an urgent matter of public health. 

As a small business owner and founder of PRAWN: the Progressive Restaurants and Activists of Wisconsin Network, I have pushed back on industry lobbyists who seek to keep service industry wages and working conditions low, and worked with state lawmakers to incentivize higher wages for employees. Here's some of that story. We can, and must, do more for working families and immigrants across our district, Milwaukee and the state. That means undoing Wisconsin's preemptions on local control of wages and working conditions, including Wisconsin's ludicrously low $2.33/hr sub-minimum wage for tipped employees. Together, we can finally get this legislation passed.


Fine and Fee justice

The concept of a fine or fee to discourage behaviors may work in some circumstances. But when the amounts are fixed, the effect is inequitable. Poor families and individuals are disproportionally impacted (and often targeted in the first place), leading to charges which can seriously imperil families living in poverty, but which are simply brushed aside for residents with higher incomes. This is both inherently unfair and ineffective if the goal is to change behaviors.
I will propose and advocate for fines and fees which disproportionally target underserved populations to be eliminated, and for others to be scaled based on income.


Upholding abortion rights

Abortion access is healthcare, as well as a basic, civil right and a matter of bodily autonomy. In 2023, I both passed a travel fund for County employees needing abortion care out of state, and authored and passed the resolution to put an abortion access referendum on the ballot in Milwaukee County. An overwhelming majority of 77% of voters turned out to vote yes on it. The results were so awkward for the Republicans in the majority at the state that they added language banning future advisory referendums to their terrible Act 12 legislation. I'll make it a priority to continue to defend abortion - and to repeal the terrible policy provisions of Act 12.


Defending and celebrating our LGBTQ+ residents and communities

As the proud father of trans and non-binary children, I work to recognize and celebrate members of the LBGTQ+ community, both through legislation and advocacy. Years ago, I led PRAWN to push back against state-level legislation (AB 748 / SB 634 - the Employment Law Standardization Act) which would have removed protections for trans employees. The offending language was removed from the final bill.

During my time at Milwaukee County, I made the county a sanctuary for trans, non-binary and intersex folks.

At the state, I co-founded the Transgender Parent And Non-Binary Advoacy Caucus, helped to organize the defense against a slew of hateful anti-trans legislation and have worked to release a package of bills designed to codify rights and make things easier for trans and non-binary people.

We'll be ready for the next assault, too.


Gun Control

I don't just talk about gun control: I take action. In 2021, During my time as a County Supervisor, I led the charge against gun sales on county land - and won - ending the practice of allowing gun shows (and, therefore, gun sales without background checks) on county property.

At the state, with my Democratic colleagues, I co-authored seven pieces of legislation in the 2023-24 session which would prohibit guns on campuses, keep firearms away from domestic abusers, ensure that firearms sold at stores are secured when unattended, outlaw bump stocks, outlaw "ghost" guns, provide grants for gun buyback programs and mandating robust background checks on all firearm purchases.


Campaign Finance

Transparency is important in government, and should be important in campaigns. My prior campaign finance reports are available at county.milwaukee.gov; state reports are available here.
Campaign finance reports may not sound like the most exciting way to judge a candidate, but I’m proud of the number of small donations - from baristas, parents, blacksmiths, teachers, restauranteurs, elected representatives, organizers and activists who have worked with me for years and trust me to represent them. I’m also proud of the many organizational endorsements that I've earned.
Who won't you see as donors to my campaign? Corporate landlords, billionaires, and folks who haven't been working class for a long time (if ever) are conspicuously absent. I do not accept corporate PAC dollars.


​Budgets as moral documents

Wisconsin's budget is not merely a dry list of expenditures: it reflects our priorities and choices.

Each of the four budgets at the County that I've been a part of, I've proposed many amendments to and managed to improve. I listen to residents from all walks of life: in person, via phone calls, emails, testimony in committee and even at protests and rallies. Those stories and opinions reflect what the data shows: that residents want fewer dollars going towards punitive measures and more going to investing in our communities, in opportunities and programs which bring economic stability.

For the 2022 budget, I introduced 25 amendments, and some succeeded. We moved $2.4 million dollars away from the worst excesses of the Sheriff, including a $700,000 surveillance camera array, and into human needs: a new playground at South Shore Park, restored benefits for County employees, parks infrastructure, a paid intern position to support the work of the Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission, and even funding for our underfunded parks system.

This move was unprecedented in Milwaukee County's history. It's not the full $18 million which the community demanded, and which I fought for, but it's a good start.

My budget battles are nothing new. Even before taking office, I noticed in July 2019 that Milwaukee County was doing business with Southwest Key, a technically "non-profit" entity, but one which was making millionaires by engaging in the practice of child separation at our southern border. I publicly called for a full divestment of the County (and MPS) from Southwest Key, on the radio and with a press release, and Milwaukee County responded by ending that $913,500 annual contract.

As County Supervisor, I strove to ensure that our budget is one which reflects our values as a community; I have used that experience and insight in the Assembly.


Carceral harm reduction and reducing mass incarceration.

