Madison- State Senator Lena C. Taylor (D-Milwaukee) was appointed on December 2, 2014 to the state’s highly influential Joint Finance Committee.
Tapped by Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, Taylor is no stranger to HUD for approval. Once approved, the Section 3 Plan will become the official policy that guides HACM’s implementation of Section 3 activities. the rigor and intensity of serving on the committee charged with budgetary oversight and statewide policy decisions.
“I am deeply honored by this appointment, and my return to the Joint Finance Committee,” Taylor said. “Initially, working on the committee in 2004, and serving as its co-chair at one time, I am fully prepared to hit the ground running.
We have a lot on our plate: job growth, economic development, education funding, justice reinvestment and reform, just to scratch the surface. I look forward to working with my colleagues to do the difficult work and bring about solutions.”
Taylor’s assignment comes at a critical time for her constituents, the state, and Milwaukee, in particular.
Earlier this year, Wisconsin was named as the worst state in the country in racial disparities between black and white children. Black male unemployment for men between the ages of 25-54 has risen to nearly 55%.
Wisconsin continues to lag behind other states in pre-recession employment.
Looking to bring about significant changes, Taylor concluded “I will be a fierce proponent in the advocacy of resources to allow all Wisconsinites the ability thrive, earn a living wage, and reduce inequalities in everything from health outcomes, women’s reproductive rights, to incarceration”
