‘Not being anti-Milwaukee isn’t the same as being pro-Milwaukee.’

When Simon Kuranz started college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was undecided. Now, he is a communications major with a minor in film studies. He enjoys learning about rhetoric, how people communicate and how communication is influenced from a sociological perspective. College is also where he formed opinions on politics. He is voting for David Crowley.

Jessica Lambin: Do you remember a specific turning point, when you started caring about politics more?

Simon Kuranz: I think the two things that really got me into politics were October 7th and the start of the Israeli conflict and the 2024 election. It was the first presidential election that I could vote in, so having that opportunity and wanting to be an informed voter, I got into politics more. I also have a lot of friends that are very into politics.

One of my friends is involved in leadership here on the college Democrats club on the state level.

Jessica Lambin: It’s easy to feel really lost in conversations with people who are informed about those topics if you’re not. What qualities in a candidate make them seem authentic to you or makes you want to support them?

Simon Kuranz: I try to remove identity politics because I want to look at what policies they actually believe in, and what I think is realistic for them to accomplish. With the midterms here, I’ve been trying to look into their political backgrounds and whether their platform has changed. I don’t want to fall victim to them running one campaign and then completely switching it up. Seeing similar themes throughout their careers helps me identify what is true to their character. But again, I don’t focus a ton on their characters and identities, I try to focus more on their policies.

Jessica Lambin: Do you have any deal breakers?

Simon Kuranz: For the 2024 the presidential election, I think both Kamala and Trump had things that I would say were big deal breakers for me. I had to debate a lot between if I wanted to vote for one because a vote for a third option in a big election doesn’t really matter. I would say my biggest deal breakers are usually just lack of professionalism. If you’re going to be in this role, I think you need to have a certain amount of professionalism. Being able to represent people is a key part of their role. You’re not just doing your job, you’re representing people. If a candidate is running on a topic that I think is just unrealistic, that can almost be a deal breaker because it seems like they’re running a campaign to win more than they’re running to be a politician that is actually going to make change.

Jessica Lambin: Are you saying that there were some deal breakers with Harris when she ran?

Simon Kuranz: Yeah, with Harris and Trump. Identities aside, I don’t think some of the policies they both ran on were realistic to accomplish, and that makes me question their intentions. I get that they’re running a campaign to win and they have to win to make change, but I like to see a politician that runs more on: ‘This is what I want to do and this is what I think I can do.’ versus like, ‘People want this to happen and I don’t think I can accomplish that, but I’m going to run on saying that I’ll accomplish that and like promising that I’ll accomplish it just because that’s what people want to hear.’

Jessica Lambin: I know you said that 2024 was the first time you could vote. If you remember, do you feel like we’re getting better options for candidates now or do you think it’s getting worse?

Simon Kuranz: Going forward? I would say that I’m hopeful that it’s going to get better. Like I said, I think Kamala and Trump had things about them that I didn’t like that I would classify as deal breakers. This election I think is less like that for our governor.

Jessica Lambin: Do you have any concerns about how the Tiffany versus Crowley election will impact your education?

Simon Kuranz: Not necessarily. I think the policies that I’ve paid attention to more have not been super educationally focused. I’m going to vote for Crowley, and I’m really excited about the relationship he has with our mayor here because I feel like being from Milwaukee, we don’t always get a lot of support from the state government.

Jessica Lambin: I didn’t realize Crowley had such strong ties to Milwaukee. I think that more people from Milwaukee will be voting because of that.

Simon Kuranz: I guess we did have a governor recently from the area, but Scott Walker was very different than Crowley. I’m excited at the idea of having a pro-Milwaukee governor. Not that Evers has been anti-Milwaukee but not being anti-Milwaukee and being pro-Milwaukee are different things.

Jessica Lambin: I think that things are going to get better. A lot of the worst options that we’ve had—there’s just certain ways of thinking that are slowly dying off.

Simon Kuranz: I think you kind of see a gap right now, where there’s been almost like a missing generation of politicians. I think Obama is the only president that was born after 1960. He’s not even one of the most recent presidents. We keep having these old politicians. Our generation and the generation right before us, the millennials, grew up with social media and an increased kind of public awareness because of that. I think it is really influencing a strong next wave of politicians that maybe we didn’t have the generation prior.