We are facing a crisis of persons suffering from addiction or diagnosed with other mental health issues, and spending in Wisconsin ranks near the bottom nationally to combat it. Flynn outlines his new approach to treating addiction and mental illness.

MILWAUKEE - Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit Pine Valley Integrated Services in Juneau County, where health care professionals work with patients suffering from addiction or diagnosed with other mental health issues. The work they do goes beyond basic treatment. They work to enroll patients in insurance plans and develop wraparound support for those facing food and housing insecurity. Their work requires them to collaborate with law enforcement and other government and community agencies.

We are facing a crisis here in Wisconsin. Deaths from opioid overdoses are increasing faster than the national average. Much of our state is rural, making mental health and substance abuse treatment significantly harder for those living far away from treatment centers. Mental health spending in Wisconsin ranks near the bottom nationally. Scott Walker turned down federal Medicaid dollars that would go towards treatment, putting his Republican presidential primary ambitions over the needs of those suffering opioid addictions.

Wisconsin needs a new approach to treating addiction and mental illness.

As governor, my agenda will be to add more integrated mental health services that incorporate a wide range of treatment options for people suffering from behavioral health disorders. To treat patients effectively, providers must rely on many options to create the best treatment approach for each individual patient. There is not a single form of treatment that works for everyone. Facilities with multiple options allow collaboration to create a plan that works for each patient without needing to access treatment from multiple locations. This creates the consistency of care that patients and providers need.

I will accept all federal health care funds and will add additional spending for mental health treatment. On top of that, I will push for more funding for our UW System. The research and health care training they do is invaluable to us. Our state universities are training the next generation of healthcare and mental health providers.

We also need to improve access to physical treatment options and encourage greater investment in telemedicine. New communication technologies allow patients and social workers to speak with medical professionals remotely, allowing them access to specialists they would otherwise have to travel to see. This way patients can get the care they need without the often-impossible task of moving to a treatment center.

Finally, we must recognize that people suffering from addiction do not belong behind bars. It is a terrible waste of resources. Not only does it cost more to keep a person locked in jail than in a treatment center, it ignores the fundamental problem of addiction. As governor, I will push for more treatment options for non-violent drug offenders, as opposed to incarceration.

Improving mental health will require more than our politicians paying lip service to the issue. It requires the focus of lawmakers to provide real funding and real policy changes. It’s time to hold the governor accountable for the state of mental health care in Wisconsin. It’s time to move forward again.

- Matt Flynn, Candidate for Governor

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sent to us by Bryan Kennedy, Ph.D., Mayor, City of Glendale & Campaign Manager, Forward With Flynn.

Paul Ryan will not seek re-election, and we explore its impact on CD 1 candidates. Plus election results, wage theft, Day of Action next Friday 4/20, and more...

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/working-poor-hurts-s5.jpgSince Gov. Walker and the Republicans repealed Wisconsin’s Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2011, the gender gap remains at 78 cents on the dollar. Our families and our economy continue to suffer.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/farm-family-s5.jpgNo one has been hurt more and slower to recover after the 2008 economic crisis than our rural communities, and a bipartisan bill that granted $50 million a year to help dies in the state Senate.

Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee discusses the ups and downs of this year's legislative session.

MADISON, WI – Senator Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) offered the weekly Democratic radio address today.

The audio file of this week’s address can be found here.

A written transcript of the address is below:

“This is state senator Chris Larson with the weekly radio address.

“After a special session head-fake that was suddenly called off, the legislature is now officially out of session. Like we have seen over the past eight years — with Republicans controlling the entirety of state government — this session ended with a GOP focused on a toxic and dysfunctional agenda of special interest giveaways, corporate pandering, and environmental destruction. While the new FoxConn fiasco eclipsed all else this session, it was part of the same agenda they have pursued since grabbing power which has consistently resulted in cuts to education that have never been restored, big giveaways of our tax dollars, and reckless rollbacks of environmental safeguards.

