Shelia Stubbs is slated to become the first African-American from Dane County to hold office in the state Legislature. Stubbs won her four-way primary with about 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday and with no Republican on the November ballot, she is almost certain to take office in January.
Stubbs is set to replace retiring state Rep. Terese Berceau.
Stubbs has been a Dane County Board Supervisor since 2006 and is praised by some colleagues for her criminal justice reform efforts, including the creation of the Dane County Community Restorative Courts.
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The courts work with the District Attorney’s office and local law enforcement to identify 17- to 25-year-olds who have committed non-domestic violence misdemeanors and might benefit from staying out of the court system.
The jury is made of members of the community and supporters of this alternative say the likelihood of recidivism drops.
Stubbs said she wants to bring this idea to the rest of the state, in hopes it one day become a national model.
Patrick Miles and Carousel Bayrd have served with Stubbs on the Dane County Board since 2006
They praised her work and passion for criminal justice reform.
Bayrd said Stubbs is a voice missing from the Capitol and is poised to bring criminal justice reform to the state because of her background.
“She was a probation and parole officer,” Bayrd explained. “So she understands it from a lived experience, she understands it from a professional experience and she understands it from a legislative experience.”
Still, Stubbs said she she’s a multitasker.
Once she’s in the Legislature, Stubbs said she wants to immediately start working on other issues she campaigned on, including increasing school funding, increasing access to health care and passing stricter gun laws.
“To get guns out of the hands of people that should not have them,” she said. “So, universal background checks. Actually banning military style weapons.”
Stubbs said she is optimistic by nature and thinks there’s bipartisan support for a lot of the issues she’s hoping to address.
There are only two other African-American women in the Legislature — Sen. Lena Taylor and Sen. LaTonya Johnson— both from Milwaukee.
Stubbs said she’s thankful for those who paved the way for her historic win, as well as the mentors who supported her throughout her career.
“I want to create a pathway for others to follow behind me,” she said.
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