Sequanna Taylor Running for State Assembly

Milwaukee County Supervisor Sequanna Taylor is running for the Wisconsin State Assembly.

The fourth-term supervisor is running for Assembly District 11. The seat is currently held by Rep. Dora Drake, who is running to replace State Sen. Lena Taylor.

Along with her experience on the county board, Taylor has also served one term on the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors (2019 to 2023). She told Urban Milwaukee she was inspired to run for higher office, in part, because of the way decisions in Madison impact the issues she has worked on at the local level.

Supervisors on the county board frequently run into roadblocks by way of state law. The highest profile example was the county’s desperate search for new forms of revenue that ultimately led to Wisconsin Act 12 and an additional 0.4% countywide sales tax.

An example of a policy that requires state action, Taylor said, is an alert system for adults who are presumed missing and victims of domestic violence. Taylor, who is a survivor of domestic violence, authored a county board resolution calling on the state to institute a purple alert system in 2020. The state has not yet created such a system, which Taylor believes would save lives.

Taylor listed a handful of issues she is interested in working on at the state level, including youth empowerment and education, improving health and human needs, mental health, housing, economic development and the criminal justice system, specifically criminal record expungement, pardons and improved re-entry services. In preparation for legislating on these issues, Taylor said, “I’m starting to research and look into what legislation they have on the books for those.”

The partisan primary election for Assembly District 11 will be in August, and the general election in November. If elected, Taylor would take office in January 2025. Taylor was recently re-elected to another two-year term on the county board. She said she does not plan to serve in both positions concurrently and said she hopes the county would hold an election for her open seat during next year’s spring non-partisan elections in April as opposed to a special election.

“I am hoping not to cost any extra money to the taxpayers,” she said.

After nearly a decade on the county board, Taylor believes she would head to the state Legislature with a solid understanding of the process of government and legislating. “And even though it doesn’t always happen as quick as we like it, that doesn’t mean that you don’t keep pounding away.”

Her time in local government has given her a greater respect for differing opinions, she said. She wants to keep an open mind, and still be able to work with and learn from colleagues who come from a different background or a community far from Milwaukee.

Most importantly, though, Taylor said, she wants the constituents of District 11 to feel like they are journeying to Madison with her. If elected, Taylor said she will try to remain visible and approachable for her constituents, and maintain an active presence in the community.

“I want to take that passion of continuing to fight and advocate for you all, to the state level,” she said, “where I know it directly will impact what happens with us locally.”