Francesca Hong
Progressive
Democrat
N/A
Wisconsin
Current Position: State Assembly Member WI-76
Running For: N/A
Policy Positions
Economic Policy
- For a public bank to finance affordable housing construction and small business loans
- For zoning reform to streamline affordable housing construction
- For investing in community land trusts and limited-equity co-ops to expand low- and moderate-income homeownership
- For a local option income tax to let municipalities fund services beyond property tax increases
- For closing the estate tax loophole on non-farm estates between $5 million and $15 million
- For reforming the Manufacturing and Agricultural Tax Credit to eliminate loopholes benefiting billionaires and large corporations
- For increased public defender funding to address overwhelming caseloads
- For capping utility costs at 2% of income for energy-burdened households
- For removing the hard income cap ($37,650) that causes people with disabilities to lose Medicaid and disability benefits
- For tax-free ABLE savings accounts for people with disabilities
- For allowing parents of minor children with disabilities to receive caregiver wages (closing a loophole that currently only allows this after the child turns 18)
- For ending veteran homelessness as a cabinet-level priority, including reinstating the Veterans Housing and Recovery program
- For Regional Transit Authorities with dedicated revenue options and transit-oriented development
Business & Labor
- For universal childcare with no or capped out-of-pocket costs, modeled on New Mexico and Vermont programs
- For restoring collective bargaining rights for public university workers and repealing Act 10
- For a $20 minimum wage indexed to cost of living
- For universal paid leave for all workers including the self-employed
- For classifying gig workers as employees; against legislation narrowing the definition of employment to exclude gig workers
- For expanding Medicaid (BadgerCare), establishing a public health insurance option, and supporting federal Medicare for All
- For requiring large nonprofit hospital systems to use their tax exemptions for community benefits and subsidized care
- For repair-and-deduct legislation allowing tenants to deduct repair costs from rent when landlords fail habitability standards
- For a one-year moratorium on data center construction; against public subsidies for AI data centers without strict community benefit, renewable energy, and public ownership requirements
- For banning AI-based employment decisions without human oversight; against algorithmic wage surveillance; for worker protections during AI-driven layoffs
- For AI regulations including banning personalized 'desperation' pricing, algorithmic rent collusion, algorithmic insurance claim denials, and restricting police use of AI surveillance
- For repealing Act 10 and enshrining constitutional rights for all workers, public and private, to organize and collectively bargain
- For repealing Wisconsin's right-to-work law (2015 Wisconsin Act 1) and reinstating prevailing wage requirements
- For banning non-compete clauses in employment contracts
- For banning captive audience anti-union meetings by employers
- For restoring union workers' ability to deduct union dues from state income taxes
- For constitutional protection of abortion rights in Wisconsin and expanding the definition of reproductive justice to include childcare and paid leave access
- For fair wages, health and safety standards, and overtime pay for all farm workers including immigrant farm workers
- For right-to-repair legislation requiring manufacturers to make repair documentation, parts, and tools available to device owners and independent repair providers
- For a living wage requirement for home health aides under Medicaid
- For publicly owned grocery stores in food deserts and underserved communities
- For antimonopoly regulations and cracking down on private equity acquisitions that harm workers, communities, and healthcare access
Health Care
- For cracking down on insurance claim denials and mandating coverage for medically necessary care
- For negotiating lower prescription drug costs through pooled state purchasing
- For mandating safe nurse/aide staffing ratios in hospitals and nursing homes
- For enabling community hospital districts to issue bonds to purchase and sustain local healthcare facilities
- For removing copays and prior authorization requirements for mental health and substance use care
Education
- For free school meals for all children
- For fully funding public schools, public universities, and tech colleges; against voucher programs that divert public funds to private schools
- For increasing special education funding in Wisconsin (currently only ~40% state-funded)
- For shifting K-12 school funding from property taxes to a progressive income tax on households earning over $1 million and large corporations, estimated to cut property taxes by ~44%
- For extending in-state college tuition rates to DACA recipients living in Wisconsin
Environment
- For reducing Wisconsin carbon emissions 52% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050; for a binding 100% clean electricity standard by 2040 and EV adoption incentives
- For comprehensive PFAS regulation including mandatory testing, polluter-funded cleanup, and opposing legislation limiting polluter liability
- For full 10-year reauthorization and funding of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship conservation program
- For strengthening agricultural antitrust enforcement against Big Ag consolidation and supporting small and family farmers
- For local government control over CAFO siting and required bonding for CAFO operations
Civil Rights
- For gender-affirming care as medically necessary; against legislation like AB 104 restricting access to gender-affirming care
- For stronger renter protections, aggressive regulation of slumlords, and a statewide Right to Counsel program for eviction proceedings
- For preventing legal retaliation against medical professionals providing gender-affirming care and educators using students' preferred pronouns; for adding gender identity and expression to Wisconsin's employment non-discrimination law
- For the right to boycott and peaceful protest; against legislation criminalizing protest or conflating protest with hate speech
Voting Rights & Democracy
- For campaign finance reform to counteract Citizens United, including publicly funded elections and limits on corporate campaign spending
- For an independent redistricting commission to draw fair electoral maps
- For automatic voter registration, early voting, free voter ID, and permanent vote by mail
Immigration & Foreign Affairs
- For abolishing ICE at the federal level; against using Wisconsin state resources to assist federal immigration enforcement; for sanctuary-style protections
- For allowing noncitizens without Social Security numbers to obtain state IDs
Public Safety
- For legalizing cannabis with a licensing system modeled on Michigan's, with expungement of prior convictions
- For abolishing slavery as a punishment for crimes in Wisconsin prisons; for improved conditions of confinement including hygiene, heating/cooling, and transparency
- For non-carceral community-based crime prevention programs
- For prison reentry programs and wraparound services to reduce recidivism
- Against life sentences for juvenile offenders
- For background checks, red flag laws, safe gun storage policies, and banning 3D-printed guns; for a special legislative session on gun safety
- For harm reduction approaches to opioid/substance use including expanded access to overdose reversal drugs and medication-assisted treatment in prisons and jails; against punitive/carceral strategies for substance use
- For making it a state felony for federal agents (including ICE) to be within 250 feet of a polling place
- For addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) crisis with legal navigation services, shelters, and crisis centers