A game-changer

Shelia Stubbs wins “historic” 77th Assembly District race

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Shelia Stubbs couldn’t speak without being drowned out by cheers.

“When I’m sworn in at the Assembly next January,” she said, pausing to let her supporters roar with joy, “I will be the first African American ever elected to the Legislature from Dane County.”

Stubbs defeated three Democratic challengers in Tuesday’s primary, earning nearly 50 percent of the vote. Immigration attorney Shabnam Lotfi came in second with 36 percent, Wisconsin Environmental Initiative executive director John Imes received about 8 percent and Wisconsin Brewers Guild executive director Mark Garthwaite got 6 percent. Without a Republican running in the November election, Stubbs will advance to the state Assembly.

Stubbs’ supporters packed a ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel on John Nolen Drive to watch the returns come in. The Dane County Clerk’s website was down, but Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell posted results on Facebook around 9 p.m. showing Stubbs well in the lead. She declared victory shortly after receiving phone calls from her opponents.

“We’re going to get things done, we’re going to bring bold solutions and build bridges that address racial disparities,” she told the crowd. “I’m a champion at that.”

The only African American on the Dane County Board, Stubbs has served as a supervisor since 2006. She has championed criminal justice reform, spearheading the creation of a Community Restorative Justice Court and serving as co-chair of the racial disparities sub-committee. She’s also been a parole officer for the state Department of Corrections and has served as a neighborhood organizer, helping to revitalize the Simpson Street area, now known as Lake Point Drive.

“With every opportunity came new tasks that truly gave me this pathway to go and address another level of government,” Stubbs said in an interview. “People trust me.”

Stubbs also worked hard for the support. She started campaigning last December for her county board seat and in February launched her bid for state Assembly. She’s made personal sacrifices, opting to skip her daughter’s wedding last Saturday to make a final campaign push in Madison.

“I stand before you tonight as humbled as I can be, as grateful as I can be and as tired as I can be,” she told supporters.

Even with the Republican majority in the Legislature still firmly in place, Stubbs believes she can work across the aisle on issues like reforming education funding and solving the opioid crisis. She wants to shift tax dollars from prisons to schools, and she’s optimistic her new colleagues will support the initiative. She also supports access to reproductive health care, environmental justice and tougher gun control laws. “We must stop this violence,” she said.

Outgoing state Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison), whose seat Stubbs will be taking over next year, praised her successor’s background. “Grassroots experience, local government experience, that really matters,” Berceau said. “You know how things work and you know how they affect the people that you’re governing.”

Berceau agreed that Stubbs’ victory was history-making.

There are currently no African American women serving in the state Assembly, and only two in the state Senate: Lena Taylor and LaTonya Johnson, both Democrats of Milwaukee. Stubbs says it’s unfortunate that it’s taken this long to elect an African American from outside Milwaukee. “But I’m honored that I’m the person who gets the chance to change the game.”