Building Bridges

When the votes were tallied and the winners announced, 16 new American Majority – trained leaders had won their races in Wisconsin’s spring elections. One of the most vital victories in the state consisted of three candidates who ran as a team and flipped the Wausau school district in favor of conservative values. Karen Vandenberg, Jon Creisher and Cody Nikolai advocated for reopening the schools and working to close the achievement gap that resulted from the extensive closures. Now with them taking their positions in office, we hope to see lasting change in the community.

 “It was a really great relationship between all three of us,” Vandenberg said. “We had very similar ideas and goals for what we were looking for but also brought different strengths to the table. And it also divided the burden of campaigning, we weren’t doing it all alone whether it was fundraising or door knocking or organizing any number of the things that we did.”

Our Wisconsin team had the privilege of training each of them and providing them with the tools they needed to engage with voters and convey their message in a way that engaged their hearts and not just their minds. With our materials in hand, they triumphed over the opposition and the vicious negative attacks that were thrown their way.

For Karen Vandenberg, the decision to run for school board was not made lightly. As a mother of four and a physical therapist, she wasn’t sure she would have time to dedicate to the race. Many children struggled in the initial shut downs, but Vandenberg quickly saw how her daughter with special education needs was not receiving the support that she needed through a virtual format. As fall approached with seemingly no end in sight to the school closures, she knew something had to be done, not only for her own children, but countless others in the district were struggling with a virtual-only format.

“It just seemed to be an emotionally-driven decision. I didn’t have any confidence moving forward that the decisions would be based on local data or metrics. It continued to be an emotional narrative and I just had to get involved,” she told us.

Soon after throwing her hat in the ring, she and her team discovered how negative the other side was willing to get. Yet she, along with Jon Creisher and Cody Nikolai, steered away from the mudslinging. 

American Majority prides itself on providing candidates and activists alike with tools to craft their message in such a way that it engages voters.

“I think that’s something that was really effective in our win up here,” Vandenberg said. “We completely stayed out of the mud and I think it made all the difference because I think people, at least in our community, are so tired of that no matter which side it’s coming from. I believe that we gained a lot of moderate individuals and we were told that some actually left the support of the other three candidates as a result of that negativity.”

That notion was compounded each time she met a new member of the community as she and the other candidates went door-to-door. They stood their ground and held a respectful campaign that had integrity and just talked about the facts of the race. The vote tallies reflected that.

While in office, Vandenberg wants to see her district become the place where people want to move to so their children have a chance to go to those schools.

“The culture right now in our district with both the district and the community has really suffered as a result of poor decision making based on no metrics, so I want to improve that dynamic. But also the culture between the teachers and the administration has been unhealthy and I want to be a bridge builder in those places.”

She hopes that the lessons learned both on the campaign trail and in her training with American Majority will make her a better board member.

“I want to be someone who is effective on the board, not just coming in with some kind of preset agenda,” she explained. “I hope that all that experience will make me more effective on the board in order to listen to all the voices at the table and then come to a decision where at least everyone feels heard even if everyone doesn’t feel like they agree.”

To take a training like the one Jon received, you can find our training calendar HERE or request a training in your community HERE. We also have online courses available 24/7 that can be taken at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home!