Cory has called Racine home all his life, and he hopes you’ll join him in his campaign to build an even stronger community. After graduating from public schools here, Cory went on to the University of Wisconsin...
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Healthcare Reform — Cory held his first town hall meeting in April and invited the three statewide proponents of healthcare reform.  They each had a plan of their own, but all three would reduce costs by at least 15% and cover 98% of our residents. Over 100 people came to the event. 

Supporting Education — Cory has signed on with some of his colleagues to require the Legislature to adequately fund K-12 education, as mandated by our state Constitution.  For too long we have been pitting students against property tax payers.  It’s time to find a viable solution to make sure kids get the education they deserve.

Raising the Minimum Wage — The first bill that Cory introduced was to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and then raise it every year thereafter at the rate of inflation.  If it passed, it would mean a raise for 225,000 families in Wisconsin. 

Infant Mortality Prevention — Cory has worked with the Racine Infant Mortality Coalition to convince the state Joint Finance Committee to allocate $250,000 to Racine to address our high infant mortality rate.  Racine’s rates are twice the state average and the highest in the country for African Americans.  We hope the resources help the city get mothers the care they need.

Protecting our Great Lakes — An historic compact was agreed upon in 2005 to protect Great Lakes water from being diverted to other parts of the country not in the basin.  Cory will be working hard this year in the Natural Resources Committee to pass the compact in Wisconsin.  He will be spending the last two weeks in July traveling around the great lakes to help build support for the compact.

Sunshine on Government — Cory introduced a bill to allow the public to have full access to the Legislature’s deliberations.  Right now the Legislature adjourns into closed door “caucus” meetings that shut the public out. 

Restoring the Root River — In Cory's capacity as a state Representative and a River Alliance Board member, he was happy to announce that the Root River will receive $30,000 from the Coastal Management Authority to plan for future development along Root River in the City of Racine.  DNR Secretary Hassett was with him at the Root River on May 12 to announce the grant just before he, Senator Lehman, 40 canoe enthusiasts, and Cory paddled down the Root River from Lincoln Park to the mouth of the River.

Saving SeniorCare — Representative Mason is one of many legislators fighting to save SeniorCare. Over 100 legislators urged the U.S. Congress to extend the program, and we were pleased to learn that the program was extended for another 2 and 1/2 years.  Now, seniors continue to have access to affordable prescription drugs,

Bringing Jobs to Our Community — Representative Mason co-chairs a committee with Rep. Bob Turner to help ensure jobs for local residents when the Department of Transportation rebuilds I-94 in Racine and Kenosha Counties.

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"I’ve known Cory Mason for years and I know the good work he has done. Cory will walk into the Legislature on his first day ready to fight as hard as I have for the people of 62nd District." – Rep. John Lehman

Our family:

One child's curiosity fueled Obama machine

By John Nichols  —  2/19/2008 7:07 am
THE CAPITAL TIMES
Available at: captimeseditorial.htm
 

If Barack Obama scores a major victory in Wisconsin tonight, he might want to thank Cory Mason's niece.

After Mason was elected to the state Assembly in November 2006, the 35-year-old Racine Democrat -- who is, along with Kenosha state Sen. Bob Wirch, one of the most serious readers in the Legislature -- picked up Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope."

Mason was reading the Illinois senator's agenda-setting text during the Thanksgiving break, and his 6-year-old niece asked him about the man on the cover.

"He might run for president," Mason told her.

"Can he do that?" asked the girl, who like Obama enjoys a biracial heritage.

"I was already sold on Obama," Mason explained in a recent conversation about his unique role in Obama's Wisconsin primary run. "The way he was framing politics was so new, so powerful. He was talking in a way I've always wanted to hear a presidential candidate talk -- about organizing people into a movement for change, not just a campaign. But then I knew I had to make a real commitment to get this man elected."

A commitment from Mason means something.

He's one of the most conscientious members of the Legislature -- and, arguably, the most determined booster Racine has in a Capitol where the southeastern Wisconsin city's representatives are not shy about demanding that the state respond to needs created by rapid de-industrialization. And he's also a savvy political organizer. Before he was elected to the Assembly, Mason was the political director for the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin union. Few people know the politics of the state -- and especially Racine, where he is a fifth-generation native -- as well as he does.

Over the course of a full year -- he endorsed Obama last February -- Mason personally recruited many of the 17 legislators who endorsed Obama, with an early assist from another Democratic freshman, Oshkosh's Gordon Hintz. And long before Obama was being treated all that seriously nationally, Mason was organizing for him in Racine, an old-school Democratic community that might once have been thought of as solid Hillary Clinton turf.

In fact, when Obama appeared in Racine last week, he drew an overflow crowd of more than 3,500 people to Memorial Hall, a lakefront auditorium that for decades has hosted the city's largest political events, including a 1968 campaign visit by former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, whose reactionary politics of something other than hope once stirred a good deal of support in southeastern Wisconsin.

Classically, Mason eschewed the limelight and spent most of his time making sure that Obama met with members of the diverse community he represents. But the Illinois senator, himself a former organizer, noticed and made no secret of his appreciation for Mason.

There is no question that, if Obama wins the Democratic nomination and goes to the White House, he will have many Wisconsinites to thank -- from Gov. Jim Doyle to Congressman Dave Obey and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. But the senator knows he owes a unique debt to a young legislator who was with him from the start -- and to a 6-year-old girl who helped convince Cory Mason that this had to be more than just another campaign.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times.

John Nichols  —  2/19/2008 7:07 am

 

 
Authorized and paid for by Friends of Mason, Roseann Mason, Treasurer