Don’t sleep on the Secretary of State and Treasurer races in the era of MAGA

The de facto administrative positions of state government, Secretary of State and Treasurer, don’t receive much limelight but their occupant couldn’t be more important.

The secretary of state position is a bit like the chief operating officer for state government. The secretary is responsible for maintaining records,and plays a key role in trust lands. The office also aids in authenticating international documents.

But more so, this year’s race is important because of the assault of democracy and the public’s right to vote. The Republican in the race, Jay Schroeder, is campaigning to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission and bring the administration of elections under the secretary of state’s office. He admitted he would have refused to certify the 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin.

The best candidate seeking the office this November is Milwaukee Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa. She has a decade of experience in state government having served in the state Legislature and is committed to protecting the right to vote.

Zamarripa, 50, was born and raised on Milwaukee’s south side, where many of the state’s Latino residents reside. Zamarripa is the first Latina elected and first openly LGBTQ+ member of the state Legislature.

"JoCasta will protect the integrity of Wisconsin's elections and do the real work of the office for families, rather than turn it into a vehicle for a partisan agenda. She brings a decade of legislative experience, deep community roots, and a record of delivering on housing, immigrant protections, and responsive government,” a statement from her campaign said.

Her record and qualifications include:

• Ten years in the State Assembly, including service on the committee that governs campaigns and elections, where she backed legislation to modernize voter registration, protect absentee voting, and improve election administration.
• On the Milwaukee Common Council, lead sponsor of the 2025 Housing Element Plan to expand affordable housing and prevent displacement, plus work on small business licensing reform and community development.
• Championed protections for immigrant families, including requiring Milwaukee police to operate unmasked and with visible ID, banning ICE from staging on city-owned property, and putting the city on record against mass deportation.

Zamarripa said her top priorities include: Protecting the right to vote and keeping partisan politics out of governing, lowering the cost of living for working families, affordable housing and housing relief, affordable, accessible child care, fully funding public schools, protecting and growing the public lands trust funds that support schools and libraries.

The office of the state treasurer has been weakened in recent years but the occupant basically serves as chief financial officer for state government and has an important role in managing trust funds, primarily for the benefit of public schools libraries.

As a new election is upon us, the future of education and how funding is disbursed at Milwaukee Public Schools and other districts is so important. The best candidate to work seamlessly with a new administration is Yee Leng Xiong.

The 32-year-old Wisconsin native looks to maintain the state treasurer’s office as an independent watchdog that will ensure no waste and fraud in state spending. He wants to show the public how their tax dollars are being spent.

Xiong was born in Wausau to Vietnamese refugees who fled persecution and communism. If elected, he would become the first Asian-American to hold statewide office in the country.

He rejuvenated the Hmong youth group H.M.O.N.G. and dedicated himself to the Hmong-Lao Veterans Memorial Project. As executive director of Hmong American Center, he rescued the organization from the brink of closure. He also chairs the Hmong Wausau Festival.

Xiong is Marathon County supervisor, board treasurer of the DC Everest School Board, and former village of Weston trustee. He was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to the Financial Literacy Council in 2019.

Xiong is not afraid to fight back against the Trump administration. He’s part of a lawsuit he filed with the Wisconsin Democrats against the Trump administration, in response to the president running TV ads featuring himself, which were paid for by taxpayers.