Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers used his inauguration address on Tuesday to tell lawmakers and voters that he wants more abortion, more state spending and more money for public schools in the next four years.

Evers started his wish list with a rollback of Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law.

“People voted because they believe, as I do, that we should expand Badgercare and work to ensure everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare. Because it’s 2023 and they believe we shouldn’t be beholden to a law passed in the 1800s, way before women had the right to vote,” Evers said.

“We must restore the freedoms that Wisconsinites had until June 23, 2022, the day before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And I believe that together we will,” the governor added.

Wisconsin is one of nearly two dozen states where pre-Roe laws went into effect when the Supreme Court shot down Roe last summer.

Evers is fighting the old law in court. It’s all but certain that the Republicans who control the Wisconsin legislature will not vote to change the law.

Evers also used his inaugural speech to ask for more shared revenue for local governments, a Medicaid expansion, and more money for public schools in the state.

He also said he wants to see marijuana legalized.

“Our state and our country’s histories are punctuated by moments just like this one — moments where we have the chance to do the right thing — not for ourselves — but for each other,” Evers will say. “There’s no question that the work we must do to build the future we want for our kids, our grandkids, and our state is only possible if we’re willing to do it together. And I believe that together we will.”

The governor will face an uphill climb on almost every single one of his priorities.

Republican lawmakers have shot down attempts to legalize marijuana, expand Badgercare, and increase state spending in the past.

The governor will speak to those Republican lawmakers next month when he delivers his budget address.

Gov. Evers Inauguration Address

Here is a transcript of Gov. Evers’ remarks:

Chief Justice Roggensack, honorable Supreme Court justices, former governors, constitutional officers including newly-appointed State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor, cabinet secretaries, members of congress, tribal leaders, state legislators, General Dunbar and the National Guard as well as active and retired members of our armed forces, distinguished guests, friends and family, and, most importantly, people of Wisconsin: welcome, and thank you for being here today.

I want to thank Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch and their families for their service to our state. I also want to thank my wife, Kathy, and my family, for their relentless support from Tomah to Verona to standing here today and everywhere in between—I love you all. Thank you.

And finally, to the people of Wisconsin. I’m humbled to be here today as a kid who grew up in Plymouth, met my wife in kindergarten, took her to junior prom, and went from scraping the mold off of cheese to teaching science to becoming state superintendent to now standing here before you. I’m grateful for your trust in me and the opportunity and privilege to serve you and our state. Thank you.

I’m Tony Evers, and I’m incredibly proud to be the 46th Governor of the great state of Wisconsin.

I’ve spent the past year traveling across our state talking about the issues that matter most to the people of Wisconsin.

We talked about how what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state. And that means we need to fully fund our public schools at every level, so that every kid in our state has access to a quality education—no matter what the zipcode—from all-day pre-k to our university and technical college systems. We talked about making sure that healthcare is affordable and accessible and protects people who have pre-existing conditions. We talked about gravel roads, potholes, and bridges, and why we cannot wait any longer for a sustainable solution to our transportation crisis.

But today is bigger than these issues that we all care about. We cannot fix these problems unless people come before politics. We’ve become paralyzed by polarity and we’ve become content with division. We’ve been indifferent to resentment and governing by retribution.

We’ve gotten away from who we are and the values that make Wisconsin great—not Republican or Democratic values, but our Wisconsin values of kindness and respect, empathy and compassion, and integrity and civility.

This is bigger than me; this is about the people of Wisconsin. It’s about setting aside political interests and personal ambitions to work together on solving problems. It’s about putting people first.

People like the 870,000 families in Wisconsin who are struggling to make ends meet and can’t afford basic necessities like child care, food, and transportation.

People like the mom from Oconomowoc who spends two hundred dollars a day on medication because she’s among the 2.4 million Wisconsinites who have a pre-existing condition.
Like dairy farmers from Washburn to Door County losing their farms passed down for generations who have been the backbone of our state for the better part of a century.