About Diana

I was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin and was one of seven children. Most of my life was lived in Appleton, with periods lived in Virginia, Texas, and other parts of Wisconsin. My husband and I recently moved to Van Buren, Arkansas to be closer to my daughter and her young family.

Growing up in a middle-class family provided the experience that most people can relate to. Dad was a combat veteran of both the Korean War and WWII, but somehow not a benefactor of benefits he should have been entitled to. He found a variety of jobs that managed to provide for a large family, though none of the jobs were professional or well-paid. He was sometimes laid off, or out of work because of job injuries (once falling far in a factory and seriously injured). My family had to get by on the safety-net we could access. It seems likely that my father stoically suffered from his war injuries and experiences for the rest of his life.

My mother got CNA nurse training at the local tech college and managed to take care of the family while we needed her during the day, then worked during the night while we slept. Between her income and Dad's, we got by. Meals tended to be thrifty. We owned a modest house and a car, and most of us went to college after high school. But without student loans, college would have been impossible. Dad died in 2014, and Mom in 2020 during the Covid isolation, in an assisted living facility during the lockdown alone without family visitation.

Undiagnosed mental health problems challenged me until I was in my mid-thirties, providing some challenging life experiences. I had a wide variety of jobs. It is not a bad experience looking back at it because it gave me a wide variety of experiences. I was a bank teller, janitor, potato salad maker, many types of customer service jobs, office jobs, as an independent contractor being a real estate agent, and recently substitute teaching in public schools.

More specifically, I worked for many years after my diagnosis and recovery from bi-polar disorder in the healthcare industry, in customer service, to working with employee health benefits sales agents, to working for a pharmacy benefit management company. As a Realtor I understood the issues of property ownership and the struggles of buying a house. Very importantly, I know what it is like to live on a minimum wage in many types of economies.

My interest in politics extends way back to my college days when I was living in Madison, Wisconsin. I would go to the State Capitol building several times a week just to hang around and enjoy the beautiful building and listen to the clamor. It was not until many years later, after I met my husband Alan, that I joined the Sierra Club and got me more involved in politics. Sierra Club's mission is to get people out in nature, enjoy it, and want to protect it. One of the ways of protection is to get politically involved. I was also involved with the League of Conservation Voters in Wisconsin.

Despite our relentless efforts working for the environment, we were always fighting the same battles, year after year, regardless of who was in office. The final straw for me was the turmoil in Wisconsin in 2011 after the Republican Tea Party won the trifecta (Governor and both state houses) and tore our state apart. I decided that I must run for political office, selecting State Assembly as my goal.

I ran for Wisconsin State Assembly in 2012 but lost in the Democratic primary. Encouraged by friends to run for County Board of Supervisors to gain name recognition, I ran in 2014, but lost to the incumbent. Nobody challenged the Republican State Assembly incumbent in 2014. I watched as another Democrat ran and lost in the 2016 contest. I tried again in 2018, and won the Democratic primary, but failed again in the November election. Undaunted, I made a third effort in 2020, a year with additional Covid-19 challenges, and again failed in the November election.

Most of Wisconsin's legislative district boundaries were gerrymandered to favor Republican candidates, and my district was severely handicapped. There is no history, even now, that a Democrat has won in my old district. Furthermore, election statistics seem to have approximately the same Win-Loss spread each year of approximately 60% of the votes going to the Republican and approximately 40% going to the Democrat. This seemed to happen, regardless of the candidate and their campaign budget. After my 2020 loss I needed a break.

But I was aware that in votes cast within my district (ballots including my name) that I did well compared to other Democrats on the ballot. And in comparison with other Democratic candidates I studied in neighboring districts, even if they won their contests, I also compared well. I simply had the bad luck of living in a district gerrymandered to prevent my victory.

Things have changed since 2020. I have moved to Arkansas to live near my daughter and grandson, to have the grandmotherly experience. The nonsense with Trump demands that I run for election again. How can I be a good grandmother if I leave a broken world to our children?

So, I am running for Congress in my new district, and I really have hopes to improve things in Washington, and ultimately here in Arkansas. Because I am a new resident to Arkansas you can be assured that I will be listening to you, my neighbors, to hear what you feel is important.

Please support my quest, and know that my quest is also your quest.