From the 82nd Airborne to the Wisconsin Assembly: Ben Brist's Mission

So if we win here in the 61st district, we're winning control of the state assembly.

And I got to tell you, if we're winning control of the state assembly, we're probably winning control of the state Senate.

And I think we're probably electing David Prowley to be the next governor of Wisconsin as well.

Hello and welcome to the Dr. Kristen Lyrely show.

I'm Dr. Kristen Lyrely and you guys.

I've got Ben Brist here today.

Ben is running for Assembly District 61, but that's not the most important thing.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Ben is a West Point grad.

He's an Army vet.

He was a member of the 82nd Airborne.

Also, he is a graduate with a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Business.

He's a sixth generation Wisconsinite.

He's an Eagle Scout.

And Ben, the moms have been talking.

You know what I'm talking about, don't

you?

Uh-huh.

Sue Richards, our mutual friend from the Madison area, sent me a message months ago and said, Kristen, you need to know about Ben.

He is an outstanding young man.

She didn't tell me any of your credentials.

She just told me that you were a great guy.

And you know when the moms are talking?

That is meaningful.

But then when you add all of the other stuff, you are amazing.

And I'm so thrilled to be here with you tonight.

Well, thank you so much for having me.

I'm really thrilled to be on the show and it's great to be here.

Yeah.

So where do we even start?

I mean, you've got this incredible illustrious background.

You could do anything with your credentials, but here you are in Greendale running for assembly in your home state.

How did you get here?

Yeah, so I I grew up in Wisconsin though in a different part I grew up in Madison and then after high school I left to attend West Point and then you know as you said I served for seven years on active duty in the US Army as an infantry officer and a paratrooper You know the way I try to explain it is that My my parents raised me on the values of trying to make a difference

And those are the values that led me to do all this stuff in the military, right?

To West Point, to the 82nd Airborne, to Ranger School to deploy a couple of times, once to Iraq, once to Kuwait.

And those same values of making a difference are what led me to this decision to run for state assembly.

I got out of the Army a couple of years ago.

I went and got a master's degree.

And then my wife and I came home to Wisconsin and we settled.

in the Milwaukee area and in Greendale specifically and you know it's we need people making a difference right now in our government and in our politics and we need people making a difference in the state of Wisconsin and and that those are broadly the values that that kind of put me on my path and and the path that led me to to this race.

But when you look at politics, when people generally look at politics right now, they're disillusioned.

Voters are tired.

They don't believe in Republicans anymore.

They don't believe in Democrats.

They don't think the parties are working for the people.

How do you break through all of that?

You're a political newcomer.

How do you, when you're standing at the door and you're having a conversation with somebody who is sharing this with you, what do you say to them?

Yeah, you're you're right and sometimes I you know I was knocking doors today and I had someone say to me Oh, I don't know like all politicians, right?

And I do think this is my first time running for office and I think there is a Freshness that people like about that and that you bring to that and you just have to change it one person in one office at a time for sure But one of the things I like to talk about is in the army.

I I served with every kind of America

right from all over uh every class every race every religion uh I had soldiers that I I commanded that were from rural Louisiana and the Bronx New York right every kind of American you can imagine and every kind of politics and political background and political ideas that you can imagine as well and we never let that difference get in the way of

the mission we shared and the fact that we showed up for each other.

And that sense of common purpose is one of the things that's so missing from our politics right now and makes people think our politics is so broken.

And it's not just about bipartisanship for kind of the sake of bipartisanship, but it's about putting the interest, the common purpose, the higher purpose of why we're all in politics above

All the other stuff, the money, the party interests, the corporate interests, the interests of a president that is trying to put party over people.

And I think when you can get down to it and talk about that experience of serving with really the multitudes of Americans and.

trying to bring that spirit to this work, I do think it resonates with people.

What does it feel like?

I know you're running for a state office, but you've got to be looking at what's happening federally and looking at the Department of War and Pete Hegseth and some of the stuff that's coming down from the top.

What does it feel like to be an Army veteran to have literally put your life on the line for your nation?

And to see this happening to people who you've served with who you know you've been in those shoes

Yeah, no, it's it's it's hard.

It's it's terrible.

It's it's at times disheartening I Have friends many friends that are still in and still serving I have some letter in in the Middle East right now or one that just got back I some of the officers that have been purged for

you know, the political reasons where they've forced officers into early retirement or have refused on the promotion list to general officer specific people because of some policy choice they made during the Biden administration, you know, I served under some of those officers and they were incredible.

And I gotta tell you, they're not, you know, wallflower.

you know, liberals, right, or whatever Hegzeff is saying about them, these are hard infantry leaders, right?

And it's horrifying to watch.

I don't think I'd be doing this, really, if I didn't think we were at an emergent moment and a really important moment for our country and our democracy.

You know, it's hard because I do, I do care really deeply about national security issues, defense issues, or, you know, our veterans and our foreign policy in America does, I believe, have a role in the world.

And we are not playing the role we should be right now.

And it's hard because, yes, I'm running for state assembly, but I do really deeply care about those things and want to work on it, but we got to start with one.

one fight at a time.

And there's also so much good we can do here at the state level, especially if we can retake the governor's mansion, flip the state Senate and flip the state assembly.

And just we can unlock so much potential in the state of Wisconsin and do so much good that it'll help so many people that Republicans in the legislature have been standing in the way of for a decade plus.

Yeah, they sure have and this is a huge opportunity for us and your seats the 61st is considered a must win Flip your opponent Bob Donovan has been in politics in the Milwaukee area for decades.

He's a tough competitor What is it about you?

Serving as running as a Democrat that means that you can beat Bob Donovan

in this environment where he's been so successful for so long.

Yeah, well, I think it's a few things.

I think, you know, my district is, is Greendale Hills Corners about, you know, a little more than half of Greenfield and then a part of the city of Milwaukee and a small part of Franklin.

And it's a true 5050 swingy district.

Two years ago.

Tammy Baldwin and Kamala Harris won with about 51% of the vote and Bob Donovan won reelection really narrowly by about 2%.

And I would say the people here are kind of small C conservatives.

And I mean that in a good way, right?

Like people just want to have normal lives

and have

families and

House with the nice yard and the schools that work and roads that don't have holes in them and property taxes that aren't going to force you out of house and home and.

People are mad right now and they have a right to be and people are frustrated and they should be because they've had elected leaders like Bob Donovan for a decade plus and Wisconsin telling them that they're going to make them safer or they're going to lower their taxes or they're going to.

you know, putt government to get out of the way or whatever the line is and look where we are costs are worse than they ever are property taxes.

Wisconsin now has some of the highest property taxes in the country and Milwaukee County is the worst in Wisconsin and a lot of our local services are struggling whether it's schools or plot holes or police and fire because we have continued from the state level to cut local funding.

So when you talk about beating someone like Bob Donovan, you're right.

He's been able to get reelected because people know his name and people know him from his time on city council in Milwaukee.

But when you actually hold up his record in the state legislature, things that have defunded public education and led to higher property taxes.

votes to close veterans homes across Wisconsin and cut veteran services, votes to give data center companies tax giveaways without ensuring there's any protections for electric bill ratepayers or communities large.

You know, when you tell that story and you show people the ways in which Bob Donovan has promised

But failed to deliver if you actually hold up his legislative record People see it and I think people are hearing that that message in our district and I gotta tell you, you know people are frustrated and It's it's a year where we need some new ideas and some change in the state government and in Madison and

you know, electing me as part of that and putting Bob Donovan into retirement is also

part.

Yeah.

The Republicans have been in charge for a long time.

And when you talk to regular people and they're not happy, it's always a nice reminder that, hey, these are the folks who have been making the rules.

And Bob Donovan is one of those folks.

He has a record.

It's important that his constituents know what his record is.

But you do not have a record.

You are new to all of this, but you do have an extensive history experience, so much talent that you bring to this role.

What will you do when you are elected and you're sitting in that chair and you're thinking about your talents, what your strengths, what's that first thing that you're going to champion as a new assembly person?

Yeah, I think

Fixing public education funding in Wisconsin.

How we fund schools right now is structurally broken.

And it's leading to schools and teachers and kids that are struggling.

Cuts at school districts across the state and these these.

