Bruch best for the job
Dear Editor,
I wanted to take a moment and share my story of when I moved to Hudson just five years ago at this time of year.
I was getting married to my wife, who is self-employed and purchased health insurance for herself and her daughter through her local agent. She never had any health issues and had a very affordable plan.
But I, however, had years of pre-existing conditions that were pretty serious from in my 20s and, at 33 years old, I was denied insurance coverage. I was desperate to find a job with benefits for the off chance I found myself in the ER and on another nine months of very expensive medication and additional rounds of tests.
I have come to terms with my conditions, but this financial burden I would put on my family if I became ill again was something I couldn’t deal with and I was surprised that Wisconsin didn’t have any programs for me.
So the health savings account wouldn’t help me — as much as some people might benefit from them, they meant nothing to me.
I support Sarah Bruch, I met her shortly after I moved to Hudson and she remains a good friend with more integrity than most people I have met in my now almost 40 years of life. I am certain she will be my voice in Madison. Good luck, Sarah.
Christopher Mick, Hudson
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Bruch to be ‘transparent’
Dear Editor,
I met Assembly candidate Sarah Bruch last April and was struck by her life story and her passion to help others. For the first time since moving to Wisconsin from Minnesota more than a decade ago, I volunteered to help in a political campaign.
Canvassing door-to-door with Sarah, I’ve spoken with hundreds of people in the 30th District. In doing so, I came to realize why, for so long, I had not been engaged in the politics of the state of Wisconsin.
Citizens of the 30th Distirct live in an “information black hole.” One person after another has told me that the local papers do an excellent job reporting regional news and events, and that it’s easy to follow national and international news.
On a statewide level, however, it is a different story. Many of us see newspapers and television news from the Twin Cities, so again, we know what is taking place there. What we are lacking in our district is legislative information from our state capital, Madison.
Making this situation worse is the fact that the incumbent Assembly member, Kitty Rhoades, has gone out of her way to keep her voting record secret. If you Google or use any other Internet search engine for Kitty Rhoades, you will be brought to a dead-end of information that is of no value. You will find no record explaining the nature of her votes or what she has done behind closed doors.
Sarah Bruch, on the other hand, has pledged to disclose every vote and legislative activity on her Web site and through regular newsletters.
If transparency in government is as important to you as it is to me, please exercise your right to vote on Nov. 4 by electing Sarah Bruch to the Wisconsin State Assembly. She will give us back our voice in western Wisconsin and do so in an open and honest manner.
Larry Glidden, Hudson
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Backs Bruch for Assembly
Dear Editor,
Another election year and another year of hearing the same old tired song from Kitty Rhoades and her Republican cohorts, i.e. “I’ll lower your taxes.”
We’ve been listening to Kitty sing this song for 10 long years.
What she fails to tell us is whose taxes she’ll lower. It’s not my taxes or your taxes that she’ll lower. But, if you are a big corporation, an insurance or manufacturing company, Kitty has lowered your taxes.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce support her, and fund her campaigns; insurance companies fund her campaigns. And Kitty knows full well that by such tactics as voting to cut state funding of K-12 education, she, in effect, votes to “increase” your property taxes.
In contrast, Sarah Bruch knows that tax revenue is necessary, necessary in order to continue providing our students with the best education, to fund health care for our families, to maintain our roads and bridges and to keep our communities safe.
But Sarah believes the tax burden should be shared fairly. Before Republicans gained control of state government, individuals and corporations split the tax burden 50/50. But now individuals pay 70 percent and corporations only 30 percent. By requiring big business and corporations to pay their fair share of the tax burden, Sarah will actually lower your taxes.
We not only need a change in Washington, we need a change in Madison, too. Vote for Sarah Bruch!
LaVonne McCombie, Hudson
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Backs Bruch for Assembly
Dear Editor,
In an increasingly bitter, partisan and polarized political culture, there are a few candidates who are a breath of fresh air because they rise above the fray. Sarah Bruch is one of those candidates.
If all our politicians had the integrity and moral compass of Sarah, our country would be in a different state than the one we are looking at currently.
Sarah is not motivated by the desire to further any personal agenda, as is too often the case with our politicians. She transcends party lines because she simply wants to be a voice for all the people of western Wisconsin. She wants to represent us all and help us be heard in the Wisconsin Assembly.
Sarah has always been an advocate for those who may not have the voice they should, who need someone to speak on their behalf. This is something I know and admire about her as a person; a trait I know will serve her and all of us well as she represents us in the state Assembly.
I have watched Sarah as she and her family have consistently, quietly put their “money where their mouth is” during this campaign. They don’t just talk about environmental issues; they are out cleaning up garbage in cities and towns all over this region. The beautiful thing about this is that I know Sarah would be doing it whether she was running for office or not.
Sarah has taken the time to go door to door and talked to countless numbers of constituents to find out what their concerns and hopes are. I have seen her eloquently answer any question she is asked by individuals regarding what she will be attempting to do when elected. She impressed me immensely when she took the time, at a gathering of young first-time voters at my house, to explain to them what she would be doing on their behalf, and listened to their concerns about their future.
