Madison attorney Shabnam Lotfi, a University of Wisconsin Law School graduate, has announced that she’s running for the Wisconsin State Assembly seat being vacated by retiring State Representative Terese Berceau.
“It’s time to end the blame game on the children of Wisconsin, particularly those in minority neighborhoods, by a Republican-controlled legislature who’d rather put money into a bloated and ineffective incarceration system than focus on supporting our kids,” Lotfi said in a statement. “I’ve been an American citizen for 25 years, but I know first hand the feeling of being stared at and the pain of being called a terrorist simply because of the way you look or how your name sounds. We have to make a steadfast commitment to start our kids off right. We have to have zero tolerance for bullying, and we have to fully fund our public schools to get all of our kids to an equal starting line.”
Lotfi, who is Muslim, is an immigration lawyer who has worked with employers, families, students, exchange visitors, physicians, investors, and others on their immigration issues.
“A millennial woman of color with a different-sounding name might not be the first person you think of as someone who has a shot at winning a tough race for the State Assembly, but I actually think my journey is what has prepared me for this moment,” Lotfi said in a press release announcing her candidacy. “It’s what led me to study law at UW, what led me to start my immigration law practice here in Madison, and what gives me a unique understanding of the residents of this district.”
The 77th District includes the near west side of the City of Madison, including much of the University of Wisconsin campus, as well as parts of the City of Fitchburg, the Village of Shorewood Hills, and parts of the Towns of Blooming Grove and Madison.
“If there’s one word that describes most of the people I talk to, that word is exhausted,” the 35-year-old Lotfi said in press release. “People are tired and frustrated, and they’re turning off the news because they find it toxic. Our community doesn’t believe government is working for us. We believe the establishment is bought and paid for. I’m running for the Assembly to make government work for us.”
At the age of four, Lotfi and her parents fled war-torn Iran and immigrated to the United States. She said it’s her memories of living surrounded by war that made her an advocate for peace and gave her passion and appreciation for the adoptive country and state she calls home.
“When you’ve smelled death, felt the heat of bombs, and heard the screams of women, it sears into you a pretty deep conviction in terms of being an advocate for gun control and the safety and rights of women and children,” Lotfi said in a statement. “But those childhood experiences also gave me a real appreciation for the unique opportunities we have as Americans—opportunities that people in most other countries don’t have — and our duty to fight to protect our freedoms.”
Lotfi said her campaign will focus on four issues: the University of Wisconsin, the environment, government reform, and creating a better future for kids.
Lotfi joins three other Democrats vying for Berceau’s seat including Dane County Supervisor Sheila Stubbs, Wisconsin Brewers Guild president Mark Garthwaite and Wisconsin Environmental Initiative director John Imes also have formally announced they’re running.
