Pedro Colon
For State Assembly
Blog
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Sonia Sotomayor and the American Dream
Posted Jul 13 at 12 PM
Updated - Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee is demonstrating why she is going to be confirmed as the next U.S. Supreme Court member.
As Senator Herb Kohl remarked, the Republican criticism of Sotomayor is "totally refuted by the record that (she has) compiled" as a judge.
History is being made today as the confirmation hearings begin on Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
Latina Americans comprise all colors and persuasions of our nation’s people.
Like other immigrant populations, Latina Americans embody the American Dream: Work hard and nothing will stop you from achieving your aspirations.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor's historic nomination to the United States Supreme Court is another display of this truism.
By now Sotomayor's biography is well known.
A Puerto Rican Latina growing up in a South Bronx housing project, through perseverance and talent Sotomayor excelled in her academic studies, graduating from Princeton University and Yale Law School.
The first Latina nominated to sit on a federal appellate court, Sotomayor has worked as a prosecutor and member of the Puerto Rico Legal Defense and Education Fund, among a rich life experience.
Yet Sotomayor's nomination is drawing derision, attacks on a Puerto Rican Latina of whom all Americans should be proud. Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and the right wing stop at nothing in their denunciations and lies.
There is no need to review the litany of attacks on Sotomayor here, but their message to Americans is clear: Work hard, achieve, and still the right wing will dishonor you and tell you that you are an Affirmative Action hire.
‘No, you can’t,’ Sotomayor is being told now, as she has her whole life.
These last six months have seen many firsts, much cause for hope as America fights back from eight years outsourcing jobs, betraying our veterans, hollowing out our economy through corruption and war, and abdicating our responsibility to hold those charged with protecting our common good accountable.
No matter the hatred and recklessness, we will bounce back.
And Sonia Sotomayor will lead the way as the first Latina on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor will endure and beat back the disgraceful attacks on her character and her commitments.
To borrow from President Obama on election night: “It’s been a long time coming … and to those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: ‘Yes, we can.’”
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Anti-Immigrant Attitudes Still Fester
Posted Jul 02 at 5 PM
- Happy Independence Day Weekend! -
We have seen accomplishment this year and will not back down.
Thanks to all the voices who stood up for our families.
Voces de la Frontera and our friends throughout the district lead the way. Another eloquent voice from Milwaukee deserves special acknowledgement: Joel McNally.
McNally’s piece in ExpressMilwaukee.com is a joy to read and is reprinted below.
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The Last Change: Anti-Immigrant Attitudes
by Joel McNally
With Gov. Jim Doyle and Democrats in control of both houses of the Legislature, long-overdue reforms affecting limits on teacher pay and funding of transit—blocked by Republicans for years—were included in the state budget with little fuss.
Sadly, one issue remains excruciatingly difficult even for allegedly open-minded Democrats to resolve on either the state or national levels: immigration.
No one ever says it’s difficult because politicians are reluctant to confront racial prejudice, but it is.
Apparently, many politicians would rather allow unsafe drivers on our roads or deny educational opportunities to children of immigrants than reform our laws to provide a path to the rights of citizenship for millions of immigrants of color living among us.
Doyle supported some form of driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants living in Wisconsin. It is in the best interests of the safety of all of us that drivers on Wisconsin roads be licensed, since licensed drivers have to pass a driving test and a written test to prove they know traffic laws and safety regulations. Perhaps even more important, they have to pass a vision test. Being able to see is a pretty important requirement for drivers.
We hear estimates of 12 to 14 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. By making it illegal for undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, we’re assuring hundreds of thousands of untested, unlicensed drivers on our roads.
We know even legally licensed drivers continue to drive after their licenses are revoked. By a wide margin, operating after revocation is the offense resulting in the greatest number of those incarcerated in Milwaukee’s House of Correction.
People risk driving without a license because in our world driving is often a requirement to work or to live. By forbidding some people who live and work among us the right to even apply for a license, we are swelling the number of illegal drivers.
State Rep. Pedro Colon, the only Latino in the Legislature, shepherded the driver’s license provision through the Assembly’s version of the state budget.
Colon also succeeded in winning Assembly support for an educational provision that provided simple fairness for the children of immigrants attending state universities. Resident children of immigrants— even if their parents were undocumented immigrants or if they themselves were undocumented because they were brought here as children by their parents—would be allowed to pay in-state tuition if they were accepted by a state university since they are, in fact, in-state residents.
The change corrected the enormous injustice of forcing immigrant children to pay higher tuition than other Wisconsin children after they successfully complete high school and earn a place at a state college.
