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On Aug. 11, State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez will meet challenger Ismael Luna in a Democratic Party primary for Wisconsin Assembly District 8.
District 8, where both candidates were born and raised, includes Milwaukee's Walker's Point, Clarke Square, Lincoln Village and Muskego Way neighborhoods.
The incumbent, Ortiz-Velez, has previously served three terms as District 8's representative and was listed as an author or sponsor on 1,176 bills in that time, aimed at issues including increasing work opportunities for those with DACA status. Of those bills, 151 were enacted, including two where she was the first listed author.
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The primary election comes just as Ortiz-Velez is facing tensions within the Democratic Party after she was charged with disorderly conduct for interactions with her colleagues.
Ortiz-Velez will face nonprofit organizer and 26-year-old activist Luna, who is running for the first time and is endorsed by south side Common Council member JoCasta Zamarripa and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
The winner will run against local business owner Angel Sanchez in the general election on Nov. 3.
Read more to learn about the candidates and their top issues.
About the Democratic candidates for Assembly District 8's primary election
Ortiz-Velez was born and raised on Milwaukee's south side.
She said her experience as a real estate agent motivated her to run for office. During that time, she spoke with homebuyers in her district every day, heard their concerns and learned what they wanted to see change on the south side.
"What drives me is seeing people suffering, knowing that I can hopefully do something about it, and that I want to and can help," Ortiz-Velez said.
Since pursuing public office, she has been elected to multiple positions, including the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in 2018 and, in 2020, to her current position as a state representative.
Ortiz-Velez's husband, who was an attorney and served in the U.S. Army, died in 2016. As an elected official, she said she honors his memory by dedicating herself to protecting veterans' rights and supporting veterans' programs.
Ortiz-Velez's challenger, Luna, said he wasn’t simply raised on the south side; he was raised by the south side.
After becoming homeless at the age of 14, various community groups and neighbors fed and housed him, allowing him to become a Milwaukee Public Schools graduate, a first-generation college graduate, and a homeowner at the age of 21.
“My community stepped in; they sheltered me; they fed me; they provided for me," Luna said. "I was raised with the value that if you ever make it, you turn back and help … I'm able to help people that are living the same experience as me.”
Luna earned his undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University. He went on to intern for U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and the Department of Education. Later, he worked in programs that support justice-impacted youth.
In Milwaukee, Luna has served as an organizer for Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights organization. He also served as the vice chair of RISE Drug Free MKE, a coalition raising awareness about substance misuse.
He is currently a case manager at the Cathedral Center's homeless shelter.
Conflicts in the State Assembly
Earlier this year, Ortiz-Velez became embroiled in conflict with her fellow Democrats after she was not included in a resolution to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month in Wisconsin and allegedly made threatening comments to members of the Democratic caucus, eventually leading to her being charged with disorderly conduct in February.
Ortiz-Velez pleaded no contest in March to resolve the case, meaning she accepted a conviction under the charge without conceding guilt.
Ortiz-Velez and Luna have previously worked together on legalizing fentanyl test strips when Luna served as the vice chair of RISE Drug Free MKE through the nonprofit Community Advocates.
He regards Ortiz-Velez as a trailblazer for Latino representation in elected office. However, he cites Ortiz-Velez's conflicts as evidence that a change in leadership is needed.
"When that happened, I was in shock," Luna said, referring to the conflict in February. "I'm serious about safety, and as elected officials, we should be able to hold ourselves to a [higher] standard."
However, Ortiz-Velez said it was clear she made no threats, and she was hurt that she was excluded from a bill that would honor Hispanic Heritage Month.
Ortiz-Velez said the claim that this conflict signals a need for a change in leadership is "far-fetched" and "desperate," as her accomplishments and experience throughout her three terms prove she's the best fit for the role.
"I can make the impacts and address the issues," Ortiz-Velez. "I don't know of anyone that can do that at this time like I can."
What issue would be their biggest focal point if elected?
Ortiz-Velez said affordability and lowering costs for working families would be her top priority if reelected.
Ortiz-Velez said she would address affordability by working to lower property taxes, increase access to housing, regulate utility costs, lower costs for childcare and increase funding for special education programs.
Luna said his biggest priority would be addressing quality of life issues like access to housing and healthcare, and public safety issues that contribute to neighbors' overall sense of security.
"They all go hand-in-hand with each other," Luna said.
Creating a public option for Badger Care and without needing to go through an employer to access healthcare is a top priority, Luna said.
Housing affordability and access
As a housing case manager at the Cathedral Center, Luna said he sees the barriers to housing access firsthand.
His goal, if elected, is to address these barriers by ensuring that prior evictions and criminal history don't prohibit people from finding housing.
Additionally, he'd like to increase access to subsidized housing and create a pathway for the state to purchase and restore vacant homes for resale to the community at an affordable price.
Luna said he would attempt to address corporate landlords' ownership of affordable housing by limiting the number of properties they can purchase in a community and ensuring that available affordable housing is in safe, livable condition.
"Especially, if they are outside the state of Wisconsin, there should be a cap if they're not residents [of Wisconsin]," Luna said of corporate landlords.
If reelected, Ortiz-Velez said she plans to prioritize housing access and address corporate landlords by partnering with local elected officials in her district.
Ortiz-Velez said she lives next door to a corporate landlord's property and has assisted several neighbors with calling the police to address nuisance behavior and seen first-hand the impact of landlords that do not keep their properties in stable condition.
"I believe in local control on some of these issues, so I would want to work with my local partners ... to either give them additional tools or authorities that they may need that they are not able to use to solve these problems," she said.
Immigration activity raises concerns
With a recent spike in immigration enforcement activity across Milwaukee, Luna has taken a strong stand, calling for "ICE Out of Milwaukee."
As federal immigration agents are still wearing face coverings and staging in public parks, Luna said the south side needs leaders to "call them out."
"Right now, the Latino community needs someone who is with them," Luna said. "If we know they're separating families, they're not masking up, they're not doing what we're requesting of them as a state, then that's not a job."
Ortiz-Velez takes a different stance, stating that federal immigration officers have the "sovereignty to do their job whether I like it or not," she said.
Her goal is to ensure that federal agents abide by local ordinances and respect the civil rights of residents in the community as they carry out their responsibilities.
"I don't want to stop anyone from doing their job, but I want everyone to be safe in doing it," Ortiz-Velez said. "I will not tolerate any unlawful acts in our state."
Improving roads and local infrastructure
Both Ortiz-Velez and Luna said the state should be lending more support to Milwaukee's local government to fund the reconstruction of major roads to ensure that potholes are filled and the roads are safe.
In addition to funding for District 8's roads, Luna said he would work to ensure building codes and requirements for schools are updated to ensure students and parents have what they need to feel safe.
Luna cited the recent fire at the Lincoln Avenue School, which did not have sprinklers, as an example of the importance of updating city infrastructure.
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact her at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet the candidates running to represent Wisconsin Assembly District 8
