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I'm committed to honestly & accurately describing the sharp differences between our views. Cataloging Sen. Hesselbein's positions since 2012 across dozens of multifaceted issues across news, campaign materials, & legislative records is hard. I promise to correct the record when I make mistakes. I've spoken with Sen. Hesselbein about where she thinks I've erred, & I've updated my descriptions to better represent her views.
We've communicated by email, spoke in person at LaborFest, & may do so again. Of course, she may still object to my characterizations of those facts.
Marijuana: Sen. Hesselbein's 2022 campaign website touted her support for medical marijuana but said nothing about recreational marijuana. She posted a Facebook video in March saying it was past time to legalized recreational marijuana, so I assumed that's when she updated her position. She says she supported recreational use in her 2012 campaign, & I found a NORML score card that shows her earlier support. I apologize for my mistake.
Data Centers: Sen. Hesselbein want me to be clear that her support for data centers depends on local officials approving it. But local governments are often unrepresentative of & unresponsive to local residents.
I oppose building data centers period. If the state defers to local preferences, it has to be by referendum, where the people of the community vote to approve, not by the local government.
Education funding: Sen. Hesselbein says the June 2026 school funding compromise she helped Republicans pass over the objections of progressive legislators was the best she could do, and that she would do more with a Democratic majority. However, the bill was sharply criticized by the teachers' union WEAC (which called Sen. Hesselbein out by name) & opposed by progressives who wanted Sen. Hesselbein to refuse action until 2027 when Democrats may have a majority. Sen. Hesselbein points out that WEAC still endorsed her a month later, but WEAC appears to have endorsed most Democrats running.
Sen. Hesselbein has said she wants full funding for public schools, but she has also told me privately she's not sure if there is enough revenue to get there, which is another way of saying she doesn't plan to raise enough revenue to fully fund it.
I support universal free school meals, she does not. Again, an unwillingness to raise revenue to do it.
Healthcare: I belatedly found a news article with Sen. Hesselbein supporting a public option, but it is a weak version of the plan -- it doesn't include single-payer power to dramatically bring costs down, and it's not a universal healthcare program.
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