Vining Leads Lee For Wisconsin Assembly District 14 Election Race

WAUWATOSA, WI— Incumbent Robyn Vining and Bonnie Lee are in the running for state Assembly District 14.

Voters took to the polls wearing face coverings, and standing in marked spaces six feet apart across Wisconsin. Many others chose to vote early and absentee.

Vining:21,370

Lee: 18,185

Vote amounts are according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As of 8:19 a.m. Nov. 4, the race hasn't been called but Vining is leading according to vote amounts.

The district includes portions of the cities of Brookfield, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa.

Candidate Bonnie Lee won the Republican Primary in August. Incumbent Robyn Vining, a Democrat, defeated three candidates in 2018 to take the seat. Linda Boucher, Bonnie Lee, and Steven Shevey ran against each other in the Republican primary.

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Bonnie Lee

Bonnie Lee, the Republican opponent for the state Assembly District 14 won over incumbent Robyn Vinning. Lee, who has a background in nonprofits and ministry, was a newcomer to politics and ran on restoring hope and confidence in the community.

"Our people are our greatest asset in this politically diverse district. People are hurting, businesses are struggling. We need to create a pro-growth climate that incentivizes workers by opening up access and opportunity to all job seekers. No amount of stimulus will ever compensate for a functioning economy," Lee said.

Lee told Patch attracting and retaining residents and businesses is crucial to the district's economy.

"Protecting those businesses that are responsible with their reopening practices from lawsuits.
Keeping taxes low to create a climate that attracts businesses and workers to our area.
Working to expand employment opportunities for job seekers of all abilities, including people with disabilities and the formerly incarcerated," she said.

A conservative, Lee spoke out for limiting, not expanding, the role of government and especially with regards to the pandemic.

"We should appropriately fund the Wisconsin Department of Health Services: PPE, testing, contact tracers, and public health workers deployed to train vulnerable populations (seniors, nursing homes, prisons). We must make sure the Department of Workforce Development is equipped to deliver UI benefits promptly," Lee said.

Lee also was a supporter of increasing community engagement by law enforcement to improve relations.

Robyn Vining

Robyn Vining was reelected to State Assembly District 14. During her first term in the State Assembly, Vining introduced and supported legislation to expand Medicaid, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

Vining said during her first term she also introduced legislation to create Fair Maps for fair representation, support small businesses with an online web resource portal, provide support to foster care children and adoption programs, ensure health care coverage for maternity and newborn care, improve the cost and access of epinephrine, make the world more accessible with Universal Changing Tables, and more.

She expressed the need to help small businesses recover from the pandemic.

"We need to provide the needed support to these small businesses because they are the backbone of our economy and our communities. I will continue to fight for our small businesses until our economy has recovered," Vining said.

Vining also expressed support in promoting equity in the education system, from pre-school to higher education. We need to restore crucial investments in our public education system, and provide opportunities to students of color so they can succeed.

"I support making crucial reforms to our criminal justice system and improving policing accountability and transparency, to reduce and eliminate pervasive police brutality and disparities in incarceration," she said.