Dane County Board Chair Patrick Miles selected the candidates to temporarily fill three empty spots on the Dane County Board of Supervisors Sept. 19. The District 13, 32 and 9 positions were all made vacant when their holders resigned in August.

Service Employees International Union lead organizer Jay Brower will fill the District 13 seat and sit on the Dane County Health and Human Needs Committee until the Spring Election in April of 2024.

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Brower said the main issues facing District 13, which encompasses most of the University of Wisconsin campus, are global warming, housing and criminal justice reform, according to a press release from Miles.

Brower said he wants to approach politics in a progressive way, focusing on criminal justice reform and labor issues.

SEIU works with hundreds of workers in the community, especially in the healthcare field, some of whom live in District 13, Brower said.

Brower said the expertise he gained in his career gives him the opportunity to share his experience connecting with community members and building relationships in his new position as Dane County supervisor.

“Through that experience, [I] saw an opportunity to contribute my expertise and build coalitions, especially among progressively aligned groups as a labor activist and deeply committed to supporting working people,” Brower said. “People who experience marginalization across the spectrum based on race, class, gender expression, nationality … ”

Brower said being an organizer in politics is very similar to organizing within labor. His work involves talking to people individually and having people act together, Brower said.

Since the workers SEIU represents span the spectrum of income, race, religion, sexual orientation and other factors, talking to community members to understand their values informs him in his new role, Brower said.

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“Having conversations with people about what they love, what they’re struggling with, what the future they want to achieve for themselves, for their families, for their loved ones, Is really important,” Brower said.

The other supervisors appointed to the positions were Chad Kemp and Steven Peters, for Districts 32 and 9 respectively.