As a County Supervisor, I introduced numerous resolutions to reduce the harm caused by incarceration in Milwaukee County. Understanding that the private companies running both food service and the commissary in the jail and HOC have a monopoly, and that we pay the people in our care $0 for their exploited labor, I've limited the prices they can charge (some of which were at three to four times retail). Another resolution should provide free voice and video calling to people in our care, so that Milwaukee County Families can stop paying the $5.1 million a year they are forced to pay to private companies and to pad our budget. Other budget amendments would have provided a stipend for work, as well as restoring part of the Work Farm program that was banned under Sheriff Clark. And we recently passed my resolution putting us on the road to finally restoring visitation.

As a State Representative, I have continued to advocate for harm reduction in state facilities, while also pushing back on the premises behind incarceration, through the Conditions of Confinement Package as well as votes against the constant stream of legislation creating new jailable offenses and adding time to existing crimes. I also authored legislation to end cash bail, replacing it with a rebuttable presumption of release. The data is clear: we can't incarcerate our way out of this crisis.

Instead we need to reduce the number of people behind bars, both by funding post-booking programs to provide housing and wraparound services outside of a jail cell, by reducing harmful and inequitable contact with law enforcement, and by keeping people accused of nonviolent and misdemeanor offenses out of jail in the first place.


​Taxes

Tax the rich.

Corporations and the extremely wealthy should be taxed at higher, fairer state and federal rates, with a portion of that revenue used to fund human needs at county and municipal levels, as well as education. We should completely sever regressive and inequitable property taxes from education funding. We'll be proposing legislation soon to do just that.

Regressive taxes, which fall harder on the poor and working class, like sales and property taxes, should be lowered or eliminated. That's one of the reasons I opposed Act 12, which forced Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to raise our sales taxes and to further squeeze folks who can least afford to pay.


​The Environment and Sustainability

The environment and matters of equity are inextricably linked, and I fight for them together. Our public spaces, transportation -  and Wisconsin's dedicated employees - are all assets worth caring for. Sustainability goes far beyond just our physical environment. A sustainable, Green New Deal style plan for Wisconsin's future must also prioritize and fund the human needs of employees and residents instead of over-enforcement and criminalization.

Similarly, I firmly oppose targeted efforts to increase criminal penalties, leading to increased incarceration and the chilling of free speech and non-violent, civil protest. I firmly oppose measures such as Senate Bill 386 which provided up to six years in jail for civil protest which did not result in harm to people and was clearly aimed at indigenous peoples and allies who oppose pipelines and threats to clean drinking water.


Immigration

Immigrants are a vital part of our community. I have spent many years advocating for drivers licenses for all and a pathway to citizenship. In 2018, I was arrested in front of former Representative Paul Ryan's office while protesting for a clean DREAM Act.

I was proud to be part of the group that shut down the ICE offices in downtown Milwaukee in 2019, and equally proud to stand beside the De La Cruz family when they were separated by collaboration between MPD and ICE. Here's my stance on immigration as it relates to the business community.

As a State Representative, I continue to obstruct collaboration with ICE and any CBP duties involving detention of immigrants, and oppose any legislation which seeks to criminalize civil action. In the 2023-24 session, I co-authored legislation that would provide driver licenses for all.


Cannabis legislation

Cannabis should be legalized, decriminalized and - importantly - people who have been convicted of possession or dealing charges should have their records expunged completely. The unequal enforcement of drug charges generally are a matter of equity, and we must correct this as soon as the law is changed. I support and co-sponsored Rep. Madison's bill to decriminalize cannabis.

During my time at Milwaukee County, I authored a ballot referendum which asked voters about their views on legalization. Unsurprisingly, a clear majority - 74% - were in support. The Republicans in power at the state continued not to even give Rep. Madison's bill a hearing, and also moved to ban future advisory referendums, as it's clearly awkward to be that out of step with public opinion.


​Act 12

The passage of Act 12's policy provisions did real damage to Milwaukee, stripping Milwaukee and Milwaukee County of their ability to govern themselves, mandating that police be put back into schools, mandating constantly escalating police levels and budgets, gutting the oversight provided by the Fire and Police Commission, attacking arts and culture funding, giving Milwaukee far less back in shared revenue than what we contribute and instead forcing us to raise our regressive sales tax.

It was a bad deal. I'm proud of my vote against it at the state, and my vote against raising sales tax at the county. I've authored legislation to reverse the most heinous and damaging policy provisions of Act 12 and will continue to push for Milwaukee to get back the autonomy it needs to make its own priorities.


​Palestine

The best and only hope for peace is a free Palestine. As one of the few elected officials who has been to Palestine and Gaza, I will continue to use my office and platform to advocate for justice for Palestinians and others, and to advocate for an end to Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people. I am proud to have brought forward the ceasefire resolution at Milwaukee County, to have voted against anti-Palestinian legislation at the state and to have signed on to Senator Larson's cease-fire resolution.

FAQs

You have nearly every endorsement in this race, but I've heard that certain politicians don't like you?
Responding to the lies (both funny and disturbing) from my opponent and his handlers - two parts
Authorized and paid for by Clancy for Assembly