As Butler enters Assembly race, Petyk bows out

EAU CLAIRE — As local author Nickolas Butler announced his candidacy for a state Assembly seat, incumbent Rep. Warren Petryk announced he would not seek re-election.

Butler, 44, of Fall Creek, officially announced his candidacy for the 93rd Assembly seat Monday at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 434 Hall and Training Center (formerly Little Red Elementary School.) Butler will run as a Democrat. He spoke of his love for this area, and noted he has written five books and numerous essays about western Wisconsin.

“If (voters) are curious who I am, it’s all there in the writing,” Butler said. “I care about people’s character, not their politics.”

If elected, Butler said one of his goals is to focus on health care for the Chippewa Valley.

“We need to address the health care crisis,” he said. “People are waiting too long in ERs, and we’ve lost jobs. It’s something we need to get to work on right away.”

Butler wrote a regular Friday column in the Leader-Telegram for the past five years. His final column ran May 10.

The redrawn 93rd Assembly Seat, which covers parts of Eau Claire, is now considered to lean toward Democrats.

Warren Petryk, R-Town of Washington, announced in an email Monday he won’t be seeking re-election. Petryk was elected to the Assembly in 2010.

“It is with a heart full of love and gratitude to the wonderful, remarkable, hard-working people of western Wisconsin that I write this letter with deep thanks for the bountiful blessings, the absolute privilege, and the distinct honor of serving as your representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly for these past 14 extraordinary years,” Petryk wrote in his retirement letter.

Petryk continued: “It is with mixed emotions that I contemplate not driving thousands of delightful miles each year through the pristine beauty of the hills and bluffs and fields of my district to spend quality time with each of you; that said, my old truck, and my old body, just might enjoy their upcoming respite from the mechanical wear and tear.”

Butler is not the only Democrat in the race. Christian Phelps, 30, of Eau Claire announced his candidacy in early April. Butler and Phelps will square off in an Aug. 13 primary.

Phelps made his own announcement Monday, saying in a press release he had turned in “approximately the maximum allowable number of signatures,” on petitions to put him on the ballot.

Butler grew up on the south side of Eau Claire and graduated from Memorial High School. He noted he has two children that attend public schools here.

Butler said he only recently decided to run for office.

“I want to talk to everyone,” he said. “If you are doing things for the right reasons, people want to support you.”

Currently, Republicans hold 64 of the 99 Assembly District seats and 22 of the 33 Senate District seats. The new Legislative maps that Gov. Tony Evers signed into law in February mean Republicans could hold about 52 seats in the Assembly after the November general election, and the Senate will be closer to an even split as well.

Each Assembly district has roughly 59,000 Wisconsin residents.