Democrats open election office

PARK FALLS — Price County Democrats have opened their 2024 election office in the lower level of the Professional Building at 160 4th Ave. N.

The grand opening event on June 18 included visits from 7th Congressional District candidate Kyle Kilbourn, and 68th Assembly District candidate Richard Pulcher. A second democrat 7th Congressional District candidate, Elsa Duranceau, was unable to attend.

“We’re happy that so many people showed up,” said Price County Democrats Chair Steve Gustafson. “I don’t know that we’ve ever had an office in Park Falls before. We’ve had them in Phillips a couple of times and so this is certainly the first time in a long time.”

The office will be open from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays to start and expand as the Aug. 13 primary election nears and the general election on Nov 5.

Price County is a very Republican county, Gustafson said. The goal is to make it a more purple county.

Gustafson is entering his fourth year as county party chair. He was inspired to get involved by former chair John Smart, and by Bernie Sanders who emphasized the importance of getting involved at the local level.

“I’ve been to the county fairs and people stop at our table and say, ‘there’s Democrats in Price County?’” Gustafson said. “It’s nice to know that you’ve got some people that see things your way, that are in your neighborhood. So that’s one of the things that this is going to help.”

Kilbourn mingled with the volunteers and open house guests. He started his campaign in April on “the three F’s” platform of “families, future and freedoms.”

It’s about working families, he said. The focus is on making sure that healthcare works for everyone, Social Security is strengthened, and to work for more affordable housing and child care.

“Issues that families care about,” Kilbourn said.

Kilbourn said he is working to sway the voters who tell him they are Republican but that they don’t want to support the incumbent. These are people who are not hearing their voices in Washington regarding rural housing and healthcare where 60% of Wisconsin hospitals are in danger of failing.

“We can do it on the federal level, because there’s no coordinated rural agency to help,” Kilbourn said. “Everything is so siloed, and frankly, our rural areas are so important to the rest of the country as well. And because we have small towns, small hospitals and rural areas, it takes a lot of work and money to maintain those.”

Protecting Social Security is crucial, he said. Around 30% of the district is over age 65, at a time when a Republican bill to increase the SSI retirement age from age 67.

“So it’s a huge issue,” he said. “It’s like we’ve got to work until we die. They want to privatize it. They don’t have to pay out.”

Kilbourn is a North Dakota native who earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, a graduate degree and doctorate in product design from the University of Southern Denmark, and living overseas for a few years, he and husband Chris, who was raised in Phillips, moved to the Rhinelander area, where he became a leader in an Oneida County tourism inclusivity project and was invited to run for office.

“My job is to listen to people, to do interviews with them, find out how they live their lives, and then design products and solutions for them,” Kilbourn said. “I kind of want to take that mindset and listen to voters.”

Congress is in a position to help with rural housing, he said. Urban areas have tax increment financing to incentivize development and incentivizing developers to build in rural areas with smaller tax bases is a challenge but needs to be done.

“That’s an area that the federal government can sort of step in to make sure that happens,” Kilbourn said.

Other solutions are financing and loans for first responders and others who may not stay in a community without adequate housing, he said. There may also be solutions with new types of home construction that make it faster and more affordable.

The federal government is a source of funding and support for rural schools and Congress is in a position to change the rules to better serve rural schools, he said.

Climate change and clean water are also a major part of the platform, he said. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are major issues in the region, where Oneida County alone has some of the most polluted wells in the country.

“It’s just crazy that people have to deal with that and try to figure out what to do,” he said.

Protecting freedoms includes all of those basic life essentials and also to be progressive on social issues including LGBTQ2+ and women’s reproductive rights.

The Price County chapter of the Republican Party of Wisconsin has not yet selected a location for their Price County GOP Headquarters, according to county director Joe Fox. An office will open later this summer with details coming soon, he said.