MEET CATHY

MY NAME IS CATHY MYERS, AND MY STORY STARTS AT A FAMILY TRUCK STOP IN THE HEART OF THE MIDWEST.

I’m the daughter of an army veteran and an Army Reserve nurse who started a small business running a truck stop, worked hard, and later added a diner. They worked tirelessly to give our family of six a middle-class life. It was a team effort. They, with the help of their employees, built something pretty great, and they taught us kids the value of hard work, public service, and taking responsibility for community and country.

My brothers, sister, and I have always lived those values in our own lives. Each of us started at the truckstop, picking up trash, waiting tables, washing dishes, painting, you name it. Mom and Dad always insisted that we start from the ground floor and work our way up. My siblings and I have worked hard to support our family to ensure everyone has a roof over their head and food on the table.

I understand what folks here are going through because I have had a few careers myself. I’ve been a radio station news producer, a child care provider, and, for 28 years, a public school teacher.

It hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes fighting for opportunity has meant going into debt, taking an extra job, or even taking some equity out of my home. But I’m proud, that like my parents, I have always been able to provide a fair shot and a decent opportunity to my kids.

I AM SO PROUD TO CALL JANESVILLE HOME.

Public service has been vitally important to me my entire life, so I have thrown myself into our community. I have been selected to the Advisory Committee on Appointments, I joined the board of the Red Road House continuum of care facility for chronic alcoholics and drug abusers. I have worked as a member of the Zonta Club of Janesville for women’s rights and empowerment. I have done grassroots organizing around local issues, national issues, and for many local campaigns. In 2013, I was elected to the Janesville School Board and reelected in 2016, 2019, and 2022. Along the way, I’ve developed the skills and tenacity to get things done. I’d like to use those skills to help the people of the 44th Assembly District.

I’m running because, for far too many, opportunity is slipping away. The middle class I was raised in is going away. I worry about our kids and the future they have to look forward to. I worry about the lack of support for public education and the high cost of a college education. But I also know this: ordinary Wisconsinites are capable of extraordinary things when we come together to demand a new direction. We are at that juncture in Wisconsin right now. I reject any notion that we can’t build an even better Wisconsin. I know it’s possible because I know people like you can help make it so.

So if you think now is the time for an Assembly Representative to represent the truckers, the teachers, the factory workers, and the small business owners; I am asking you to join this campaign.