86TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

By Kevin O’Brien

Rep. John Spiros, the Republican incumbent in the 86th Assembly District, will face Democrat John Small, former village president of Marathon City and Marathon County supervisor, in the Nov. 5 election.

Spiros survived challenges from Rep. Donna Rozar and town of Day farmer Trine Spindler in the August Republican primary and is looking to be re-elected for a seventh twoyear term.

Small served as Marathon City’s village president from 2005 to 2019 and was on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors for 10 years. He was also on the board of directors for the Wisconsin League of Municipalities and served as its president.

With a degree in biology, Small worked as an animal inspector for the Wisconsin Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection for 28 years. Small also served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard from 1969 to 1989.

First elected to the Assembly in 2012, Spiros is currently chairman of the Committee of Criminal Justice and Public Safety and a member of the committees for State Affairs, Transportation and the Review of Administrative Rules. He is also a member of the Speaker’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.

Outside the legislature, Spiros is vice president of safety and claims at Roehl Transport in Marshfield. He served on the Marshfield City Council from 2005 to 2013 and is a former police officer and retired member of the Air Force, where he served from 1979 to 1985.

The boundaries of the 86th Assembly District were changed earlier this year to include all of Marshfield and the villages of Edgar, Stratford, Fenwood, Marathon City and Spencer.

Each of the candidates were asked four questions. There answers are below: Why have you decided to run for the 86th Assembly District?

Small: “Well, with my extensive background in local government and state agencies, I have a lifetime dedicated to community service, whether it’s the National Guard or any of these community services. This is just a natural extension of that. I’ve been doing this for years. I look at the legislature as another big step up to do community service.”

Spiros: “My motivation continues to be cutting taxes. I think I’ve played a big role in reducing our tax burden since I’ve been there. We’ve cut taxes by over $31 billion dollars. Since I’ve been representing this district for 12 years, I think I’ve done a nice job, but I want to continue to represent my constituents.”

“A lot of that has to do with experience, especially with the district changing. I think it means a whole lot to have that experience. People are able to reach out and ask questions of me or my office and know that they’re going to get that answer right away and get that assistance right away.”

What would you say makes you a better candidate than your opponent?

Small: “This area is very rural. I put 28 years in with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. I think that agricultural background gives me a very good understanding of what’s going on out in the communities.”

Small said he’s particularly interested in the issue of health care availability in rural communities, pointing to the hospital closings in the Chippewa Valley area as an example of what can happen if the state does not provide adequate reimbursement through Medicaid and Medicare.

“That has to change. Rural health care is very important.”

Spiros: “Again, it comes back to the experience. Since I’ve been in public office, I have continued to work in the private sector. I know what’s going on in the private sector because I’m part of it, and I think it’s important to have those individuals who are in business representing the district and the state.”

“I think that’s probably the biggest piece that sets me apart. I’m not sure of John’s total background. The only thing I’ve seen with John’s background is that it’s been a lot of public service. Even though I was in the Air Force and he was in the National Guard and I was in law enforcement, I’ve been in the private sector for over 35 years, and I continue to work in that. I understand about hiring, I understand jobs. I know what’s going on from the standpoint of inflation and how that’s hurting people. I think those are things that set us apart. I’m in it and feeling it every day. I don’t believe those who are just on the public sector side understand what goes on with the business side.”

If elected, what are your top priorities for the next legislative session?

Small: “I don’t think I have top priorities. I have many areas of interest.” With his background as a state employee, Small said he wants to work on the legislature’s relationship with stage agencies.

“They have the purse strings and they can get into all of these areas, but how do they do it? Do they just mandate? I’d like to get in on all of those committees and temper how the legislation is worded and the impact it has on state agencies.”

Small said the organization he used to head, the Wisconsin League of Wisconsin Municipalities, advocates for legislation that benefits local cities and villages.

“That gives me a pretty good understanding of what these advocacy groups do. They’re doing a service; they’re educating the legislature on what the impacts of their laws are going to be. I look forward to having advocacy groups come in and talking with them.”

“Right now, I’ve been going around to the villages and cities and talking to the boards, and I can tell them that, as a former village president, ‘I know exactly what you’re doing. For 14 years I did that.’ When you come down to Madison for your lobbying day to advocate for your representatives to do one thing or another, I will have already reached out to the League and found out what it is you want. So, we can probably spend more time talking about what’s going on up in the 86th District, as opposed to discussing legislation.”

