This letter to the editor, by Kerry Kittel, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 13, 2025.

Wisconsin voters have, by huge margins, rejected far-right Supreme Court candidates in the last 2 elections. In April they should continue that trend by electing Judge Susan Crawford, who will bring common sense values and a history of making fair and impartial decisions to the Supreme Court.

As a prosecutor, Susan Crawford worked hard to send violent criminals to prison and keep communities safe. She has worked to defend voting rights, access to reproductive healthcare, and workers’ rights.

Her opponent, Brad Schimel, has defended Act 10, a 2011 law that took collective bargaining rights away from most public employees in Wisconsin. Judge Jacob Frost declared Act 10 unconstitutional because it allowed police and firefighters to maintain collective bargaining rights while denying those rights to other public employees.

Brad Schimel considers Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban to be “valid”, and also signed on to a letter making abortion illegal in nearly every case. Schimel also tried to sue to make it tougher for Wisconsin residents to access contraception.

There are likely to be cases dealing with both of these issues coming before Wisconsin’s Supreme Court in 2025. Imagine that you are an individual trying to access health care options available before the Dobbs decision. You don’t have to guess how Brad Schimel would rule, because he’s already said no. Imagine that you are a public employee trying to be treated the same as members of the police or fire unions. Brad Schimel will vote to deny rights to workers of unions that he doesn’t like while maintaining them for members of the police land fire unions.

We need fair-minded judges like Susan Crawford on the Supreme Court. Please vote for her on April 1.