MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — A federal office candidate made a stop in Central Wisconsin to tour a manufacturer Wednesday.
Current State Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Godlewski made a stop in Merrill to FreMarq Innovations. FreMarq is a manufacturer of aluminum curtain walls that reduce energy costs using a patented thermal barrier material. They have done curtain wall projects for buildings like Discovery World in Milwaukee, Wausau on the Water in Wausau, and Citi Field in New York City.
Godlewski says she chose to tour FreMarq as they are a model manufacturing company for the state of Wisconsin. “They’re doing great work for the community. They’re hiring important people that are providing good jobs.
“And at the same time, they’re providing a good product that’s addressing climate change and is critical to construction. And in Wisconsin we are a manufacturing economy, and so we need to do everything we can to support businesses like FreMarq.”
Along with providing good jobs and good products, Godlewski praised FreMarq for their employee retention in a time when good employees are hard to come by. “I think the big thing I took away from across Wisconsin is going into employees. You know there is this unique ability to hire people when you take care of your employees, they’ll stay with you. And as we’re seeing lower unemployment.
“Right here at FreMarq they pay their people really well, they give them quality healthcare, and they stay with them. And they’re delivering an amazing product that is made right here in Wisconsin. And so that’s something that I’ve heard across the state is they worry about their employees and hiring. But if you take good care of your people, they’ll stay.”
But while FreMarq is a thriving manufacturing company, there do come issues that face many in the manufacturing industry. FreMarq owner Todd Frederick spoke of half-year wait times to get raw materials for projects and a general shortage of materials caused by both the COVID-19 pandemic and trade wars with other countries.
Godlewski says she’d look to help end poor trade practices that impact manufacturers if she goes to Washington. Another problem Godlewski heard from manufacturers regarded the rising costs for employee healthcare plans.
“If your people aren’t healthy, they can’t work. And while FreMarq is providing great healthcare for their employees, it’s at a cost. And so we know other businesses and manufacturing industries are struggling with that and making sure that they have the ability to provide quality affordable care.”
While Godlewski looks to make plans to address material shortages and rising healthcare costs, she’s critical of current Senator Ron Johnson and his lack of support for Wisconsin businesses. “I think one big thing is that Ron Johnson has been supporting these trade wars and that’s bad for our manufacturers. And we’ve got to change that. I mean we’ve got to do everything we can to support our manufacturers while Ron Johnson is actually encouraging that.
“You know the other big piece is health care. I mean the only thing that’s Senator Johnson has said is just get rid of the Affordable Care Act. And what we’ve heard today is that the Affordable Care Act has been very helpful. But there’s more that we need to be thinking about doing whether it’s making sure we lower the price of prescription drugs. And how can we help employers in thinking through how they structure healthcare plans in an affordable way.
“So to me this just comes down to important issues that are really critical to the success of our state. Because we know when our people do well, our state does well. And manufacturing is an important part of that story.”
Current State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski uses a demonstration aluminum curtain wall box made by FreMarq Innovations. Owners Todd and Renea Frederick explain the change in insulation used in the demonstration. (MWC file photo by Liz Holbrook)
Godlewski is just one of several Democratic candidates vying for the nomination to run against a Republican challenger in 2022. With names like Alex Lasry and Mandela Barnes in the mix, Godlewski says her history in the state as an elected representative and family history will help her to stand out above the crowd.
“This is not my first time running statewide. So my first time actually running a statewide campaign was to save the State Treasurers Office because I thought it was important to have checks and balances and transparency in government. That election we won with 63% of the vote which is a landslide.
“And then when I ran for State Treasurer I took more of the vote share than the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Attorney General. I actually flipped 9 counties that went for Trump. And so that I think is a big piece is you know people ask me how did you do that Sarah? Well as a 5th generation Wisconsinite I share values making sure that hard work is rewarded and that we take care of our community.
“The other big piece is that you know as my mom said God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, more listening and less talking. As an elected official I go to these communities and I listen. And I’m not just showing up for the first time. I mean I’ve been to Merrill 3 times before. And so I think that’s also really important is that we can’t just go to these communities, show up, and expect them to vote for us.
“You’ve got to show that you actually not only talk the talk but walk the walk in supporting communities across the state. And that’s what I’ve done as State Treasurer and that’s what I’ll do as a U.S. Senator.”
Godlewski is one of 8 currently announced candidates for the Wisconsin Senate seat up for grabs next year. Current Senator Ron Johnson has not announced whether he will run again in 2022 or keep to his 2016 campaign promise of only two terms in office.
