AD 41: Incumbent Tony Kurtz (R) vs Julia Henley
The 41st Assembly District of Wisconsin is located in west-central Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Richland County, much of the north half of Sauk County, and parts of southern Juneau County, southern Adams County, and northwest Columbia County. It includes the cities of Reedsburg, Richland Center, and Wisconsin Dells, and the villages of Boaz, Cazenovia, Ironton, La Valle, Lake Delton, Lime Ridge, Loganville, Lone Rock, Lyndon Station, North Freedom, Rock Springs, Union Center, Viola, Wonewoc, and Yuba. The district also contains the Dells of the Wisconsin River State Natural Area, Mirror Lake State Park, Dell Creek State Wildlife Area, the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, and the Noah’s Ark Water Park.
Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc)
Incumbent first elected in 2018. Organic grain farmer. Former U.S. Army attack helicopter pilot 1985–2005, retired from active duty as a Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4); Persian Gulf War veteran; Iraq War veteran.
October 2018: On the topic of marijuana legalization, Kurtz said he’s against marijuana for recreational use. “A lot of people are intrigued by the dollar signs and the revenue they can get from that,” Kurtz said, adding there were drawbacks to legalization as well.
Oct 2018 He noted he would be open to medicinal use of marijuana if hemp proved ineffective.
He is a hemp farmer, or at least tried one year… he is pretty quit about everything.
During 2019, the Assembly Republicans prefiled a bill for the 2020 legislative session to create a medical marijuana program in Wisconsin (Assembly Bill 750) which he failed to co-sponsor and was not on board with any 2021-22 Republican efforts to decriminalize or allow medical marijuana.
During the 2023-24 legislation session, the Republicans authored their version of medical marijuana which drew large criticism from almost everyone. Kurtz was a co-sponsor of this controversial medical marijuana bill.
Kurtz Campaign Facebook Page has no message feature, but his email is KurtzForAssembly@gmail.com and Website
Julia Henley (D-Blue River)
There are 99 state Assembly seats and 16 state Senate seats on the ballot this November. The ACLU of Wisconsin sent a questionnaire to all candidates to gauge their positions on access to contraception and IVF, classroom censorship, marijuana legalization, and more.
Julia Henley expressed support for legalization of marijuana. She emphasized that sensible policies that protect children are appropriate and doable.
Julia Henley Assembly 41 Facebook Page and Campaign Website
Stay tuned and get active!
I will provide you additional 2024 Wisconsin State Election coverage throughout the campaign season. This next election is extremely important for marijuana reform and I will continue to bring you information as more candidates make their political moves.
In the event that we end up with divided government in the 2024-25 legislation session, the official formation of The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus would be a must first step towards reform. The official establishment of this Caucus will represent the growing, bipartisan support in Wisconsin.
Although session as ended we still urge you to contact your elected officials. The top four action alerts are still functionable on The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Action Network for you immediate use.
Sources: CNanalysis (Very Likely Rep +15) WisPolitics /2024 Assembly Races (60% Rep), Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps