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Rep. Tony Kurtz announces re-election bid, discusses state of the 50th Assembly District

WiscNews - 7/16/2020

Jul. 16--Representative Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, is running for re-election in November, facing off against challenger Mark Waldon of Reedsburg for Wisconsin's 50th District Assembly seat.

Kurtz was initially elected to the seat in 2018 after the retirement of longtime Republican Representative Ed Brooks. The 50th District includes all of Juneau County and parts of Monroe, Richland, Vernon and Sauk counties. State assembly terms are two years.

An Army veteran, Kurtz currently owns and works a farm in Wonewoc in addition to serving as a representative. He has a bachelor's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle and a master's degree in international relations from Troy State University.

"I try to be level-headed," Kurtz said. "I try to use that military background and look at both sides of the story, and I try to take that in the office with me, with dignity and integrity, and I think I've done that and I would love to continue to do that."

Over the previous two years, Kurtz has authored several bills spanning healthcare, hemp, farming and water quality, and has served on the Agriculture Committee, Corrections Committee, Rural Development Committee, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, Environment Committee, served as vice-chair on the Health Committee, and served on task forces for water quality and suicide prevention.

One of the areas Kurtz promised to focus on during the 2018 election is improving rural infrastructure, which he says he delivered on through helping to shape the state budget.

"In the budget there was record funding for roads and infrastructure," Kurtz said. "I'm proud of that because we need that, especially in rural areas... I think moving forward we need to make sure we get a little bit more of that share."

As vice-chair of the Health Committee, Kurtz said he worked to include help for rural hospitals in the budget.

"That's something I was very proud to fight for in the budget," Kurtz said. "Hospitals around here... are very happy with that, whether it's an increase in funding, (or) a 21% increase for nursing homes, and obviously with our aging population nursing homes are so important and a big demand."

Kurtz, an organic farmer, has championed several bills to aid farmers. He said many of the solutions for the farm economy are "a work in progress," but if re-elected he will continue to work to ensure those bills pass.

"Unfortunately with the COVID there was some really good bills that we had in the works specifically about exports that we'll continue to work on," Kurtz said.

One such bill initially would have provided $1 million for expansion of agricultural exports, which Kurtz then fought to increase to $5 million, half of which would have went to dairy and half to expand markets for cranberry, beef, soy beans, corn and other crops. The bill passed the assembly with only one vote against, but has not passed the senate.

"COVID hit and those didn't get approved," Kurtz said. "We only export 2% of our ag products, so we have a tremendous opportunity to export in particular cheese, dairy, whey products... those are things that if I'm fortunate enough to get reelected I'll grab and keep pushing forward."

Also included in the budget was $48 million for improving rural broadband, an area which Kurtz says needs even more improvement.

"I think if anything the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated, especially to some of my colleagues to the eastern side of the state, just how woeful broadband is... especially with kids trying to go to school," Kurtz said. "Our internet is just atrocious in this area. We did a good investment, but we need to continue that investment."

Over the last several years, Juneau County and surrounding areas have had issues with water quality, as contaminants have been found in numerous wells.

"With the water, putting emphasis on it that it is an issue, not just in our area but the state," Kurtz said. "I don't want people to take away that we have bad water. We don't have bad water. There are areas we need to fix, and the thing I'm excited about is they can be fixed."

Kurtz said he is working on programs to increase funding for conservation officers and encouraging farmers to plant cover crops, among other solutions, and the water quality task force he served on has held hearings throughout the state, including in Mauston.

"Right now if a farmer does cover crops, that comes out of their own pockets, and some of those bills that passed would help pay for the seed and things like that," Kurtz said. "We had a hearing in Mauston, farmers were there, they want to be involved."

Among the bills he is currently working on are a bill to expand opportunities for pharmacists in rural areas, and another to streamline emergency payments from FEMA. Kurtz is also currently working on trying to aid the unemployed with unemployment insurance.

"We're urging the governor to use some of the CARES money for emergency loans to some of the people who have been waiting," Kurtz said. "As a legislator I feel completely helpless on that right now. This is unprecedented, I understand that, nobody had a clue that we would have this many people, but it's been March, April, June, July.... He could do that tomorrow if he wanted to."

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Kurtz said he thinks the best course of action for the area is to continue monitoring the situation.

"I know there are people who are concerned about the jump in the numbers, I am too, but... our hospitals, particularly in our area, are so much better prepared than they were in March and April," Kurtz said. "If you look at the hospitalizations, hospitalizations are actually down. One thing, and I know people think I'm crazy when I say this, but it's actually not a bad thing to have some cases now because, you have to remember, what everyone was so concerned in March and April was a massive spike in our healthcare system. Fortunately, thank god, that didn't happen."

Even though he is seeing positive signs in the region's response, Kurtz said social distancing is still important.

"We're getting lax on social distancing, there is no doubt about that, we need to keep stressing that," Kurtz said. "We're not out of the woods, (but) I think we're in a heck of a lot better spot than we were 60 days ago."

As for masks, Kurtz said everyone needs to be respectful of the agency of individuals, whether or not they choose to wear a mask.

"Right now I think as long as we honor peoples' social distancing, and I know I'm going to get push-back on this, but everybody is not in the same spot right now," Kurtz said. "I get calls from people who say we need to be in full mask, I get calls from people who say no mask, and I guess what I tell people is that is somebody's individual choice. If someone wants to wear a mask, let them wear a mask. Don't make fun of them because they're wearing a mask. My wife wears a mask. She went into a grocery store and some guy made fun of her for wearing a mask, and that's defenseless, that truly is... People need their space, and if you're in a grocery store or a (a different) store, and they have those lines on the floor, follow them."

The pandemic has changed the way Kurtz is campaigning, with the focus during this election season on meeting individuals door-to-door rather than holding larger events.

"One of the things we try to do is meet people, people have to get to know you," Kurtz said. "So I knock on the door and then go back to the first step or well away from the door when someone opens it. And I've asked every single person, I've asked them if it bothers you I've visited your home today and they've said 'absolutely not,' they've said we appreciate you honoring our distance.'"

When voters see his name on the ballot in November, Kurtz said he hopes voters will recognize he kept his promises to his constituents.

"When I said I was going to do things, I have," Kurtz said. "I recognized the issues we have with water, and I volunteered to be on the task force. I recognized we have an issue with suicide in our area, I asked to be on the suicide prevention task force. Healthcare has always been something front and center... so I asked to be on the health committee. I asked to be on the ag committee. I asked to be on these things because I know how important they are to our area. So I haven't given it lip service, I've followed through with what I said I was going to do, and I'm pretty proud of that. We got work to do, there's no doubt about it, but if I'm fortunate to earn their vote again I'll continue fighting for those things I believe in and rural communities."

Reach Christopher Jardine on Twitter @ChrisJJardine or contact him at 608-432-6591.

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