DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES RUN AT STATE SENATE SEAT
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006 -- 10:03 AM
Audio - 1:30Saying she'll focus on healthcare and rural school funding, a farmer from Alma will attempt to unseat an area state senator.
Kathleen Vinehout has announced she's running as a Democrat for the 31st District State Senate seat currently held by Republican Ron Brown of Eau Claire.
The 31st District includes the Towns of Levis and Dewhurst in Clark County, much of Jackson, Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties and parts of Pierce and Eau Claire Counties.
Vinehout, who is 47, says the cost of healthcare has become a major problem in the state. If elected, she'd try to "make insurance work more like it should".
"We'd spread the risk over everybody. Insurance companies wouldn't be just picking and choosing," Vinehout explains. "Everyone would share the risk of people getting sick. That brings down the premiums for everybody"
"If we put everybody in one big pool, everybody pays the same rate. Any one person getting sick doesn't change that rate," Vinehout adds.
She also would move toward major changes in the way rural schools are funded.
"The system is a mess - it's broken," Vinehout complains. "The Republicans are talking about pushing from the bottom and capping property tax and pushing from the top and capping state spending and that's putting the squeeze on local schools."
"We need to totally change the system. The schools are the foundation in rural communities."
Before starting their dairy farm, Vinehout directed both the graduate and undergraduate programs in health administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Her academic work focused on state health policy and health problems facing rural communities.
Sen. Brown has not announced plans to seek reelection.
On The Web:
[url=http://www.kathleenvinehout.org]Kathleen Vinehout for State Senate[/url]
[url=http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ltsb/redistricting/Maps/sd31.pdf]Map of 31st District[/url]
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