richelle andrae
Thank you for the opportunity to serve District 11, which includes most of Hill Farms, Shorewood Village, and the neighborhoods immediately east of Midvale Blvd. I’ve lived in Madison since 2013, and reside just west of Hilldale. I’ve experienced our community through the eyes of a student, a young professional working in non-profit, an academic, and a volunteer. During the day, I am an advocate for safety net clinics in Wisconsin, working with state policymakers and partners to ensure that all residents have access to quality health care, regardless of income or insurance status. I’ve previously worked on local public health evaluation projects, rural workforce development, and Medicaid policy. After serving an AmeriCorps service term in California, I returned to Wisconsin and worked directly with underserved teens in Madison high schools, helping them find and keep their first jobs.
On the County Board, I Chair the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee, which has oversight for the Dane County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office, Emergency Management, 911 Call Center, Courts, Pre-Trial Services, Medical Examiner, and more. A few of my "success stories" on the Board include navigating the complex jail consolidation project, improving constituent outreach by encouraging implementation of a blog system for Supervisors, and budget amendments to embed crisis expertise in emergency response and improve the pay structure for staff attorneys to support the timely service of justice. I also serve on the Dane County Food Policy Council and Greater Madison MPO, which administers transportation-related funding and programs across the region.
When I’m not at work or engaged in Board activities, you can find me at the Odana dog park with my rescue pup, Roux. I studied Spanish at UW-Madison during my undergrad, and earned a Masters in Public Affairs from the La Follette School, focusing on health policy and administration. Please reach out at any time and I look forward to working with you.
Neighbors –
I hope that you are finding some time to relax this summer, I can’t believe it’s August already, where did the season go?! I have been enjoying the symphony of construction outside my window on Segoe Road for a few months now (kidding! I’m over it!), but trying to find some time in the quiet of a kayak paddle whenever possible. I recently made my way all the way back to the natural springs in Pheasant Branch, a truly magical spot.
This week, I’m providing updates on:
Election Details: There is a primary election coming up next Tuesday, August 13. There aren’t “big ticket” items so this is flying a little under the radar. You can check your sample ballot at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Whats-On-My-Ballot and I definitely encourage you to look in advance because this will be our first time voting under the new state legislative maps. Depending on where you live, you may or may not see a contested primary election in our west side area for State Assembly. In addition to the partisan primary, there’s a competitive election for County Executive and 2 binding constitutional amendment questions.
Articles with interviews, candidate Q&As, and info on the amendment proposals:
Please make a plan to vote! Polling is open on election day 7AM – 8PM. Be sure to double-check your polling location! Mine is now Hamilton Middle School, after the terrible outdoor situation at Rennebohm earlier this year which was a temporary stand-in for Mount Olive. See you at the polls and thanks for voting!
Public Health Advisory on Whopping Cough: Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Cases Rising in Dane County! I’m not sure about you, but I was absolutely out of commission for about 2 weeks in July with what felt like strep, a terrible cough, and fatigue. There are so many folks feeling under the weather these days! Here’s info from Public Health Madison Dane County from July 23 on Pertussis.
Public Health Madison & Dane County is alerting the community about an outbreak of pertussis, also known as whooping cough. In the last 8 weeks there have been 43 cases in Dane County, primarily affecting teenagers.
“Vaccines have made cases of pertussis rare, in fact we go many months out of the year without a single case, so to see these kinds of numbers is significant and we are urging the community to take this increase seriously,” said Amanda Kita-Yarbro, Epidemiologist for Public Health Madison & Dane County.
Pertussis is a persistent cough illness. It is a respiratory infection caused by a bacteria and spreads easily. Anyone at any age can get it, but it can be particularly serious and even deadly to infants and people with a compromised immune system. Even if someone has been fully vaccinated against pertussis, the protective effects can wane over time, and they can still get pertussis. The vaccine is working, as we are not seeing severe illness or hospitalization among the people affected.
“Initial symptoms of pertussis are like a common cold, so during this time it’s common for people to choose to go about their daily routine. This unfortunately can lead to others being exposed before a diagnosis happens. Then, after about a week, the cough can get much worse, for some people making it hard to breathe,” said Kita-Yarbro.
Public Health recommends several steps to prevent the spread of pertussis:
If you aren’t up to date on your immunizations, make an appointment with your medical provider or a local pharmacy. Public Health provides free vaccinations for children on BadgerCare and those who are uninsured.
PFAS: Today, I’m sharing some information from the Clean Lakes Alliance about local PFAS. The group is hosting a meeting to learn about the latest PFAS trends in Greater Madison's lakes on August 14 at 8AM. Join Clean Lakes Alliance online or in person at The Edgewater on Wednesday, August 14th for this Clean Lakes 101.
You've likely heard of PFAS, the "forever chemicals" accumulating in our waterways and posing threats to wildlife and human health. Patrick Gorski, an Emerging Contaminants Research Scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, will share the latest research and information about PFAS present in the Yahara lakes and the latest state-wide sampling results. His research focuses on PFAS found in surface water, including the distribution, fate, and potential bioaccumulation in various aquatic organisms, like small fish, algae, zooplankton, mussels, macroinvertebrates, and macrophytes.
County Board Meeting at Schumacher Farm Park on August 15: The upcoming Dane County Board of Supervisors meeting will be held at Schumacher Farm Park on August 15th at 7:00 PM, rain or shine. In each of the last few years, the County Board has held an off-site meeting during the summer to highlight county facilities and parks. Schumacher Farm Park is located at 5682 State Highway 19, Waunakee. The park features an on-site museum that aims to educate visitors on the lives and practices of Wisconsin farmers during the early 20th century. In addition to its wealth of information on rural history, the park also offers hiking, snowshoeing, picnicking, gardening, and various community events.
At 6:30 PM, Dane County Parks staff will give a brief presentation on the county park system, including Schumacher Farm Park, and upcoming and current Dane County Parks initiatives, including those related to increasing access and equity at Dane County parks.
Members of the public are welcome to attend in person, as an online option will not be available at the park. A recording of the meeting will be available in the days following the meeting. Visit https://www.danecountyparks.com/HistoricalCulturalSite/SchumacherFarmParkHistoricSite for information on Schumacher Farm Park. The agenda for the meeting will be available by August 9 and can be found at https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx .
Mental Health Co-Responder Team Update: You may be familiar with the CARES team in the City of Madison, which sends trained crisis workers to mental health situations to deescalate and where possible, avoid law enforcement interaction in appropriate circumstances. In response to the growing need for mental health services and the complexities of crises, the Sheriff’s Office joined Journey Mental Health Center in recent years to form a specialized response to emergency calls involving individuals going through a mental health crisis. This team currently consists of two mobile crisis workers from Journey Mental Health Center, who work directly from our precincts, along with four Sheriff’s deputies who specialize in mental health-related calls.
From 2022-2023, the Sheriff’s Office saw a 22% increase in mental health-related calls. We anticipate that number to increase again in 2024. These calls include situations involving individuals who may pose a safety risk to themselves or others, domestic disturbances, or calls involving autistic individuals or dementia patients, to name a few examples. The presence of the Journey Mental Health worker helps by providing a clinical assessment of the individual and determining the appropriate level of care in a crisis. They can also access various community resources during and after a call. In addition, the deputies and mental health workers conduct follow-ups to advocate for treatment and access to resources in hopes of preventing future emergency calls. I spoke with the Sheriff this week who had a very real-time example where the work of a trained social worker for a resident in distress was able to most likely save a life. This model is important, and we need to seek all possible avenues to treat mental health crises with mental health tools.
Strategic Community Engagement Focus Group Findings: The 2024 county budget included a small fund for a local firm to ascertain the concerns and priorities of Dane County residents for county government. The findings from focus groups held this spring are now available: https://board.danecounty.gov/documents/pdf/Final-Report.DCSE.pdf. Resident recommendations included:
Other items… Thank you, and as always please reach out if you have questions, want to connect on a county issue, or get more involved. We will be heading into the budget process this fall, so there will be many opportunities for input. We do not have the same budget deficit issues that the City of Madison does, but we do anticipate, based on state levy caps, that the County will be operating under a general cost-to-continue budget in 2025 (instead of roughly 5% growth, which we had the luxury of this year). One budget priority for me is development of a capital plan, which for historical reasons, the county has not had for 10+ years. We need one to target our big borrowing projects and make sure we are strategic with public investments.
See you around the neighborhood,
Richelle Andrae
Dane County Board Supervisor District 11
