Francesca Hong says Democratic socialist movement can win Wisconsin governor's race
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) — There has never been a Democratic socialist governor in Wisconsin history. Francesca Hong would be the first if she wins both the primary and the general election. She says her movement has the support to do both.
“Being a Democratic socialist, I am focused on organizing people and making sure that they are excited about participating in politics again, because they are demanding something different,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong said.
Hong, whose supporters call Fran, has a platform focused on permanent affordability. She has a goal of knocking on 500,000 doors by Aug. 11. She says affordability is the top issue she hears about.
“Healthcare, education, housing and food are basic human rights,” Hong said. “When we talk about permanent affordability, it's ensuring that everyone has access to a good job, which comes with raising our current minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, to $15 dollars an hour with a path to 20.”
The sitting Assembly member has previously made statements like, "abolish the police and prisons," a sentiment she has since walked back.
“So, you don’t think police need to be abolished?” asked Capitol Correspondent Meredith Hackler.
“It would be deeply irresponsible to do that without having the systems of care right now,” Hong said. “I believe that we need to be serious about safety and I am not here to governor by slogans.”
She believes that to be tough on crime, the state must be tough on its causes. Hong said investing in crime prevention programs and helping people involved in the justice system once they have served their time will lead to lower recidivism rates.
“We need to end juvenile life sentencing. We still sentence juveniles to life in prison in our state. We are behind, and we shouldn’t be behind the state of Texas in anything when it comes to criminal justice reform, and yet we are behind when it comes to sentencing guidelines,” Hong said.
“I just want to be clear, to make sure that I understand this. You don’t think that people under the age of 18 should be getting life sentences, correct?” asked Capitol Correspondent Meredith Hackler.
“We should be ending life sentencing without parole,” Hong said.
“Even when the kid is 17 and kills people?” asked Hackler.
“I think that is an individual case, that right now the system has, where the -- that individual court case, the judge makes the decision and that is the system we have right now for that individual,” Hong said.
Some of Hong's core policy positions include expanding BadgerCare, the state-funded, federally backed Medicaid health insurance program, fully funding public schools, and placing a one-year moratorium on the construction of new data centers.
“It would be in place until the enforcement mechanisms and laws that protect rate payers, that protect our natural resources and ensure that there can be local control that has a transparent process, where there are legal services provided, that the local economies are protected and that there is both short-term and long-term investment that is guaranteed. We cannot govern based on promises. We cannot be Foxconn-ed again,” Hong said.
Hong says that under her leadership, nondisclosure agreements would not be allowed during data center negotiations. She also wants clear guidelines for investments in clean renewable energy and to ensure data centers are paying their way while creating good union jobs.
She also plans to create a public bank to benefit small businesses and farmers. A public bank is government-owned and invests its revenues into public priorities.
“We can look at expanding agencies like the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and moving that from a pseudo governmental agency to one that is actually committed, with additional revolving loan funds moving that to actually have loans that are administered through the state.”
Hong also plans to raise more revenue by increasing the tax rate for millionaires, billionaires and large corporations.
We've reached out to each candidate running for governor. As we gather those interviews, we'll bring them to you on air and online.
If you would like to watch the full interview with Hong, you can find it below. For Kelda Roys' interview click here, and Mandela Barnes' interview, click here.