Retired Stevens Point cop announces Democratic bid to unseat Republican state Sen. Patrick Testin
Alan Hovorka
STEVENS POINT - State Democrats are pinning their hopes on a former Stevens Point police officer to take back a historically blue state Senate seat in November.
Paul Piotrowski, a 56-year-old Stevens Point resident, announced his candidacy late Friday afternoon for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican state Sen. Patrick Testin in the 24th Senate District. Piotrowski made the announcement at the Stevens Point Police Department, which he spent almost 30 years of his life serving. Piotrowski made his announcement alongside his friends and family, state Sen. Janet Bewley, D-Mason, and Portage County Democratic Party co-Chair Jan Way.
Democrats view the seat as one of their best pickup chances in the state Senate in November, Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki said in an interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Testin, also of Stevens Point, has not yet formally kicked off his reelection campaign, but recent financial disclosures show he raised about $142,000 in 2019 and starts 2020 with almost $240,000 on hand.
In introducing Piotrowski on Friday, Way said Piotrowski made the area a better place through his service and leadership as a police officer and volunteer work, highlighting his ability to listen.
"I think he's going to be a really good listener for us. I know that he's a good friend. He's a good Democrat, and he's a good person," Way said.
The son of a Consolidated Papers union worker, Piotrowski is a lifelong Democrat, a longtime local elections official and served in union leadership at the Stevens Point Police Department, including as president. He also briefly served as Stevens Point city clerk in 2018 and 2019.
"I'm running for the state Senate because we deserve a stronger voice than we have in Madison. Families in central Wisconsin need someone that they can rely on and trust. From my time serving in the Navy to protecting our community as a police officer right here in Stevens Point, I know how to fight for issues impacting families every single day," Piotrowski said during his announcement.
Piotrowski criticized Testin for not being what he called an independent voice, citing Testin's votes supporting 2018 lame-duck session laws that limited the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul. Piotrowski also criticized Testin's recent support of using a state surplus for a $250 million tax cut, which state Democrats support using for funding schools.
In an interview before his announcement, Piotrowski said his major issues will be Medicaid expansion and health care, water quality, school funding and gerrymandering.
"We are lagging on wages, on jobs and on education. All because we have a political system that is rigged in favor of powerful special interests at the expense of hardworking and middle class families trying to get ahead," Piotrowski said during his announcement.
Piotrowski is a Stevens Point native who graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High in 1982 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1986.
The U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, accepted him for study in 1987 as a cryptologic officer. He graduated in the top 10% of his class in 1987 as part of a reserve building program and was commissioned as a Navy Reserve officer that same year.
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Piotrowski spent two years on active duty with the National Security Agency at the National Information Security Assessment Center in Fort Meade, Maryland. Piotrowski said his work with the NSA remains classified but focused on information security for the U.S. Department of Defense. Piotrowski's time with the Navy Reserve ended in 1995.
Piotrowski said he didn't always want to become a police officer, but the idea came to him after a break-in at his Maryland apartment, where he restrained the suspect until police arrived. Work with the NSA required him to be in windowless rooms for hours on end and wasn't the easiest career for having a family, so he opted to come home and join the Stevens Point Police Department in 1990.
He retired in 2017 after working patrol shifts for 20 years, most of which he spent as a supervisor and a sergeant, and almost eight years as a community resource officer.
After retirement, he had stints with Sentry Insurance and the Transportation Security Administration at the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee until he was appointed interim Stevens Point city clerk in October 2018 after longtime clerk John Moe resigned. Piotrowski previously had 20 years of experience working elections in Stevens Point, including eight years as a poll worker and 12 as a precinct chief.
Piotrowski then ran unopposed in a special election in April 2019 to finish Moe's unexpired term, which ends in 2021. Piotrowski resigned in December to prepare for his Senate bid after state and local Democrats approached him about running in November.
Piotrowski has long been a behind-the-scenes member of the local party in trying to help elect Democrats. He first knocked on doors for Gov. Tony Earl's campaign while in high school. In college, U.S. Rep. Dave Obey's campaign paid him as a campus coordinator. He also campaigned for his college friend, former state Sen. Kevin Shibilski and has served as an at-large member of the Portage County Democratic Party's executive committee.
"I've pounded doors, made phone calls, helped put out yard signs for lots of other people. And I'm at a point in my life where I'm able to devote full time to campaigning," Piotrowski said.
The 24th Senate District race will have Piotrowski and Testin campaigning across a large swath of central Wisconsin that covers all or portions of Adams, Jackson, Monroe, Wood, Portage and Waushara counties. Testin won the district by about 4,000 votes in 2016, defeating then-incumbent Democratic state Sen. Julie Lassa of Stevens Point.
Testin is the first Republican to hold the seat in at least 35 years, said Ed Miller, a retired political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The district’s conservative flip in 2016 was a result of a lower-than-normal voter turnout across the state, the historic nature of Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Legislature's redrawing of the district to exclude Marshfield and include more rural and conservative areas in 2011, Miller said.
Campaign dollars will play a significant role in this race, mirroring a national political dynamic, Miller said.
Testin reported raising about $400,000 and spending about $354,000 in 2016, when he defeated Lassa.
Miller said voters can expect significant amounts of money to flow into the district this year, outpacing the amount Testin raised and spent in 2016. Miller said large amounts are likely to come from outside the district.
"It'll be a significant amount of spending because, if you look at the maps they drew, the fact is that there are very few districts that are competitive," Miller said.
Republican strategist Brandon Scholz said in an interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that Testin will be a formidable opponent for Democrats for a variety of reasons, including the strong ground game he showed in 2016, proven fundraising strength and his inherent incumbent advantage.
Piotrowski's resume, however, has some strong positives for Democrats in his years of service to his community as a police officer as well as being a locally grown union man, Scholz said. He noted he major obstacle for Piotrowski will be doing the hard work of building a campaign.
"The task in front of Mr. Piotrowski is strong and looming," Scholz said.
State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling said Democrats are excited to have Piotrowski in the race because of his passion for public service and the background and perspective he brings as a former police officer and a longtime civil servant. She said she thinks he'll be a strong advocate for the middle class, small businesses and schools.
"He just brings a desire to represent people and be engaged and lead in a new way," Shilling said.
Candidates for state senate are required to file nomination papers by June 1 in order to appear on the ballot. If needed, a primary will be held on Aug. 11. The general election will occur on Nov. 3.
For information about registering to vote and polling locations, people can visit MyVote Wisconsin's website,myvote.wi.gov.
Contact reporter Alan Hovorka at 715-345-2252 or ahovorka@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ajhovorka.