Brienne Brown
DemocraticQ1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these positions?
AI is an extraordinary technology that will change our lives, but it needs safeguards for privacy, security, intellectual property, and workers’ rights. People deserve transparency when AI influences consequential decisions and a way to challenge errors. I coauthored SB 142 to prevent algorithms from being used to fix rents.
I cosponsored AB 722 to establish guardrails for data centers, protect public health and the environment, and prevent their energy costs from being shifted onto other utility customers. I support local input, protection of water supplies and farmland, disclosure of resource use, and requiring companies to pay for necessary infrastructure. I would also require financial assurance, such as bonds, to cover pollution cleanup and safe closure so taxpayers are not left with the bill.
My public health background informs my focus on prevention and accountability. I follow reporting in Wired, The Economist, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, and The New Yorker. Policy should also draw on independent research and input from workers, educators, utilities, and affected communities.
KEYWORDS: innovation, safeguards, accountability
Q2 Making the US competitive in the bioeconomy (using technology applied to renewable biological resources to produce food, energy and industrial goods) requires innovation and investments in business, academia and government. Please describe policies you will support, if any, that relate to workforce development in Wisconsin’s strengths such as agriculture, biotechnology, and energy; and explain their rationale.
Wisconsin should build on its strengths in agriculture, biotechnology, and energy through the Wisconsin Idea: connecting public research with practical improvements in people’s lives.
I support stronger funding for UW research and agricultural Extension, with farmers helping shape research on crop resilience, soil health, and renewable biological resources. Grants and technical assistance should help family farms, cooperatives, and small businesses bring innovations to market.
I would expand paid apprenticeships and technical college partnerships in biotechnology, food processing, clean energy, and equipment maintenance. Childcare and transportation assistance would make training more accessible.
I am optimistic about responsibly developed nuclear energy, including fission and research toward fusion, with rigorous safety standards and responsible waste management. I also support investment in high-speed rail to connect communities, expand access to jobs, and create skilled construction and operating careers.
Public investments should create safe, well-paid jobs, protect land and water, and build a durable middle class.
KEYWORDS: Research, sustainability, investment
Q3 Wisconsin’s public K-12 education systems have seen a significant decline in the past two decades, with more than 600 public schools closing and statewide student enrollment dropping 7%. These impacts have been especially pronounced in Wisconsin’s many rural counties, where opportunities for STEM education are already fewer. What policies, if any, would you support to improve K-12 education for students across Wisconsin?
Every Wisconsin child deserves a strong public school, regardless of ZIP code. I support increasing state funding to reduce reliance on property taxes and strengthening special education reimbursement so schools can meet students’ needs.
I would expand early dual-language instruction and hands-on learning through science, the arts, outdoor education, and career exploration. Regional partnerships among schools, technical colleges, UW campuses, and employers could bring STEM courses, laboratories, and apprenticeships to rural students.
I also support public magnet schools focused on the arts, mathematics, science, and other specialties, drawing inspiration from Austin, Texas, where I went to a magnet math and science academy. Regional planning should ensure accessible admissions and transportation while strengthening neighborhood schools.
Teaching should be a highly respected, well-paid profession. I support rigorous, competitive teacher preparation, extensive classroom practice, paid student teaching, mentoring, and collective bargaining. Schools also need counselors, nurses, librarians, nutritious meals, and mental health services. These investments would help students thrive and prepare for careers, further education, and civic life.
KEYWORDS: Access, excellence, investment
Q5 If elected, in what capacities would you refer to scientists when you are deciding how to vote on a policy?
As a former public health scientist who gathered, analyzed, and reported data, including longitudinal analysis, I understand that reliable science takes time. Following patterns over years can reveal what a short-term study cannot, and careful research requires sustained funding and patience.
I would consult scientists with relevant expertise when considering policies affecting health, education, agriculture, energy, and the environment. I would give particular weight to peer-reviewed research and the broader body of evidence, asking about methods, uncertainty, funding sources, and potential conflicts of interest.
My responsibility is to weigh that evidence alongside community experience and public needs, explain my decisions clearly, and remain willing to revise policies when credible new evidence emerges.
KEYWORDS: Evidence, rigor, patience
Q7 Wisconsin has faced an increasing number of infectious disease outbreaks in recent years, for instance with rising numbers of measles and avian influenza cases that threaten human health and agricultural industry, respectively. What policies, if any, would you support to manage the burden of infectious disease in the state and respond to future outbreaks?
As a former public health scientist, I would invest in research, reliable data collection, and early detection of infectious disease. Wisconsin needs sustained funding for local and Tribal health departments, laboratories, epidemiologists, and public health nurses.
I support accessible vaccination through school and community clinics and rural outreach, paired with clear information from trusted healthcare professionals. Public health agencies, veterinarians, farmers, and UW researchers should coordinate human and animal health monitoring to identify threats early.
Farms and agricultural workers need affordable testing, protective equipment, biosecurity training, and support that makes prompt reporting feasible. We should maintain laboratory capacity, essential supplies, and outbreak response plans with clear responsibilities across agencies.
I also support paid sick leave so workers can stay home when ill without losing essential income. Prevention and preparedness require ongoing investment, with policies guided by evidence and updated as we learn.
KEYWORDS: Prevention, Preparedness, Coordination