Unending referendums that are raising our property tax.

And you can you can look at the data.

the the number of property tax referendums for public education has skyrocketed in Wisconsin over the last few years, and the number that are failing because people are fed up with it.

And look, I would say most people don't want to to seize cuts at their schools, right?

Most people would love to see their local schools funded, but they also they're fed up with paying higher and higher property taxes.

And, you know, Wittnell school district in my district, which is

covers, hills, corners and greenfield just did a referendum a couple years ago.

And it wasn't an operating referendum.

It was to build a new pool, but then also to fix very basic deferred maintenance issues.

Things like they had classrooms where kids were wearing coats in the wintertime because the heat wasn't working problem.

properly and the windows didn't seal.

They had deferred maintenance on leaky pipes on just regular water drips that were happening in school buildings.

And no community should be forced between the false choice of properly funded schools and sky-high property taxes.

We shouldn't have a system in Wisconsin that pits school kids against property owners.

Fixing public education funding is something I really care about.

Fixing the special education reimbursement rate to help schools with the costs of making sure every kid, including kids that need special ed, get a good education and opportunity for of an education.

Actually putting some money into the general aid.

education fund at the state level, which hasn't been raised in over 10 years and used to be indexed to inflation, actually adding to what we give to schools every year is really important.

And then probably we need to look at changing the per pupil student funding formula, how we calculate how much money each school gets, because right now it doesn't make sense.

And we need to take that formula and we need to

up and start again with something one, simpler, that we can all understand as we look at it, and two, something that actually serves our community's needs.

So, you know, public education, fixing that funding, helping our, well, help our schools, help our kids, and should stop these property tax referendums, and we'll hopefully bring them back down a little bit too.

So that is...

really the first thing I want to work on and we'll fight for in state government and the state assembly next year.

I remember being a kid and my parents were so proud of our public education system.

Wisconsin ranked so high and things have changed a lot and it's because of exactly what you just said.

We're not funding public education and it's so confusing.

Most Wisconsinites don't understand how our public education is fixed to our property taxes and how this three-legged stool is so broken.

So I have to tell you as the product of public education.

education in Wisconsin and the mom of kids who have graduated from public schools here.

I'm really heartened to say that.

because this is a giant priority.

But how do you have these conversations with people when you're at the doors and they don't know?

You know, they're busy.

People are working hard and they're trying to make ends meet and they're trying to do what they can for their families.

They're not politicos.

They're not spending a bunch of time figuring out public education.

So how do you help them understand without making it too complicated and winning them over at the same time?

sure, you know, you're right.

And it is a wonky thing to talk about, right?

Most of

your school districts funding comes from those property taxes, but there used to be about a third of every school district's budget that came from the state level.

And just that money has not kept up.

So I just try to explain it like that.

that we used to get way more help from the state level for schools and for your local governments for your shared revenue funding, your city, your county, your village, your town used to get way more help from the state.

Over the last 10 years, that money has been cut or diverted or has never been raised.

And so it hasn't kept up with rising costs.

So your local leaders don't want to raise your property taxes.

They know this doesn't make.

their constituents happy.

And so if you can explain that to someone and just say, hey, we know you're mad about your property taxes, so why do they keep going up?

And it feels like your taxes keep going up and up and up and where's all this money going?

But actually, it's because the state used to have a third of every school district's budget and it doesn't anymore.

And fixing that is so key to stopping these referendums.

and hopefully bringing property taxes back down.

And really just property owners shouldn't get stuck with the bill because the state is filling up hold its end of the bargain.

And when you put it like that to someone, when you say, hey, you're getting stuck with the bill because the state isn't doing what it wants to do, what it needs to do, they go, oh, well, that makes sense.

And it can be confusing, right?

Especially here in Milwaukee.

Our city, the county, right?

There's real budget challenges going forward.

But at the state level, we have a surplus.

We should and can be reinvesting that surplus back into local communities, back into local governments, back into schools.

And it's hard because how do you have this conversation that the city doesn't have enough money, but the state does.

And actually part of fixing this is making sure Milwaukee gets the resources and needs and deserves, especially given the amount it sends to the state level as the engine of so much economic growth in this state.

