John Simonson on the 51st Assembly District Race
“Four years ago, Steve Hilgenberg and I jumped into the political arena for the first time—he seeking the 51st Assembly seat and I the 17th Senate seat. Our concerns were the same then and remain the same today—to make our state government more responsive to the needs of our friends and neighbors in Southwest Wisconsin.
After winning his election in ’06 against an entrenched incumbent, and then serving for the last four years, Steve has worked tirelessly and effectively to address our mutual concerns. During that time, I too have been hard at work, focusing discussion on and finding solutions to the issues critical to our local communities.
I am ready to go to Madison and continue the work Steve has begun. My strong background in economic development makes me best able to take on the difficult challenges faced by businesses and families in our district today.
I will focus on keeping and bringing new good-paying jobs to Southwest Wisconsin, fixing our broken school funding system, and reforming our unfair tax system. Like Steve, I enter this campaign, not as a career choice, but out of a sincere desire to ensure that those of us living in the 51st Assembly District continue to get the quality representation we deserve.”
Simonson was born and raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm. He earned a bachelors degree in economics from UW-Oshkosh and, after serving three years in the Army, earned advanced degrees from UW-Madison. He spent over four decades teaching economics at UW-Platteville and established the Center for Applied Public Policy in 2002. He has also worked as a policy analyst for the Urban Institute, World Bank, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and National Association of Realtors.
