Wisconsin State Representative Christian Phelps, along with five guest speakers, held a press conference for his reelection campaign as a representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 93rd District from 5-6 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, on the second floor of Centennial Hall.
Phelps was born and raised in Eau Claire and graduated from high school in the Eau Claire school district. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2024.
Phelps said his interest in politics began his junior year of high school after seeing funding and unions for public schools being slashed.
“That really woke me up,” Phelps said. “I was about to be an adult in a community that did not match what I was seeing from political leaders, and I knew how important the public school was to my peers who needed more support than they were getting in other environments.”
The conference opened with remarks from the guest speakers, Emma Steffen, Jeanne Nutter, Rachel Henderson, Pa Thao and Jeremy Gragert. The speakers praised Phelps to those in attendance and encouraged his re-election.
“We don’t need leaders who wait for change; we need leaders who fight for it,” Thao said, receiving applause from attendees. “Christian Phelps is that leader.”
Gragert, the newly-elected Eau Claire City Council president, was the final speaker. Before introducing Phelps, he spoke of “feeling the momentum” and seeing so many Democratic candidates elected.
Phelps spoke for just over 10 minutes and went over the issues he was campaigning on, but, like Gragert, began by pointing out recent election victories of those in the room.
“The most common question I get from people since November 2024 is, ‘Do you like this job?’” Phelps said. “I’m sure I’ve given a lot of you strange answers to that question, because it really is complicated.”
Phelps said he has heard many stories and complaints from parents who have come to the state capital, and that fixing these issues is not easy without a majority.
“Not only have none of my proposals — [which] some folks here already outlined — gotten a vote in the assembly, but none of them have even been scheduled for public debate in committees,” Phelps said.
The next issue Phelps spoke on was public school funding and school closures. Given his background as a special education paraprofessional, he has experience with fighting public school issues.
Phelps said that he authored Assembly Bills 307, 859 and 1176 to help public schools.
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature website, the first bill will continue to allow at least 10 percent of school district students to attend private schools, while the other two bills affect reimbursement for special education.
Stephanie Farrar is an associate professor in the UW-Eau Claire English department and a member of the Eau Claire Area School District school board.
Farrar said her first time meeting Phelps had been when they were neighbors. She did not speak at the event but said she first connected with him while they were both advocating for public school issues.
“[Phelps’] former work and advocacy did a lot to educate legislators on what their own policies were doing to their local communities that they did not understand,” Farrar said.
After discussing public schools, Phelps clarified where he stands on certain issues, saying he was against the privatization of public services, “against expansion of mass incarceration,” for keeping immigrant families together and for stabilizing public health insurance.
“In my second term, my goal is exactly the same as it was when I ran for the first term,” Phelps said. “To fight for those values and flip the legislature and actually get them across the finish line.”
After a few more statements and calls to action, Phelps finished speaking.
The Wisconsin State Assembly election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Curtin can be reached at [email protected].