And it can be wonky, but when you really just explain how the system works and what the state used to do and isn't doing anymore, people hear it and people are there for it because they're tired of hearing over and over again.

that their property taxes have to go up and there's nothing any politicians can do for them.

I really appreciate the reminder that Milwaukee is the revenue generating engine of the state because I'm up in Green Bay.

We generate some revenue up here too.

But it's not the same.

We benefit from all of the industry and all of the people who are creating those jobs and keeping the state afloat down in Milwaukee.

And we benefit from rural areas too.

It's like we have all of these different parts of the state that complement each other, which is why

I'm gonna offer you the opportunity to share a pitch to someone in La Crosse or Hayward about why they should care about your race in Assembly District 61 down in Milwaukee County.

Yeah, well, you mentioned it earlier.

This is likely, it is a must flip seat for the Democratic trifecta in Wisconsin this year.

We need to retake the governor's mansion.

We need to flip two state Senate seats.

And then we need to flip five state assembly seats.

When you line up the really close state assembly seats, this is likely five of five.

There's a lot of folks that think this is going to be the tipping point seat.

So if we win here in the 61st district, we're winning control of the state assembly.

And I got to tell you, if we're winning control of the state assembly, we're probably winning.

control the state senate and I think we're probably electing David Prowley to the next governor of Wisconsin as well.

So it could really all come down here to suburban southwest Milwaukee County.

And it's also just, it's about who we're sending to Madison, right?

And that matters so much.

who these communities and my pitch to folks in and around Milwaukee is Bob Donovan has been a politician of Milwaukee forever.

He ran for office in 1982 and has done nothing else ever since.

And after the city council, he moved a couple of times and is renting a place while he actually owns somewhere else so he can continue to run for office.

And I don't think anywhere in Wisconsin, but especially in these communities, we should be sending a representative who has made a career out of it and has moved around when he needs to to continue a grip on power.

Bonovan is not someone that is answerable to the issues in this district.

And we need new leadership, new ideas.

I'm really excited to be that new leader.

What is harder, campaigning for public office or jumping out of an airplane?

I'll tell you, jumping out of an airplane is quicker.

They both take one bad decision, but jumping out of an airplane gets is over a lot faster.

No.

What's been fascinating to me is I've done some very hard things in my life, right?

Jump out of airplanes, you know, Army Ranger school where they're sleep deprived and you don't eat.

And this is I've learned a lot about myself doing this in a really good way.

And the amount of people I've met and the people I meet on their doors.

who are willing to share with me what they're really going through, right?

People that share with me how they just lost their SNAP benefits or they're retired and they may have to go back to work or they're going to have to leave their house because of cost of living, right?

Really, people's caring what they go through and this has been challenging in another way, but I'm so grateful and excited to be doing this and to...

to represent this community in next year in the state assembly would be the honor of a lifetime.

Did I read this correctly?

Are you a sixth generation Wisconsinite?

Yes, yes.

So on my dad's side, we can trace it all the way back.

The first brists came to the United States from Germany and they settled in Wisconsin first in Monroe County near

near Black River Falls, and then my dad grew up in Chippewa Falls, and then he, when he met my mom, he moved down to Madison, and I grew up in Madison, and I am the sixth generation of breast, and I'm so proud to have that lineage in this state as well.

There is something so special and sweet.

I'm also a sixth generation Wisconsinite and there is something that just it sucks you back in like you can do all this cool.

You can go to West Point.

You can go to Harvard Business School, but there's something that just pulls you back in because you feel so committed and so connected to the energy that is Wisconsin.

Sure.

It's a special place with special people and it just feels special.

And whether you're up north or you're in downtown Milwaukee or catching a game at American Family Field, right?

Like there's these things that just like, oh man, I am so happy I'm in Wisconsin right now.

So

I'm happy to be home.

You went there to American Family Field.

And could you just like move to the side for a second?

Smooth, move your head.

Uh-huh.

A little bit front.

Yeah, there it is.

There's that Milwaukee Brewer's helmet in the background.

This is going to air in about a week.

So we don't know what's going to happen with the Brewer's.

Oh, man.

So how are you feeling?

