Democratic candidate hopes to unseat Republican incumbent Calvin Callahan
BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On May 13, 2024, Lincoln County Supervisor for Lincoln County District 3, Elizabeth McCrank, announced her candidacy for Wisconsin Assembly District 35, running on the Democratic ticket. Currently, Republican Calvin Callahan holds the seat, and he recently announced his bid for re-election, as well.
Assembly District 35 includes all of Lincoln and Langlade Counties and portions of Marathon, Shawano, and Octono Counties.
In a press release, McCrank said she pledges “to focus on real district problems and challenges, including rural population decrease, school and library support, comprehensive care needs of the youngest and oldest in our communities, the climate for entrepreneurs, and people’s right to make health care decisions for themselves.”
As current Supervisor for Lincoln County District 3, McCrank is currently on the Board of Canvass and the Solid Waste Committee and has also served on the Lincoln County Land Services, Highway, Social Services, and Lincoln County Emergency Planning Committees. In addition, she is a member of the Merrill Historical Society and serves on the Merrill Historic Preservation Committee, sits on the Board of Trustees for the T.B. Scott Free Library, and belongs to the Merrill Noon Optimists Club and Lincoln County Sports Club.
McCrank has dubbed her campaign “McCrank for the People” and has a Facebook page at facebook.com/McCrankForThePeople. The intro in her page reads, in part, “Elizabeth is passionate about ensuring that people’s voices are being heard in our community and in Madison.”
“McCrank’s diverse private and public sector work experiences help her identify and understand real-life issues. She is presently employed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but has worked in light construction, taught college and GED students, bussed restaurant tables and bagged groceries,” her release said.
During her last term as Lincoln County Board Supervisor, “McCrank twice supported a referendum on the status of Pine Crest Nursing Home, introducing a resolution tabled by Supervisor Calvin Callahan in May 2023, and then supported Supervisor Norbert Ashbeck’s August 15, 2023, resolution that died by a vote of 13-9.”
According to her release, McCrank said, “We need leaders who believe that government is not just of the people and by the people, but FOR the people. We need to focus on real-life issues that the majority of our residents face, not contrived crises and gimmicky culture war issues meant to distract from our legislators’ ineffective governance.”
“Working people need someone honoring them, focusing on them and, most importantly, listening to them,” she said. “We need to re-open the conversation about what the public wants from its government, and if the public wants a government different from a party’s desires, the public should win out over the party. Rather than disassembling local government and making our communities less attractive, we need to develop customized solutions for local circumstances, involving those most affected.”
“Freedom for all includes freedom for women to make their own healthcare choices without interference from government or others who assert their personal freedom but choose to treat others like second-class citizens,” she said in her closing statement in her release.