ADVOCACY
The highest-priority activities of WECA entail advocacy on behalf of its member cooperatives in legislative, regulatory, and other public policy forums at every level. This advocacy is conducted through direct lobbying of elected officials, through testimony in legislative and regulatory hearings, through co-op publications and the general print and broadcast media, and through informational presentations to co-op directors, employees, and members, to better equip them to pursue their own advocacy efforts. Consistently through the years, the WECA membership has made clear that it assigns the highest importance to this service provided by its statewide staff.
Marklein Presented with 2025 Stephen J. Freese Champion of Electric Cooperatives
April 2, 2025—Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), who serves as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, is the recipient of the 2025 Stephen J. Freese Champion of Electric Cooperatives Award. WECA President and CEO Rob Richard presented Marklein with the award at WECA’s Education and Lobby Days event in Madison on Tuesday, April 1.
Marklein, who represents State Senate District 17, was selected for the award for his commitment and support of Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives. He sponsored Assembly Bill 352 to strengthen cooperative governance and credit extension, helped re-establish co-ops’ eligibility for the Wisconsin Disaster Fund, supported $2 million in disaster assistance funding for Washington Island, and supported bipartisan legislation to expand EV charging in the state. He is also the recipient of the 2019 “Enlightened Legislator of the Year Award,” and regularly meets with leadership at co-ops in his district, including Oakdale, Richland, Scenic Rivers, and Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative. He also promotes programs such as Focus on Energy to help rural businesses and co-op members save on energy costs.
WECA Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec sat down with Marklein at WECA’s Education and Lobby Days event in Madison to talk about key issues. Marklein said he is concerned about rural Wisconsin losing its voice in Madison.
“As far as our rural areas, lost population is a very, very big concern of mine and should be a concern of everybody. When you look at the rural school districts, and I've got over 30 school districts in my district, their enrollment is dropping and it's related to the farms and related to our rural economy,” Marklein said. “Now more and more of your legislators are from urban areas and fewer and fewer from rural backgrounds, so your voices need to be loud.”
Marklein was raised on a dairy farm in Spring Green and worked as an accountant with a focus on fraud until his retirement. He was President Pro Tempore of the state Senate from 2017 through 2021. He also served four years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 51st Assembly District.
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| Senator Howard Marklein and WECA Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec |
