Incumbent Republican Mary Felzkowski seeking reelection
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
NORTHERN WISCONSIN – A new candidate has entered the race for Wisconsin’s 12th Senate District.
Andi Rich, a Marinette native, on Monday, April 22 announced that she will run as a Democrat in November’s General Election.
Incumbent State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) last month said she will seek her second four-year State Senate term.
Felzkowski and Rich are currently the only candidates running to represent the 12th Senate District, which covers all of Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marinette, Oneida and Vilas Counties, as well as parts of Oconto, Marathon and Shawano Counties.
A release from Rich’s campaign said she was born and raised in Marinette County. Rich graduated from Marinette High School in 2001 and graduated with honors from Lakeland College, majoring in business administration and marketing.
Rich obtained a Wisconsin General Contractor’s License so she could open her own construction company and has since shifted to insurance adjusting, according to the release.
“She is running to bring commonsense back to Madison – fighting to remove the forever chemicals contaminating our drinking water, working to support and fund our rural public schools and advocating for our local economy by supporting our roads, bridges and Main Street economies across the 12th District,” the release stated.
The release said Rich is “committed to getting results,” citing “Madison’s inability to act to provide basic governmental services, at the expense of thousands of Wisconsinites.”
“There are hundreds of families in the 12th District that cannot turn on their tap and safely drink their water,” Rich stated. “This isn’t a new problem – it’s one that’s existed for years, and Madison has done nothing to fix it.”
Rich said Felzkowski “chairs the most powerful committee in the legislature” and “refuses to act.”
Felzkowski is the Chair of the Committee on Insurance and Small Business and serves as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage. She is also a member of the Committees on Finance and Health, and serves on the Joint Committee on Finance and the Joint Legislative Council.
“If we cannot rely on our state government to provide something as basic as clean water, what can we expect them to do?” Rich stated. “I’m running because these issues aren’t Democratic or Republican. The Northwoods deserve more and better representation than what we’re getting.”