Yeah.

After game one and two, I don't know how you.

You don't feel great, although my nerves

are shredded.

Right.

I got I went on, I went to game one and got to see the Ruth Doink in person.

So that was great.

That wasn't the roof.

It was the hand of Uker.

Right.

Right.

That's what Pat Murphy said.

Right.

No, but I am so excited.

I'm a huge Brewer's fan and I I'm along for the ride.

I I, you know, crazy couple.

games, but feeling good about the rest of the series.

Yeah, I totally agree.

I don't want to jinx it and say this is our year, but I do want to manifest it.

So like, let's just let's put that energy

out.

Yeah, it's starting to feel that way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is a really special team.

I loved it.

So we're taping the day after game two and Jackson Churio had this fantastic base hit at the very end of the game that scored two runs and won it for the Brewers.

And as he was sliding

The three of the other players were like sliding along with them.

They're sliding Sal in and I

mean,

yes.

It was

so great.

It was just this like picture of this team that was all there for each other and they were sharing the excitement.

They're giving all of their their energy and their will to be able to win this game.

That's how I feel about Wisconsin right now.

Like, I don't know what's going to happen with the Brewers in this series.

I sure hope they win, but.

Wisconsin feels like we are a group of people who have a strong history of pulling it together.

This proud progressive tradition with fighting Bob LaFollette.

We're the home of Earth Day and Gaylord Nelson.

We work for each other.

When somebody needs a barn raised, we do that.

When somebody needs help milking their cows, we do that.

We share with our neighbors.

This is what's happening right now.

This is the vibe and you are doing that, Ben.

Oh, yeah, I love that analogy.

It's you know kind of like these last two games no matter what it's gonna be close, but Man the vibes are good

Is this a good time then to talk about the Packers too

Different vibes,

but

yeah

There's love there's a lot of love in Green Bay, but we're feeling a little more skeptical about the air

now a tough few

A tough start to the season, but I think if we can sort out the offense, we'll be okay.

Yeah, me too.

And this is another thing that, you know, this is a team that's owned by the community.

And on Sunday or whenever they're playing, everybody in the Green Bay area is watching or listening or the next day we're all talking about it because it's that thing that brings us together.

And I think we have to keep finding those things at sports, but it's also community.

It's our jobs.

It's our kids.

It's our schools.

It's all of the reasons that you are running for the seat, running to actually represent your friends and neighbors in the state assembly.

Sure, yeah.

It's the things that pull us together.

And yeah, whether it's watching the Packers on Sunday or wanting to make sure we have a school that works or roads that function or a community that takes care of each other, it's the stuff we all share.

And like you were saying, that's what makes Wisconsin a special place.

Yeah, it sure is.

So if people are interested in maybe pitching in, maybe they don't work or live in the 61st, but maybe they want to help you out in some sort of way.

How can they find out more about you?

Yeah, absolutely.

Head to bristfirstassembly.com.

If you Google my name, that should be one of the first thing that comes up too.

You can get involved.

You can either come Canvas with us because we do need people to come Canvas with us.

So if you have time on a Saturday or a Sunday and you can make the trip, we'd love to have you.

Otherwise, we are also doing virtual phone banks twice weekly so you can join from wherever you're listening in.

Hop on a Skype call and then call directly some voters and one of the most important races in the state this year.

And then if you're able to donate, we don't have three millionaires or billionaires in our

corner, but we

have a lot of regular people from across Wisconsin.

So you can head to my website as well or find us on ActBlue.

And we appreciate any support or any way anyone can get involved.

And of course, sharing this show, sharing Ben's name, having conversations about what we can build together when we elect Ben and an assembly full of Ben Brists so that we can create the Wisconsin that we all want to see.

Ben, it has been such a joy talking with you.

Thank you for stepping up for doing this work and for helping to build community here in this state that we love so much.

Well, thank you for everything you do.

for the community you build through the show.

And thank you so much for having me.

It's been a wonderful conversation.

Yeah, just the beginning, baby.

All right, friends, if you enjoyed our conversation, please do share it.

Ben needs us to get his name out there and like and comment and ring the bell so you won't miss a conversation.

We will see you next time.