Two Green Bay Democrats will meet in the August primary to challenge 4th Assembly District incumbent Steffen in November

Two candidates for the 4th Assembly District will face off in this summer's Democratic Party primary.

Ashton Arndorfer and Derek Teague, both of Allouez, will meet Aug. 9 for the right to be on the November ballot opposite Republican incumbent David Steffen, 50, of Howard for a two-year term representing District 4.

The top vote-getter between Arndorfer and Teague will win the party's nomination for the chance to do what no Democrat has done in the previous four elections: defeat Steffen, an incumbent Republican.

The district includes all of the Green Bay suburbs of Ashwaubenon and Allouez. It also includes much of the western portion of Green Bay south of West Mason Street, much of Howard, and Allouez west of the East River.

Steffen is completing his eighth year in the Assembly.

Each candidate was asked to keep their responses to 50 words for the biographical questions, and 100 for the issue questions. The responses have been edited slightly for grammar and style.

Ashton Arndorfer

Age:

Address: 244 Summit St., Allouez

Occupation: Full-time student, UW-Milwaukee.

Highest education level attained: I entering his freshman year of college in 2022.

Relevant experience: First run for office.

Campaign website: https://www.ashtonforassembly.com/

Derek Teague

Age: 37

Address: 2354 East River Drive, Allouez.

Occupation: Systems engineer at Technosis, a technical-support company.

Highest education level attained: Some college

Relevant experience: "Active in local politics for many years."

Campaign website: https://derekforwi.com

Why are you running for this office?

Arndorfer: Recently graduating from high school, I witnessed many of my teachers struggle under immense pressure. As the stewards of our children’s future, teachers deserve our support and gratitude. I decided to run because I realized I wanted to make a change to better our teachers and education for our children.

Teague: In this time of polarization, we need our officials to actually listen to voters instead of the just 9% of primary voters. We need to eliminate the party primaries and move to final-five ranked-choice voting.

Why do you believe you're the best candidate in your race?

Arndorfer: I am the only candidate in this race who is concerned with your voice. Wisconsin’s Assembly has gone deaf, prioritizing political maneuvers before Wisconsinites. The hard-working people of our great state deserve a voice in our government who works for you.

Teague: Like many people, I feel left out by our current run to the extremes. I want to speak for the whole district and prove politics can work for us, not just the powerful.

What are residents saying are their greatest concerns? How would you address them?

Arndorfer: The most pressing issues are the rising costs of groceries, gas and household essentials we use. This has caused instability in Wisconsin as many families worry about their financial security or ability to feed their families. We need to alleviate steepening prices by addressing the inflationary pressure on Wisconsin’s families by utilizing cost-reduction policies that work with producers and retailers to better serve Wisconsin’s needs.

Teague: While talking to voters this summer, dissatisfaction with our options was high. They want common-sense policies. Not everything has to be all one way or the other. Voters want representatives who can compromise. If voted in I would be focused on our state, and less about playing games.

What is the most-pressing issue facing Wisconsin? How would you address it?

Arndorfer: Wisconsin is facing unprecedented inflation and a dire teacher shortage. We can ease the strain on Wisconsin’s families by lowering their tax burden and supporting family-owned businesses. Wisconsin’s "rainy-day" fund of $1.9 billion can be utilized to lift struggling families, local businesses, and address the teacher shortage, strengthening Wisconsin’s economy and job market. Addressing the teachers shortage head-on is essential to keep children from falling further behind, and prepare them for the workforce and university. Incentivizing teacher retention and employment by increasing compensation and resources will help public schools: hire more teachers, retain experienced teachers, and better support educators and students.

Teague: So many of our issues come from gridlock and party infighting. Because elected officials are not accountable to most of the voters, we keep having to choose between mediocre options that get us nowhere. My primary focus would be to implement ranked-choice voting to change the accountability and to allow a diversity of candidates.

Would you vote to repeal Wisconsin's ban on abortion, or to add exceptions to the law (such as exempting rape and incest victims)? Please explain your position.

Arndorfer: From an era when women did not even have the right to vote, a bill from 1849 completely banning all abortion in Wisconsin went into effect following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Victims of incest and rape have been stripped of their basic rights by 173-year-old men, while those with maternal complications are put at risk. We must repeal the dangerous legislation and restore our rights to bodily autonomy.

Teague: We should codify access. This will obviously require some compromise with all parties, but leaving the current ban in place should not be acceptable to anyone. 

What are your views on gun violence? What should the Legislature do to address the issue?

Arndorfer: Places of learning should be safe havens for our children to better grow into developed adults. However, our schools are tainted by the looming fear and threat of the increasingly common massacres of innocent children by the mentally ill with assault-style firearms. To restore safety in our communities we must address gun violence by enacting laws that prevent mentally unwell individuals from purchasing a firearm, as well as reevaluating types of firearms that can be commercially sold. We must safeguard our children and communities from the irreparable harm inflicted by disastrous violence and savagery.

Teague: We do need to do more to regulate guns. Red flag laws will be a good start, but gun laws on their own won’t address the root cause of gun violence. We need to increase our focus on mental health, also.

How would you make voting more accessible in Wisconsin to persons with disabilities, and others with mobility challenges?

Arndorfer: Your vote is your voice. Voting access is one of the single most important aspects of our functioning democracy. Ensuring every Wisconsinite has a say in our government safeguards the interests of the people and keeps public officials accountable. Early voting and election holidays can accommodate Wisconsin’s hard-working families by giving them the time to participate in our democracy. Providing the necessary resources for all to vote ensures Wisconsinites will be empowered to make change in their communities.

Teague: I’m proud of our system of access. We have no-excuse absentee voting that enables anyone to get their ballot early and get it turned in. I do think we should pass laws allowing drop-boxes.

Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin Assembly District 4 Democratic primary is Aug. 9