Mean-spirited Maneuver
The Assembly included both the immigrant driver’s license and in-state tuition for immigrant children in its version of the budget bill. The state Senate, in an excess of mean-spiritedness, threw out not only immigrant driver’s licenses, but in-state tuition as well.
A conference committee made up of leaders from the Assembly and the Senate worked out a compromise—you could see this one coming—killing immigrant driver’s licenses, but including the in-state tuition in the budget bill sent to the governor.
Because much of the budget negotiations took place behind closed doors, we didn’t have to listen to a lot of the tortured logic that politicians use to justify voting against treating immigrants with respect and fairness.
One thing we know is that race is never mentioned, even though the only illegal immigrants we ever seem to worry about are those coming across our southern border from Mexico or Latin America.
No politician has ever proposed building a billion-dollara-mile fence along the border between the United States and Canada to stop the flow of illegal Caucasian immigrants who talk with those funny Great White North accents.
What you always hear ad nauseam in debates over immigration is demand for respect for U.S. laws. You will sometimes even hear this from ethnic groups that had to fight unjust U.S. laws that once denied them equal opportunities in this country.
Fortunately for most of us in this nation of immigrants, our own ancestors didn’t have to violate immigration laws to come here. In fact, there were no immigration laws when they came here. All they had to do was get off a boat.
But now that we’re all here, we want to enforce tough laws against anyone else attracted to this country with the same dreams for their families.
Much has been written about the enormous political miscalculation of the Republican Party in alienating Latinos, the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group, by working to inflame racial hatred against undocumented immigrants.
But so far the Democrats haven’t exactly displayed courage in taking leadership to create a legal way for immigrants who have lived among us for years to earn the rights of citizenship.
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Rumble in the Southside
Posted May 14 at 3 AM
Please Join Representative Pedro Colón for an event to benefit youth boxers in Milwaukee.
When: Saturday, May 16, 2009Where: The United Community Center (UCC) – 1028 S. 9th St., Milwaukee
Time: The Event begins at 5:00 p.m. and Rep. Colón squares off at 8:30 p.m.
Israel “Shorty” Acosta is the head of the UCC Boxing Program. As both competitive boxer and coach, Shorty Acosta has been involved in the sport of amateur boxing since 1972 when he trained as an Olympic Boxer, ultimately representing the United States on the 1980 Olympic team.
As a coach and head of the UCC Boxing program, Shorty Acosta works every day with young men and women who pursue the sport of boxing. He does this while ensuring that these kids continue to achieve high academic standards and the discipline necessary for their chosen sport.
This event seeks sponsors to help the team that Shorty Acosta has worked with to allow them to compete in the upcoming State and Regional Junior/Senior Tournaments on May 16/17 and May 30/31.
Thank you for your consideration to help these kids who train at the UCC.
Sincerely,
Pedro
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Assembly Leaders Named, Pedro to Serve as Vice-chair of Budget Comm
Posted Nov 14 at 11 AM
After the history-making election hammering the economic negligence and divisions of the past eight years, the Wisconsin State Assembly will be led by a team of legislators whose dedication to the people of Wisconsin matches the grave challenges facing our fellow citizens.
Wisconsin families will be hearing the names: Grigsby, Sheridan, Pocan and Colón very often in the near future, and none too soon.
Pedro will serve as vice co-chairman of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, it was announced yesterday.The Joint Finance Committee is known as the budget-writing committee and is regarded as a powerful post from which to help Wisconsin citizens.
Joining Pedro on the Committee will be fellow Milwaukee legislator, Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee).
Assembly Speaker-elect Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) also announced that Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) will serve as the committee's co-chair after 10 years of dedicated service to Wisconsin families.
Rep. Sheridan, a former autoworker in Janesville and a past president of a United Auto Workers local, is in a uniquely valuable position to lead our Assembly as the auto industry and the American economy have seen nothing less than devastation wrought upon an untold number of American families.We need solutions.
As the national economy has tanked the last several years, the national debt has swelled, our retirement savings have dissipated, and Wisconsin’s budget faces the resulting shortfall, important budget decisions will be made.
One thing is clear: The way forward must be guided by the concerns of Wisconsin citizens, and not special interests.
Pedro is proud to join an extraordinary group of legislators who—like Wisconsin citizens have done throughout history—will meet today’s challenges without fear and with hard work and allegiance to our families. -
Obama, Pedro Win, Assembly Returns to Democratic Control
Posted Nov 05 at 8 AM
The people have spoken. And the people turned away the division, the hate, and the disregard for working families that have plagued us under Republican rule.
Huge voter participation swept away Republican control of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the American Presidency, returning control of our government to the people.
Pedro was an early ally of Barack Obama's and as Pedro has spoken with allies around the state; we have heard the voice of the American people.Pedro was unopposed in the general election and received 98 percent of the vote.
The people have spoken and they want representation, not rule.
No candidate has ever inspired people like Barack Obama has.
Today, we all stand together, looking to the future to solve our problems in a common effort.
As President-elect Obama spoke last night:
“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. … This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.” -
Election Day: Nov 4, Tuesday
Posted Nov 03 at 11 AM
Vote Barack Obama for President!
If you witness any obstruction or intimidation on Election Day, call: 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it.
Do not take ‘no’ for an answer at the polls on Election Day.Bring your driver's license (and/or other official IDs), and bring mail with your address (like bills, leases and bank statements) to the polls on Election Day in case the election's bureaucracy goofs up or Republicans try to challenge your right to vote!
If you witness any obstruction or intimidation on Election Day. Call: 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it.
Nothing will stop our drive for better health care, education, home safety, jobs, peace and security that hard-working citizens demand. -
Barack Obama for President!
Posted Oct 30 at 9 AM
Election Day is November 4, next Tuesday. Vote on November 4!
If you witness any obstruction or intimidation on Election Day, call: 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it.
The unease of working families of all hues and varieties is with us.
No less real is the excitement of the 2008 election demanding change, reflected in the historic campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Pedro was an early supporter of Barack Obama and as Pedro has spoken with neighbors and allies around the state, we have witnessed the emergence of the voice of the American people.
This voice will see record-breaking voter participation sweeping away Republican control of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the American (not the Republican)Presidency, returning control of our government to the people, period.
No candidate has ever inspired people like Barack Obama has.For example, people in Pedro’s district who hardly ever vote turned out on a cold February day and voted for hope and change in the presidential primary, another record-setting event.
Barack Obama has led and inspired millions because he has listened.From his days as a community organizer, a state senator, a US senator, a veterans’ advocate, and a champion for working families, Barack Obama has led by listening and caring!
The economy, jobs, health care, crime, a drawn-out war in Iraq—all of these issues have us concerned about our families’ future.
And the forces of big business and corruption will not concede and surrender power without a fight.
With our demand for change, an unprecedented program of voter suppression across America and concentrated right here in our backyard in Milwaukee is mounting actions against our right to vote.
Don’t worry and don’t be deterred.
Barack Obama and the Democrats have fought this anti-democratic program at every stage, and there are weapons we have to ensure our right to vote.
Vote on November 4
Do not take ‘no’ for an answer at the polls on Election Day.
Bring your driver's license (and/or other official IDs), and bring mail with your address (like bills, leases and bank statements) to the polls on Election Day in case the election's bureaucracy goofs up or Republicans try to challenge your right to vote!
If you witness any obstruction or intimidation on Election Day. call: 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it.
We will win, and we will not take no for answer.
Vote Barack Obama for President!
As always, please send Pedro your concerns and thoughts. -
Ignorance Rears Its Head
Posted Sep 23 at 10 PM
Up in northwestern Wisconsin, State Rep Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) is running to return the State Assembly back to serving the working families of Wisconsin.
We were disappointed to hear the thoughts of his Republican opponent, Darcy Fields, bashing the "illegal immigrants" in that part of the state, whose legality Fields was able to divine by noting that families were overheard not speaking English during community parades that Fields had worked in as a clown.
If this has you thinking "what?" you are not alone.
Mr. Fields insists that he is committed to the rule of law, and his "assumption" that only law-defying families would not speak English at community parades has Fields out to save Wisconsin from becoming a "magnet state" for immigrants.Those parade-attending, non-English-speaking law breakers better watch out for clowns.
Sigh.Here is a partial transcription of the interview:
Darcy Fields: I don think that we should become a magnet state. I mean our country is based on the rule of law. You can understand why illegal immigrants would come here, when there's no penalty for not coming here, you know, so.
Question: Do you know what the situation is in this part of the state?
Darcy Fields: Well there are many illegal immigrants in this part of the state.
Question: And how do you know?
Darcy Fields: Well, I can tell you one, it's not a very scientific way of knowing, but I can tell one way that I know, is that I 'm a Shrine clown and the Shrine clowns raise money for the Shrine hospitals. And one of the ways we do that is that we attend parades.
And I do about 15 or 18 parades a year with the Shrine. And the streets in many of these areas where there's a high density of illegal immigrants are lined with children and families at the parade that I work with. I make balloon animals for them, and many of them can't speak English, and there's many, many, many of them.
Question: You're assuming they'll all illegal. They haven't been coming on ag or worker visa?
Darcy Fields: I think that's a reasonable assumption given the areas that I'm in, yes. -
Pedro Colón Wins
Posted Sep 10 at 9 AM
Southside Milwaukee residents reelected Pedro Colon to his fifth term of representing the Eighth Assembly District.
“I am honored by the support of our community and look forward in the next term to continue serving in the state assembly that we are demanding be shifted from the control of moneyed special interests, back to serving the working families of Wisconsin,” said Pedro.
Voters gave Pedro a two-to-one winning margin over his two opponents in this closely watched Democratic primary race.
“Our neighbors on the south side demand action and accountability from their public servants. And they deserve nothing less,” said Pedro. “We are working to make 2008 the year of change that sees the wisdom of the people of Milwaukee’s south side prevail over the narrow concerns of corporate and political insiders.”
South-side wisdom is simply the commitment to the American principle that hard-working people are the decision makers in our democracy and that government promotes the welfare and liberty of the people.This fundamental promise lives on as we build our future in the great tradition of progressive Wisconsin leading the way.
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Journal-Sentinel and Shepherd Express Endorse Pedro Colón
Posted Sep 03 at 9 PM
- Vote for Pedro Colón on September 9! -
Pedro is proud to receive the recent backing of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Milwaukee Shepherd Express.
Both papers have distinguished histories in Milwaukee and Pedro is honored to have earned recognition from two different editorial perspectives.
The Journal-Sentinel editorial describes Pedro as “engaged with the district,” “attentive” to his constituents, employing an “effective voice for Milwaukee,” and specifically owing to Pedro’s position on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee having achieved "respect in the Legislature to be in a position to deliver for Milwaukee.”
The Milwaukee Shepherd Express in endorsing Pedro takes sharp issue with one of his opponents, describing “… extreme right-wing candidates running as Democrats in the Sept. 9 primary,” including Pedro’s district.
The Shepherd Express writes that “(t)he real Democrats who have been targeted by (Tom) Reynolds … deserve the Democratic primary voters’ support because they support the Democratic Party’s ideals,” endorsing Pedro and five of his Milwaukee colleagues.
Voters will decide next week if Pedro has earned another term, and Pedro is proud to participate in democracy at the ballot box where elections ought to always be decided.
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Voces de la Frontera’s Political Arm Endorses Pedro Colón Amid Labor Day Fete
Posted Aug 30 at 9 PM
- Vote for Pedro Colón on September 9! -
One defining quality of south-side Milwaukee workers is their work ethic.
Faced with barriers common to all Americans during the Bush years, people in Milwaukee both new and old don’t complain much—they work, they look for work, and never give up the struggle for the dignity that work brings.
Pedro has been honored by the support of organized labor, those allies whose political lives are spent advocating for the working families of Milwaukee, and the working families themselves whom we all cherish as the backbone of our community.
Pedro has just received another honor, the endorsement from Voces de la Frontera’s Action (c4).
Voces de la Frontera Action (c4) is the political arm of the:
Wisconsin nonprofit that educates workers about their employment rights and organizes to protect and improve the quality of life for low-wage and immigrant workers . . . (promoting) grassroots leadership and community and workplace organizing as a strategy to achieve (these) goals.As we observe Labor Day, recognizing the contributions of working men and women, Pedro stands tall with Voces de la Frontera Action (c4) and other allies in demanding that our labor and our right to organize be protected as rights through which we achieve the quality of life that our families deserve.
From helping to kill a Republican attempt to ban the annual state subsidy for child care services for state workers, blasting the infamous attack at the El Rey grocery store, to working with AFSCME protecting workers singled out for having Latino-sounding names, and leading the fight for Wisconsin to join other states in opposing the harmful and unnecessary REAL ID, Pedro remains a proud and steadfast advocate of Wisconsin workers.
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Voting on Sept. 9
Posted Aug 28 at 12 PM
- Vote for Pedro Colón on September 9! –
Despite Republican voter suprression efforts, Voting and registering to vote are easy to do in Wisconsin.
It's a two-step requirement that's done at one time (takes one minute):
- Establishing your voter identification [a live, breathing citizen]
- Establishing your voter residency [a citizen living at his/her home/apartment/dorm/room for 10 days prior to voting]
[Note: Don't take chances. Bring your driver's license (and other official IDs), and mail (like bills and bank statements) to the polls on election day in case the election's bureaucracy goofs up! You can register before election day if you like; see List of Wisconsin Municipal Clerks for registering before election day, and other voting info].
1. Establishing the identification of a voter [a live citizen] is easy. If you voted in the last four years in Wisconsin your identification should be established, according to the General Accounatbility Board, but you may still need to prove where you live at the polls.
