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 –
A week from today, there is a critical election. Please make a plan to vote!
Your voice is extremely important in this race. For near west side voters, there are just a few elections on this spring ballot including Madison Mayor, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, and School Board. There are also statewide 2 constitutional amendments, a non-binding question related to work requirements, a few local non-binding referenda, and a local ballot initiative related to timing of Madison City Council elections.
Visit https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/ to check your ballot and confirm your polling location. If you received an absentee ballot, you can drop it off at the City Clerk’s office or your polling location now. In-person absentee voting is available now until April 2, our closet location is Sequoya Library: https://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/elections-voting/voting/vote-absentee/in-person-absentee-voting-hours-and-locations and I had the pleasure of voting there this week!
There’s a helpful article in the Cap Times this week regarding what’s on the ballot: https://captimes.com/news/government/madison-voting-guide-wisconsin-supreme-court-mayor-and-more/article_701f86ef-28da-5887-ad38-959a4276997c.html.
Non-partisan candidate resources available here:
And now to a few county updates…
Housing Strategy/Climate Webinar: Dane County is engaged in development of a regional housing strategy, which is exciting work. As Dane County's communities add thousands of new housing units each year, the interest and need for current and future housing development to be sustainable has become a high priority. How can leaders help ensure that future housing development reduces environmental burden while also addressing cost burden and affordability? And what resources and solutions already exist in our region to support local efforts in these areas? On April Wed., April 15, 12:00-1:15, please join the Regional Housing Strategy Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) for a special Strategy Spotlight panel event as we engage in a discussion related to climate resiliency. The panel will share examples of policies, programs, and resources that help show a way forward. Register here.
Event panelists will include:
For more information about the Regional Housing Strategy or to learn more about this event, please email Olivia Parry, Senior Planner, Dane County Planning & Development, at parry@countyofdane.com or visit the RHS website.
In my role as a Supervisor, I am privileged to serve on the Dane County Food Policy Council. I was pleased to support an amendment in the budget last year to authorize a Pandemic Food System Study! A final report from the study is now available at https://foodcouncil.countyofdane.com/. There are many individuals in our community who struggle with food insecurity, and there are systems approaches recommended in the report that we should be pursuing to address this problem.
In the latest news on the Dane County Jail debate, we have an updated cost estimate to move forward with the 6-story jail project. This will be debated on April 10 among Committees. There is a proposal on the table to fund the project and move to put it out to bid. If you’d like more details, let me know. In somewhat related news, the County Executive and Sheriff released a plan to house the proposed Crisis Triage Center, which is a time-limited, safe location for people experiencing mental health crises, to be sited at the previous Huber building which was a jail facility for individuals with work release. I have a lot of questions regarding how this location was selected, including whether and how community stakeholders were consulted, and what other sites were considered. More to come on that, I’m sure.
Spring Save the Date: Events with Dane County Parks! With spring right around the corner (supposedly), there are a lot of great events, mostly free, coming up in County Parks. Check out dog park clean up day, Earth Day events, chain saw training and more: https://www.danecountyparks.com/Events?id=12.
As always, please reach out if I can help, direct you to resources, or answer questions. Please vote on Tuesday!
Richelle Andrae
Dane County Board Supervisor District 11
