August 1, 2018 at 6:24 p.m.
Unity is a key theme for Josh Pade
Long-shot candidate for governor calls for working together
Unity is a key theme for Josh Pade
Democratic candidate for governor Josh Pade, a lawyer who grew up Kenosha, is an underdog in the race, with even less name recognition than other candidates, but he believes his call to end political divisions in the state can bring him to the finish line in first place.
On his website, Pade says he was born to a family that settled in Kenosha in the 19th century. He started working there as a teenager after the unexpected death of his father, the campaign states, which sent his family into a bureaucratic black hole when their Social Security benefits were cut off.
That's when Pade says he developed a strong business sense and a stronger devotion to small Wisconsin communities. He worked for family companies like Festival Foods, and he says that experience shaped his political beliefs. He promised his late mother if he ever had the opportunity to serve the public, he'd dedicate himself to helping families like theirs.
He says he began to keep his promise by putting himself through law school and working in the private sector, and now he's keeping that promise, he says, by listening to the concerns of the people of Wisconsin.
One of the things Pade pledges to do is end partisan divisions.
"Partisanship is replacing political discourse in America - but it doesn't have to be that way here," Pade says on his website. "For more than a century, Wisconsinites have pioneered progressive, bipartisan movements that didn't just change our state, they changed our nation. We refuse to be ranked 50th, because we can do what no other state can."
We can build roads and bridges instead of walls, Pade says.
"We won't ignore the opioid epidemic - we'll treat it," he says. "We can stop failing our teachers and students. And we won't let governing bodies govern our bodies."
The first step in accomplishing all that, Pade says, is electing a leader who empowers everyone. And working together is the key to success, he says, because no one truly goes it alone.
That's a lesson Pade says he learned early from his grandfather, who campaigned for FDR and organized unions, and a lesson he says he learned again from many of his political heroes, like Russ Feingold, Gaylord Nelson, and Robert Kennedy.
"At a time when the middle class is struggling, our infrastructure is crumbling, and our health care system is bankrupting us, we need across-the-aisle cooperation more than ever," he says. "We are Wisconsin. And together, we have the power to make change."
Pade announced his candidacy by releasing a one-word campaign video featuring the Wisconsin landscape, a marching band playing "Roll Out The Barrel," and Frank's Diner, a Kenosha landmark. In the video, Pade said, "Wisconsin," with a trailer card saying, "That says it all."
"Living outside of Wisconsin gave me an opportunity to gain a global perspective that I believe will make me a better leader," Pade said when he announced. "I always knew I would take those learnings back to the place I love with fresh eyes."
Pade said in his announcement that he is often asked what makes Wisconsin great.
"And I don't think it requires much explanation," he says. "The people, our beautiful land, and our motto says it - 'forward.' Wisconsinites strive to always move forward."
Tired of divisive politics and special interest policies, Pade said he planned to run an inclusive listening campaign asking Wisconsin's residents to share ideas to build solution together.
"This campaign is not about me," Pade said in his announcement. "It is about us. The people of Wisconsin. What can we do together? What we can do together is much more powerful than any proclamations I can make on my own."
Wisconsinites haven't been able to celebrate the land where they live for far too long, Pade says.
"The corruption within our state has resulted in job and education deprivation, unsafe roads and highways, and extreme inequalities," he says. "I strive to not be governor of Democrats, or just Madison, but as a proud leader for all of the magnificent people of Wisconsin and their potential that has not yet been realized."
Pade says people are telling him it is time for change in Wisconsin.
"We need high paying jobs," he says. We need better education for our students and fair wages for our teachers. We need better roads, and faster Internet that doesn't leave us behind. I hear you, and together we can and will move Wisconsin forward."
Pade returned to the state last year after leaving in 2007 for Suffolk Law School in Massachusetts.
"I'm thrilled to be back and we have no time to waste," he said in his announcement. "There's a fever pitch for change in Wisconsin, it's palatable in the air. Wisconsin deserves the best we can provide, and I will work day-in and day-out to make that happen for these incredible people."
'Deeply concerned'
Writing on the Internet platform Medium in April, Pade said he was not a typical politician or candidate.
"I am a deeply concerned Wisconsinite who believes that new perspective, energy, and leadership will win, and will move us all forward," he wrote.
He wrote he had been traveling for a year throughout Wisconsin, meeting with everyone who would talk to him, and listening to their concerns and their hopes for a better future.
"Over and over, I hear about disappointment," he wrote. "Disappointment about the political system here, about the changes that have taken place in recent years, and about the anxieties those changes have produced."
But Pade said he also heard about about their optimism, and faith in their neighbors, and that told him it is not too late for change if everyone comes together.
"We do not have to cede our state or our future to career politicians, corporations, special interest groups, or rich ideologues," he wrote. "We are Wisconsin. This state is ours. We will take it back."
He said when he is governor, the people will take back the democratic process, pushing to restore voter registration to healthy levels.
"We will take back our infrastructure, increasing investment in our roads, bridges and public transportation, and in the people who build and maintain them," he wrote. "We will take back our schools, supporting the children who are the future of Wisconsin. We will take back our rights, including workers' rights like the right to collective bargaining, and the rights of career civil servants to support the state without fear of political reprisal for telling our citizens the truth."
Not least, Pade wrote, the people will take back their right to think, embracing science and expertise, and not condemning progress.
"We will take back our environment, because there is no point to unencumbered economic freedom if it means living without the freedom to breathe clean air or drink clean water," he wrote. "And we will take back our bodies, because your body is your own business, not the state's."
Pade wrote that everything he will fight for as governor has been shaped by his own story.
"My father was a computer programmer and high school principal, and my mother stayed home to take care of me and my younger siblings," he wrote. "But when I was only 14, my father passed away from a sudden heart attack. He had been our sole breadwinner. So I went to work to help support my family, as so many other Wisconsinites must do each year."
And as is the case for too many families, Pade wrote, they lived paycheck to paycheck.
"I'll never forget our whole family taken down with the flu and unable to afford basic health care, watching my mom crying and imploring our family doctor for access to generic antibiotics," he wrote. "I was 20 years old, my brother and sister still in high school, when my father's Social Security death benefits ran out. I put off my dreams of college and law school, and drove my red Ford Ranger to the Onalaska support office for Festival Foods, where I had been working part-time, to beg for full-time hours."
Pade wrote he worked his way up, made his way to law school, and started to make good on his promise to help families like his. He says he went straight to work on Capitol Hill, helping protect homeowners and working families and then took a job in the private sector working for a global company, but always remained active in public service and politics.
"I have lived in Wisconsin in good times and bad, and while I wouldn't wish the bad times on anyone, I have to admit that I learned a lot more from them," he wrote. "They gave me the empathy and commitment to helping others that have informed my choices and have now led me to run for governor. We are lucky to live in a land that allows me - a person you're only just beginning to know - to run for office. I'm running because our state deserves a leader who will empower people to pursue their dreams and support their neighbors."
Richard Moore is the author of The New Bossism of the American Left and can be reached at www.rmmoore1.com.
Comments:
You must login to comment.