If you are not registered to vote (haven't voted in Wisconsin in four years), you need to prove your identification and your residency by filling out a voter registration application as follows:
Provide your driver's license number (or if you have not been issued a driver's license, provide a state-issued identification card number or provide the last four (4) digits of your social security number), AND have proof of residence indicating that you have lived at your current address for 10 days preceding the election.
2. Establishing your voter residency (proof of residence) is easy [a citizen living at his/her home/apartment/dorm/room/senior center].
If you want to register to vote at your polling place on election day, you must bring proof that you have lived at your present location for at least 10 days preceding the election; it's called "proof of residence".
The following are acceptable proof-of-residence documents: 1. A gas, electric, or telephone service statement (utility bill) less than three months old (dated not earlier than 90 days before the September 9, 2008 election date).
2. A bank statement with address.
3. A paycheck with address.
4. A current and valid Wisconsin driver’s license.
5. A current and valid Wisconsin identification card.
6. Any other official identification card or license issued by a Wisconsin governmental body or unit.
7. Any identification card issued by an employer in the normal course of business and bearing a photo of the card holder, but not including a business card.
8. A real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election.
9. A residential lease which is effective for a period that includes the September 9, 2008, primary election day.
10. A university, college, or technical institute fee card (must include photo).
11. A university, college, or technical institute identification card (must include photo).
12. A check or other document issued by a unit of government.
*If you cannot supply acceptable Proof-of-Residence, your registration form can be substantiated and signed by one other voter who resides in your municipality, corroborating your residency information. The corroborator must then provide acceptable Proof-of-Residence.
Voting Resources
Below are links to several voting resources to help voters seeking to vote, register to vote, and vote absentee.
- Find your polling place in Milwaukee.
- How to register and vote on Election Day.
- List of Wisconsin Municipal Clerks for registering before election day, and other voting info
- Do you live in Assembly District Eight? Find your district legislators here.
- EB 131 Application for Voter Registration
- EB-131 Wisconsin Voter Registration Form in Spanish.
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Pedro Colón Calls for Outreach to Latinos
Posted Aug 13 at 7 AM
- Vote for Pedro Colón on September 9! –
In a tight presidential race this year, Hispanics may prove decisive in the election of the next president.Both John McCain and Barack Obama are targeting Latino voters.
Pedro says candidates for all political offices have to focus on and understand the needs of this rapidly-growing part of the electorate.
About five percent of Wisconsin’s population, roughly 272,000 people, is Hispanic.
The electoral power of Latinos will only increase.
In Wisconsin, Latino voters are growing at a rate 13 times greater than the general population, and 36 percent of the Latino population is under 18-years-old, according to The Almanac of Latino Politics (2008).
“The way you reach Latinos is the same way you reach other people, but it has to be a concerted effort,” said Pedro Colón , a Milwaukee Democrat and the first Hispanic member of the Wisconsin Assembly (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Aug. 11, 2008).
Pedro says that the approach to issues aimed at appealing to Latinos needs to be comprehensive: Taxes, jobs, health care, education, job training.
And one issue of central concern to Latino families: Gangs and crime.
“This quality-of-life and public-safety issue is often overlooked in attempting to address Latinos’ concerns,” said Pedro. “But Latinos, like everyone else, will not tolerate crime against the family. The family unit and the home are unbreakable bonds that crime attacks.”
As always, please send Pedro your concerns and thoughts.
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A Historic Election for America
Posted Aug 08 at 2 PM
- Vote for Pedro Colón on September 9! -
Talking to neighbors this summer, Pedro has heard the voices of the people of Milwaukee’s Eighth assembly district.
Words of alarm and sometimes discouragement are voiced on issues ranging from health care, home safety, taxes, outsourcing of American jobs, the War in Iraq, to the plight of our veterans.
Seeing Vietnam-era veterans in our neighborhoods—haunted, an enduring look of disbelief in their eyes—we worry about the new generation of veterans as 100,000s of heroes come home traumatized and wounded, changed forever.
Yet underlying the anxiety of our hard-working families of all hues and varieties is the undeniable excitement of the 2008 election.
The citizen engagement, the historic campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and the demand for change have made the 2008 election (with the expected highest voter turnout in 40 years) a turning point in American history.
Our neglected veterans, our brothers and sisters looking for jobs or working for too little, and those seeking health care are all with us as we make 2008 a historic moment, reclaiming the obligation that hard-working families can seize the American Dream.
Look back here for updates as our campaign continues through the summer and fall.
As always, please send Pedro your concerns and thoughts
