Madison alder Nasra Wehelie is throwing her hat into the ring to represent District 80 in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The longtime Madisonian has made it official with a press release this morning.
If Wehelie wins, she will become the first Muslim woman in the Wisconsin State Legislature in the history of the state.
“It would be historic and something I would be very proud of, but also I feel it’s an opportunity to bring key issues to the Capitol and a chance to have more communication with other colleagues to make an impact on Wisconsin,” Wehelie tells Madison365 in an interview at Cargo Coffee on Park Street on Madison’s South Side. “I am a great candidate because I’m always hard working and I like to do things for people and for communities. I do what’s best for my District 7 that I serve in Madison and want to do the same serving District 80 for the Wisconsin State Assembly. I always look into the issues and listen to constituents.”
Wehelie is the current District 7 alder, representing Madison’s West Side. She was appointed to the District 7 alder seat in November 2020 and later ran for her first full term as District 7 alder unopposed in April 2021, and again in the April 2023 spring election. In addition to her role as an alder, Wehelie is the founder and CEO for Empathy 4 Equity LLC, which aims to develop strategies for building a “culture of empathy” within organizations to better connect employees and their communities.
The new legislative maps in Wisconsin, Wehelie says, created a great opportunity for her to enter the race in District 80. Mike Bare, a policy analyst and a Democrat from Verona, has represented Wisconsin’s 80th Assembly district since January 2023.
“District 80 moved from Verona, New Glarus, and Mt. Horeb towards Madison. So the new map consists of almost 54 percent of Madison residents and that’s an opportunity to represent Madison constituents,” she says. “So as a Madison Common Council alder, I thought that would be a great opportunity for me to make a more meaningful change in the State Assembly.
“I think it’s important to have diversity in the Wisconsin State Legislature … people bringing different perspectives and different ideas and different issues that they can tackle,” Wehelie says. “The other reason why I’m running is that in today’s climate, there’s no collaboration. There are Democrats and there are Republicans and the majority of the people are in the middle. People are not talking about the issues; they’re seeing party loyalties, but then we often forget about the people that we serve. And for me, it’s important to listen to those individuals who are really affected by the issues.”
Before becoming an alderperson, Wehelie served as the director of development and communications for Second Harvest Foodbank, the development director for Madison-area Urban Ministry (now called JustDane), and worked for the United Way of Dane County. She also founded the Muslim Youth of Madison, whose mission is to bring Muslim youth together and provide them the venue to carry out recreational, educational, spiritual and charitable activities.
Wehelie immigrated to Wisconsin from Somalia to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in international relations. She would later earn a master of business administration (MBA) from Cardinal Stritch University. One of the key reasons she says that she is running for the Wisconsin State Assembly is to champion education and create more opportunities for both students and teachers to succeed.
“I came here almost 35 years ago. My brother was here and we joined him as he was doing his graduate school in Madison. I went to UW myself and raised four kids,” Wehelie says. All four of her children graduated from UW-Madison or will be graduating from the college. “As a parent of four children who went through Madison public schools, I have seen the impact that quality education can have on students and teachers.”
Wehelie says that she advocates for increasing funding in schools, supporting teachers, and expanding access to employment training and higher education.
Wehelie says that she is also “very passionate about” women’s issues.
“Reproductive rights, equal pay, child care, mental health and all of the health-related issues that women encounter,” she says. “And also the participation of women in leadership … which is getting better, but it’s still not there.”
On top of education and women’s rights, Wehelie lists economic development, sustainability, and housing as some of her other key issues in her campaign.
“Affordable housing is really an issue that I want to champion …. how we can help those people who are working families that cannot afford homeownership or even to rent. It’s very, very expensive. Teachers, the police … it’s the working class that are really hurting in Wisconsin.”
Among Wehelies’ accolades include the 2021 YWCA Madison Women of Distinction; Madison365’s Black Power 2020: Wisconsin’s 51 Most Influential Black Leaders; the 2020 Wisconsin Leadership Awards Community Choice Finalists/Woman of Excellence Finalists; the 2018 MUM Partner for Change Visionary Award; and the 2017 AfricAIDE Trailblazers International Women Day.
Wehelie says that at the end of the day, she is running for the Wisconsin State Assembly to “be a strong voice for the people of our state.”
“I feel like when you are really close to the issues that really impact people, that gives you creativity to solve the issues,” Wehelie says. “My lived experience and my lifetime of experiences have really helped me to understand the issues, to find solutions, and to make decisions. I have a deep commitment to working collaboratively to make Wisconsin a better place for everyone to live. I think that’s important.”