Spiros: “Start with cutting taxes. We have a number of bills for our seniors, for our middle class. There’s money in the state that’s not being used, and we should be paying back individuals who need it the most. Inflation has definitely hurt a number of people. I went to the grocery store yesterday and I couldn’t believe how much the bill was. I don’t see inflation coming down at all right now, so we have to do things that are going to help individuals put extra money in their pocket.”

“The other part is to continue to work across the aisle so that we can get things done for the district and for the state. I think that’s important.”

When asked about specific legislation he would like to bring back from last session, Spiros pointed to a bill from the Farm Bureau that would provide lower-cost medical insurance to bureau members involved in agriculture. “That bill came out awfully late, so that’s a bill I would like to see come out early so that we can work on that. You really don’t start working on bills until you get beyond November. Part of it will be bills that help our seniors lower their costs and help with tax cuts. We passed a number of bills last time that the governor vetoed to help with those individuals that have children in daycare. We did pass that tax cut, the governor signed that one. That’s something I think we could probably do more of; we just need to figure out how to do it. We passed a number of laws, and he vetoed all of those.”

“I’ll continue to work with the schools to make our schools stronger. We have good schools in the area. I’ve visited most, if not all, of them, and I think that’s always important.”

Spiros said his other legislative priorities include supporting private sector employment, whether that’s through grants and tax breaks or providing funding for job training. He also wants to continue to do what we can to support law enforcement and strengthen public safety.

Lawmakers tried to pass a bill last session that would have provided grant support for artificial intelligence technology that can identify people who bring guns or other weapons into school buildings. That bill was passed by the Assembly but not the Senate last session, so Spiros would like to bring that back.

“Those are some of the things that I’d like to see happen that would make our schools much more safe, giving our families and parents the feel that ‘Hey, it’s nice that they’re doing other things to keep our kids safe in school.’” At the same time, Spiros said lawmakers also need to take a closer at emerging AI technologies, especially when they impact criminal justice.

“AI can be good, but AI can be bad. It can be dangerous from the standpoint of it being used in the wrong way, so we definitely have to do it the right way.” Spiros said he has been working with the Department of Justice to see what parts of the state’s criminal code need to be updated to keep up with AI.

“We need to make sure law enforcement has the tools to be able to make arrests and do their jobs. Because I’m the chair of Criminal Justice, a lot of it has to do with the safety of the public.”

In an Assembly District that tends to vote for Republicans, how do you plan to reach out to voters who are reluctant to vote for a Democrat?

Small: “All I can do is just talk about me and let people know what my background is. I’ve had a very good career that led me to this legislative opportunity. With being a supervisor on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors and being village president, those are non-partisan. Whenever we had committees or discussions, it was never partisan. I plan to do the same thing if I get down to Madison. If I see someone is being very partisan, I’ll call them out on it. I have no problems with that. Are you defending your position because it does something for you, or are you looking out for the good of your constituents? That’s where I’ll be trying to go.”

What’s your message to the voters who chose one of the other two candidates in the primary? What will do you to win their votes, especially on the issue of wind and solar farms?

Spiros said he recently spoke with Trine Spindler about the wind and solar issue and is working with Farmland First to get a better understanding of the issue. He also mentioned a bill introduced by Reps. Scot Krug and Duey Stroebl that would allow residents to participate in smaller-scale community solar projects so they could receive credits on their electrical bills.

“I’m working with Trine on that to understand if they have concerns. This would actually put local control where it needs to be with that. That’s where I’m at with a lot of this: I’d like to see more local control. From my standpoint, I have worked hard in the ag area. I’ve been endorsed by the Farm Bureau every session just because of my work on the ag side. My hope is that the voters who voted for her will vote for me, understanding that my conservative values align with hers.”

“As far as Rep. Rozar, we’ve represented some of the areas close to one another. She wished me well. From my standpoint, we have pretty close to the same conservative values. Once again, I’m hopeful that those individuals will understand that I am a conservative, but that I can work with those on the other side of the aisle. I think listening and understanding is always a big piece of that. If someone has a question or an issue, I’m happy to talk to them and go through that.”

John Spiros

John Small