"The last days in session saw this continue with the “Dark Store Loophole” left wide open which piles corporate property tax responsibility off their backs and onto ours. We also saw a defenseless abandonment of commonsense gun reform while our state’s youth watched on.

“On the good news front: due to the pressure from displeased neighbors, Republicans were forced to pass some bills offered by Democrats this session. This included the bill to close the scandal-plagued youth detention facility of Lincoln Hills and start the process of moving our kids closer to home.

"Unfortunately, too many crisis were left to fester. We’ll continue to be mired in traffic jams as there was no plan to solve our road and infrastructure woes. And the ever widening opioid crisis still doesn’t have solutions proportional to the growing problem. It is my hope that when the new legislature meets next year, it will be with these core issues central in their focus and not as the afterthought they have become.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/scott-fitzgeraldl-stands-behind-walker-s5.jpgScott Walker and legislative Republicans have changed our laws so millionaires and billionaires, with their deep pockets, have even more influence. Folks, this isn’t ok. The majority party has lost touch with the values of public service. - Tony Evers

Find out where to vote, and get important information on the Supreme Court candidate finance activity and the State Treasurer referendum here.

MADISON - Tomorrow is Election Day in Wisconsin.

Please vote, and please encourage your family members and friends to vote.

You and they can find out where to vote by simply going to this website:
https://myvote.wi.gov/en-US/FindMyPollingPlace

There is an important race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, and there’s also a referendum on the State Treasurer’s office.

You can find Supreme Court candidate campaign finance activity here.

We urge you to Vote No on the State Treasurer referendum, and we explain our reasons here.

There’s a rumor going around that there will be a record turnout for this election.

Let’s make that rumor come true!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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Matt Rothschild comments on last week's special elections fight, and the big election coming next Tuesday, April 3.

MADISON - I spent much of the last week writing about, speaking about, and testifying on the brazen effort by Walker and Fitzgerald to get around the law requiring special elections in Assembly District 42 and Senate District 1.

Here’s the testimony I gave at the State Capitol yesterday:

Testimony against GOP proposed change to special elections law

Then this morning it became clear that Walker and Fitzgerald were throwing in the towel, so here’s what I wrote in celebration of this win:

Sweet victory for democracy in Wisconsin!

I’d like to remind you that there’s a big election this coming Tuesday, April 3.

One of the races is for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and here’s what the candidates themselves have raised this year:

High court candidates raised $1.2M+ since Jan. 1

There’s also the big statewide referendum to eliminate the office of the State Treasurer. Please vote NO on this one:

Vote no on state treasurer referendum

And there are 9 local referendums around the state to amend the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United and proclaim that corporations aren’t persons and money isn’t speech:

It’s on the ballot in Green and St. Croix counties.

It’s also on the ballot in the cities of La Crosse, Marshfield, Rice Lake, and Sun Prairie.

It’s on the ballot in the villages of McFarland and Wittenberg.

And it’s on the ballot in the town of Sand Creek in Dunn County.

Please vote in favor of it.

See you at the polls!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Walker forced to call special elections, preview next week’s Spring Election on Tuesday, Vote No on eliminating the State Treasurer, Foxconn news, and more...

Elections for vacant seats could have taken place weeks ago says Bowen.

MADISON – This morning, after a third judge repudiated Governor Walker’s effort to ignore his legal obligation to call special elections in vacant districts, Republicans officially dropped plans for an extraordinary session to keep 200,000 Wisconsin taxpayers without representation. Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee) issued the following statement:

“The governor and Republican leaders are calling these elections ‘too expensive’ and ‘meaningless,’ yet the governor easily could have put these elections on the same schedule as he did the special election for the 10th Senate District, which took place two months after the seat became vacant,” said Bowen. “Fearing another rejection at the polls, the governor placed a bet that he could convince conservative judges to let him get away with violating his legal obligation, but even his allies on the bench rejected this abuse of power.

“Today marks three months since SD-1 and AD-42 became vacant, and citizens of those districts must now wait until June 12 – nearly half a year – to have representation again,” said Bowen. “That is the real cost of Governor Walker neglecting to do his job.”

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