If you, as I am, are tired of settling for the “lesser of two evils” in electing our politicians, this is the election year for you to finally feel good about the candidates you are voting for.
Sarah Bruch is truly one of those candidates, concerned with the economy, the environment, the arts, our schools, and most importantly the health and quality of life of the people of western Wisconsin.
Liz Malanaphy, Hudson
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Bruch is best for job
Dear Editor,
I have lived all my life, which is almost 80 years, in the town of St. Joseph. My husband, Lloyd, and I have worked hard as farmers our entire lives. In addition I’ve always had a job outside of the farm and I still do, Monday through Friday! My husband and I have felt the pain of this economy and the struggles with health care and we are so very tired of worrying and waiting.
I personally know Sarah Bruch, and I know she cares about me, my family and all of you. Shame on anybody who says Sarah has nothing but compassion and understanding for the people of this district. We would be lucky to have Sarah Bruch representing us because she truly is one of us, one of the everyday people who are tired of worrying and waiting.
The only reason she is running for this position is because of people like us who need to see and feel a change and hear the truth for once.
Get out there and vote Nov. 4 and support Sarah — she needs you just as much as we need her!
June Waldroff, Town of St. Joseph
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Like Bruch for Assembly
Dear Editor,
Last week we received a campaign flyer from Rep. Kitty Rhoades titled, “This Could Sting A Little.”
The flyer criticizes Sarah Bruch’s support for Healthy Wisconsin’s approach to health care. The flyer claims Healthy Wisconsin would be a government-run scheme costing families $510 per month, per pay check, would cost the state $15 billion and would give health care benefits to illegal aliens, out-of-staters and people who don’t work.
The flyer left me wondering if Rep. Rhoades has read the bill on Healthy Wisconsin.
Under Healthy Wisconsin, both employees and employers would actually save money on health care premiums by allowing the state to purchase cheaper health insurance based on a larger pool of people.
The actual cost of Healthy Wisconsin for a family earning $42,000 per year would be $140 per month and employers would pay $370 per month. Healthy Wisconsin is not government health care but would be managed by an independent governing board.
Healthy Wisconsin allows choice to buy into it or stay with private insurance providers and retains freedom in choosing medical providers. In addition, the independent Lewin Group estimates the state of Wisconsin would save $1.3 billion per year due to better preventative care, lowering the price of prescription drugs and cutting costs for hospital and insurance administration.
Rep. Rhoades may not realize what really stings is the current cost of health insurance. My wife, two children and I currently pay over $700 a month for family health insurance. Healthy Wisconsin coverage would save us over $6,000 per year, even if we used the full $600 deductible for families.
Finally, Healthy Wisconsin also does not provide coverage to out-of-staters or illegal immigrants but rather requires one year of residency to qualify for those not working. Once someone is working, Healthy Wisconsin simply asks for them and their employer to pay their fair share for health coverage.
For more information see www.citizenactionwi.org.
Let’s hold Rep. Kitty Rhoades accountable for her fear-based and misleading campaign material and for her years of neglecting health care for Hudson families.
Vote for Sarah Bruch on Nov. 4.
Paul and Tiffany Deziel, Hudson
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Sarah Bruch for Assembly
Dear Editor,
Since moving to Wisconsin and St. Croix County three years ago, I have discovered that there is a profound void here in television and newspaper coverage and analysis of Wisconsin government and political news.
There is an occasional editorial in the Star-Observer, and from time to time a self-serving article written by the current representative from the 30th District, Kitty Rhoades.
Consequently, I have found it difficult to discover what is really going on in Madison, and I doubt that our voices are heard in the State Capitol.
However, so far this campaign season, I have received at least two pieces of literature in the mail from Rhoades’ campaign. One of them was an attack on her opponent, Sarah Bruch, regarding Bruch’s support of health coverage for all Wisconsin citizens. I have been told that it costs about $14,000 for one mailing to all potential voters within the 30th District. What special interests contributed to the cost of that mailing and why would Kitty Rhoades disparage health care coverage for all Wisconsin residents?
It has also been pointed out that Rhoades votes the Republican Party line about 90 percent of the time, and the Republican Party was the major obstacle to passing a timely budget this last legislative session.
Sarah Bruch, on the other hand, came to my door and solicited my opinion. Her intentions are to cover more than 14,000 homes in the district in a door-to-door campaign to talk with voters. I’m more impressed with Sarah than any slick brochure of dubious veracity dropped in my mailbox.
So which candidate is really going to listen to you? And which candidate cares more about your welfare and the welfare of other Wisconsin citizens?
It’s time that Madison realizes that St. Croix and Pierce counties are not part of Minnesota. As our representative in the Wisconsin Assembly, Sarah Bruch will make sure we are heard loud and clear at the other end of 1-94.
William M. Edgerly, North Hudson
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Tags: opinion, hudson, letters, bruch
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