TAA endorses Benji Ramirez Gomez for Madison Common Council, District 2

Statement on the TAA Endorsement of Benji Ramirez Gomez
for Madison Common Council, District 2

The Teaching Assistants’ Association endorsed Benji Ramirez Gomez in their race for Madison Common Council District 2 alder during our February General Membership Meeting. Ramirez Gomez grew up on Madison’s Northside, was introduced to city politics through the protest community, and brings a radical view of what is possible to the conversation. A strong abolitionist, they have consistently advocated “refunding the community” as the flip side of “defunding the police”; they believe that investment in historically forgotten communities is a better use of the city’s limited resources than buying more tools to criminalize those communities. 

To that end, they have proposed expanding Madison’s bus system and eliminating fares, shifting the housing focus from profit to people, and providing for everyone’s basic needs. “Addressing social problems at their root by providing housing, education, access to healthy food, will do more to reduce burden on our city and public safety than hiring more police officers,” Ramirez Gomez said in their responses to the TAA’s questionnaire. They also see the criminalization of Black and Brown bodies as a fundamental barrier to wealth equity and representation in governance. “Inevitably we have to make bold divestments from state-sanctioned violence and the police who perpetuate these harms. By reinvesting those monies into the wellbeing of the community: through education, economic relief, universal day-care, etc. we can begin to give every Madisonian a floor to stand on, instead of sweeping their feet out from them every time they are able to stand.”

The TAA is particularly drawn to the holistic view Ramirez Gomez takes in considering policy. Their politics align with the TAA’s political platform, but more importantly are informed by their experience and their love of their community, and give them a moral basis from which to tackle future challenges. We believe this makes them the best choice for Madison Common Council in District 2.