“Even in the most gerrymandered legislature in the nation, Rep. Joers was able to get results.”

Child Care Counts

When legislative Republicans decided to end the effective Child Care Counts program, Alex did not wait a moment to lead the effort to introduce legislation to save Child Care Counts. This program is crucial to providing parents the opportunity to access affordable care, while allowing providers to keep tuition low and staff paid.  

Fortunately, Governor Evers secured emergency funding that will temporarily allow the program to continue, but it is crucial to keep up the fight to permanently save Child Care Counts. Alex is ready to advocate for families, providers, and our kids.

Supporting Small Businesses and Farms

Two decades ago Alex’s family started a small business right here in our community. Having been a part of it since the beginning, he knows the challenges working families face each day.

Our local businesses are the backbone of our community. As a County Supervisor, Alex championed $30 million in recovery grants for small businesses right here in Dane County through the Dane Buy Local program. These grants helped small businesses weather the pandemic, but we have to continue to support them in recovery.

In the Assembly, Alex kept up the work to support small businesses by introducing the Main Street Bounceback grant program to support small businesses taking over vacant storefronts in an effort to revitalize our communities. Alex was able to move the bill through a Republican-controlled committee.

Another piece of Alex’s legislative work was to pass a statewide Nutrition Incentive Program. Alex brought together a bipartisan coalition of legislators to introduce the Healthy Food Incentive Program. This initiative, modeled after the successful Dane County Double Dollars program helps families stretch their grocery budgets by incentivizing the purchase of locally grown fruits and vegetables from our farmers. The bill made it through the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Evers!

Defending Reproductive Freedom

Every Wisconsinite deserves the right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. Abortion is healthcare, and the chaos and uncertainty that the overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to is having real effects on Wisconsinites. The decision for how and when to start a family is a deeply personal one. That decision should not be dictated by state statute or any politician. The pre-Civil War abortion ban that is on the books today must be removed, it is as out of touch with reality as it is dangerous. In the legislature, Alex will continue to fight to pass the Abortion Rights Preservation Act and expand reproductive healthcare access across our state.

Strengthening Our Democracy

Wisconsin has a long history of fair and free elections. If anything needs to change with our state’s election system, it should be to provide the support and resources our election workers need to increase ease and access to the ballot box. Those who question the legitimacy of our elections are clearly undermining our democracy. Instead, we need to make sure more people are able to participate in our democratic process. Wisconsin should institute automatic voter registration, explore ideas like ranked choice voting, work to get money out of politics, and promote civil dialog as we build a stronger democracy in Wisconsin.

Promoting Common Sense Gun Safety

An overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites support common sense gun safety laws.

We must reinstate the 48-hour waiting period on gun purchases that existed prior to Legislative Republicans stripping that protection away. This “cooling off” period could prevent suicides, as well as shootings. This, coupled with stronger extreme risk protection orders, would give families the ability to alert law enforcement before dangerous acts occur. Alex will take action to protect our communities by supporting these measures.

In September 2018, our community fell victim to a workplace shooting when a gunman opened fire at WTS Paradigm. The gunman was ineligible to purchase a firearm, but he was able to legally assemble the weapon’s parts and create an untraceable firearm without a serial number, exploiting this loophole. While working in the Capitol, Alex helped draft and champion legislation to crack down on ghost gun sales.

On the Dane County Board, Alex supported programming through the Public Health Department to reduce gun violence in our community and sponsored a gun buyback program through the Sheriff’s Department. Unfortunately, local officials across Wisconsin have their authority on firearm regulations limited by preemption laws implemented by Legislative Republicans. Alex seeks to undo these local preemptions to give back local control to communities.

Protecting Our Environment

Wisconsin has a rich history of environmental conservation and we must work to ensure our natural resources are preserved for generations to come. During his first term on the Dane County Board, Alex sponsored resolutions to conserve over 400 acres of land for flood mitigation and recreation. He pushed for $1 million in the 2022 budget to connect the North Mendota Trail from Middleton to Westport and beyond. Alex promoted the county’s sustainability and renewable energy efforts as we work to drastically reduce our carbon footprint across the county. Alex also supported efforts to hold polluters accountable by pursuing companies that contaminated our waterways with PFAS chemicals. These are efforts that Alex has continued to champion throughout his first term in the State Assembly.

Climate change poses a threat to everyone in our community and our planet. There are significant steps Wisconsin can take to tackle the climate crisis at the state level. Let’s first start by investing in clean energy solutions, protecting our clean water, and promoting conservation of our natural resources.

Investing In Education

Our public schools have been drastically underfunded for more than a decade. Despite the strong leadership from Governor Evers, Republicans in the legislature have stifled every opportunity to invest in our kids. Our children deserve to attend a high-quality, well-funded public school regardless of their zip code. Alex supports reforming Wisconsin's broken, unfair funding formula to ensure that school districts get the support they need to continue educating the next generation of Wisconsinites. Alex also supports our teachers and wants to restore their right to collectively bargain that was taken away over 10 years ago.

In his first term in the legislature, Alex introduced a $5 million proposal to support “Grow Your Own” programs across the state that assist future teachers entering the classroom. In addition, Alex introduced legislation to ensure that when a child unenrolls from a private school, the public dollars follow them back into public school. Furthermore, Alex helped pass 2023 Act 72, which provided program funding to establish recovery schools across the state.

Fighting For Workers

For over a decade, Wisconsin workers have been left behind. Alex believes it is time to restore the right to collectively bargain to our teachers, nurses, laborers, and all other public sector employees. Wisconsin used to be a leader in labor rights and protections - we owe it to our workers to return those rights.

Expanding Higher Education

As a member of the Assembly Committee Colleges & Universities, Alex pushed back against extreme Republicans attempting to curtail free speech, endanger student health, and ban transgender athletes from participating in sports. Instead of attacking our universities, we should be expanding opportunities for everyone to pursue a higher education.

We know that a four-year degree isn’t the only option, there are successful paths students take every day to gain the critical knowledge they need to advance in their field. Let’s support our workforce in getting the training and education they need.

When our National Guard students were having to take out expensive loans just to wait for a later tuition reimbursement, Alex worked across the aisle to streamline the process. The bill Alex authored is now law, allowing direct tuition payments so that our students in the National Guard can focus on their studies and serve our country without the added financial stress.

In the effort to make college more affordable, Alex reintroduced legislation to update the tax treatment of 529 accounts, otherwise known as Edvest accounts. Thanks to Alex’s bipartisan efforts, that bill is now law, and families can contribute more tax deductible to their children’s higher education - including employer contributions.