EMILY’s List Endorses Kathleen Falk for Governor of Wisconsin

Today, EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that it is fully recommending Kathleen Falk, a candidate for governor in Wisconsin’s recall election.

“The people of Wisconsin are fed-up with Republican Governor Scott Walker’s anti-worker, anti-family policies. The harmful right-wing agenda being forced on Wisconsin by Scott Walker and his big-money corporate allies has fired up working families across the country who are demanding change. The answer is the experienced leadership of Kathleen Falk,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “Kathleen is a strong candidate with a long history of service in Wisconsin and we are thrilled to endorse her for Governor today. EMILY’s List has known Kathleen for over a decade and has watched as she has consistently fought for women and families. A tenacious advocate for jobs, workers rights and women’s health, Kathleen is exactly who we need to stand up to the radical Republican agenda and get things done in Wisconsin.

“Our country is at risk of having no female Democratic governors in office at the start of 2013. Our states – grappling with economic challenges and at risk of being manipulated by far-right social agenda at the legislative level – need the leadership priorities of prochoice Democratic women, beginning with Kathleen Falk. The EMILY’s List community now stands at more than one million members strong and we are ready to take action to ensure that more pro-choice Democratic women like Kathleen run for governor – and win. We know this recall election will be a tough fight, but we will stand strong with Kathleen all the way.”

Born in Milwaukee, Kathleen Falk is a Wisconsin native with a proven record of fighting for women and families. After earning her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Falk worked as a co-director of the Wisconsin Environmental Decade and Wisconsin’s environmental watchdog, the Public Intervenor, and has been a strong public servant and fierce advocate for the environment, healthcare, and labor ever since. Falk was the first woman elected as Dane County Executive, where she was an early opponent of Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union budget bill. As Dane County Executive, she kept a balanced budget every year for 14 years, controlled property taxes and streamlined government services making it more efficient. In 2002, she ran for governor as Wisconsin’s first female gubernatorial candidate from a major party, where she proposed a comprehensive healthcare system that would have required insurers to pay for contraceptives.

In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $38.5 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With a community of more than 1,000,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 87 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 16 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices. In the 2009-2010 cycle, EMILY's List had the largest number of members and donors in our 27 year history.