She certainly intends to portray herself as such in her bid to replace Spencer Black, the outgoing representative for District 77 in the State Assembly. And she was apparently successful in doing so at the recent endorsement meeting for Voces de la Frontera, the well-known immigrant rights’ group that recently opened an office here in Madison, getting the nod from them in the Democratic primary. Apparently, she deems herself a great friend of the immigrant community and claims she will be a vocal advocate for the undocumented if elected.
This is all rather weird and – one can’t help suspect – more than a tad opportunistic. Hesselbein has served on the Dane County Board for more than two years, and until recently, has been much closer to a foe than ally of those without paperwork. Let’s review.
Sheriff Mahoney, as most reading this are undoubtedly aware, has made it his task to report the undocumented to federal immigration authorities, leading to hundreds of deportations and/or long-term prison holds. This policy has torn apart families and struck fear into an entire community. Activists and progressive Supervisors have utilized a number of pressure tactics through the County Board to force the Sheriff to overturn his policy – and not once have they had the support of Hesselbein.
During the budget debate in November 2008, Al Matano introduced an amendment to eliminate the Sheriff’s request for more funding for deputies as a response to the Department’s anti-immigrant zeal. Hesselbein voted against it.
Then, in May 2009, John Hendrick introduced a resolution which effectively condemned the Sheriff’s ICE notification policy. Other Supervisors, including Matano, Vedder and Richmond, all spoke beautifully to the issue, denouncing the existence of legalized xenophobia in our community and demanding an end to the Board’s complicity with it. Again, Hesselbein opted to oppose immigrant rights. Instead, she supported what was an essentially sham compromise solution, the creation of the Task Force which spent more than a year deliberating over a policy that everyone already knew was unnecessary and immoral.
Immigrant rights has been a major issue in Dane County due to Mahoney’s taste for deportations. What’s more, the body on which Hesselbein has served – the County Board – has been a central battlefield in this fight, and she has not once spoken up on behalf of those suffering under this policy. She has ignored citizens’ emails imploring her to oppose the Sheriff. She has consistently sided with legalized xenophobia.
Incidentally, all of this stands in contrast with the candidacy of Ben Manski, a lifelong activist who has never wavered in his commitment to the causes central to communities of the poor, people of color and immigrants. On his website, he explicitly outlines his plans for safeguarding and advancing immigrant rights, including support for a myriad of anti-discrimination measures and voting rights’ for all those seeking citizenship.
As an immigrant rights advocate (and I think I have proved myself to be one) and a supporter of Dianne, I think your portrayal of Dianne’s stance on immigration is extremely unfair. I served with Dianne on the Dane County Immigration Task Force and saw first hand how she maintained an open mind, listened to the public testimony, read all the factual information that was shared and arrived to the conclusion that the Sheriff’s current policy is indeed very problematic and has created much fear and mistrust in the immigrant community. It takes courage to change one’s mind, it takes courage and humility to stand for compassion and justice regardless of the political consequences. That is what Dianne did, it is called leadership. Let’s work with our allies to advance the cause of immigration rights, let’s not create divisions that only hurt our common cause.
Shiva Bidar Sielaff likes the Mayor for God’s sake. Her allegiance to immigration is political in my estimation. Case and point: she took $25,000 of Impact money for the side of town that could have donated the play ground they built; when the immigrant side of town got nothing.
She uses immigration and focuses only on the Spanish Speaking. She has proved herself to be an opportunist, you know use the Spanish Speaking to get elected as Mayor some day.
A true advocate doesn’t take $25,000 of Impact money when she thinks no one is looking for a district that is not resource poor.
My concern regranding Ms Hesselbein is that #1 Shiva Bidar Sielaff is on her campaign #2 People are Hesselbein sign up next to republican candidates.
Shiva Bidar Sielaff took the Martin Luther King award and greeted people in English and Spanish but no other language in this town.
If Shiva’s for her I will think twice and seeing her sign in republican yards adds to my dismay.
Shiva, I appreciate your response but let’s look at the facts. Did Diane “change her mind?” Yes, conveniently, once she decided to run for State Assembly with a competitive Democratic primary in a progressive district. I suppose that’s better than maintaining her previous position, although one can’t help but note the rather obvious opportunism.
However, what I’m more concerned with is her history on the County Board, which is objectively not pro-immigrant. Look at her votes. I’m not just making this up and I hold no personal grudge in this case; I’m only concerned with her votes and actions while in office. I’m not really sure how you can simply gloss over this history. (Actually, in your comment, you didn’t even mention her substantive support for the Sheriff over the years.) Activists and immigrants were raising this issue for years and Hesselbein ignored them (over and over), even as countless people were being deported, imprisoned and struck with debilitating fear.
That’s not leadership. That’s cowardice.
You are certainly an immigrant rights’ advocate, Shiva, and I have an infinite amount of respect for you because of your work in this regard. I’m sure that you got to know “Dianne” quite well while serving with her on the Task Force, but no amount of kind words for her can delete her distinctly unfriendly relationship with the immigrant community over the years.
So I’m supposed to vote for someone that needed a YEAR to figure out that Mahoney’s policies were absurd and anti-immigrant?
My eleven-year-old sister would only need a minute or two to understand that.
Especially when the big magical change of heart occurred right before running for the democratic nomination for political office.
During opening of City Council Meeting tonight Shiva Bidar Sielaff announced she will be representing the mayor and the city as she attends a gathering this weekend to make half of September and half of October Hispanic focus for 30 days.
Bidar Sielaff’s reducing immigration concerns to one type of population is consistent. There are people in this town that see the whole picture.
Again, she bragged tonight that she would be representing the mayor.
I don’t trust this Hesselbein because of her association with Shiva Bidar Sielaff who only focuses on one type of immigration and integration. And I believe it’s self serving so she can run for higher offices on the backs of the people she is using.
She’s a great student of our calculating mayor.
Kyle: I respect you greatly and I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this. I know we will continue to work together in our struggle for immigrant rights.
Teresa: a palabras necias, oidos sordos.
Dear Kyle and Shiva, thank you for a respectful dialogue. I really admire both of you. As for Diane, I don’t know much about her political career but in my conversations with her I believe she understands the issue we have with immigration. Also, I have witness her ability to hear and support the work of the Dane County Immigration Task Force.
Faby