Primary Time Is For Picking The Best Candidate, Not The Lesser Evil— Meet Emily Berge
This post was originally published on this site
WI-03, a swing district in western and central Wisconsin, includes 19 counties. In 2016, when independent progressive Bernie Sanders faced off against the moderate establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton, he won every single county in the congressional district, and none were close. The voters knew what they were looking for. Hillary didn’t even hit 40% in any of the big blue ones.
Last cycle, Blue America endorsed Berniecrat Eric Wilson for the seat. He isn’t running again this year and recently he told us about Emily Berge, Eau Claire City Council president, de facto mayor and, since 2023, president of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
This morning Berge officially launched her campaign to replace MAGA Republican Derrick Van Orden in Congress. You can
She’s best known as a fierce advocate for inclusion, safe housing, clean water and community resilience— especially in the face of escalating attacks from the far right. “Emily,” Wilson told us, “is the leadership that Wisconsin’s third district deserves. She listens, shows up and delivers— which is exactly the opposite of our current representative Derrick Van Orden, who just yells and belittles others. As a leader in Eau Claire, she pulls people together when times get tough and that’s exactly what we need right now. As a mental health counselor and small business owner she gets the issues that are actually facing us today and has the grassroots people support to push this movement forward.”
Emily told us that she envisions a campaign centering on compassion, steady leadership and building what she calls a “BIG TENT”movement that brings people together across differences to fight for solutions. She’s exactly the kind of candidate progressives— and voters— are hungry for right now.
We asked Emily to introduce herself. I hope it will encourage you to
How Can One Person Make A Meaningful Difference?
-by Emily Berge
On January 22, 2024, I received a text message from a friend of mine— a fellow Licensed Professional Counselor in Eau Claire. She wrote that she had just found out she lost her job at the local hospital, where she worked with cancer patients. This was how I learned that Sacred Heart Hospital would be closing its doors permanently in just a few short months. As the day went on, I continued to receive messages about the profound impacts of this closure of a hospital that has been a pillar in our community for 135 years.
But it wasn’t just Sacred Heart. St. Joseph’s Hospital in nearby Chippewa Falls, which served many of our rural neighbors, was also shutting down. Outpatient clinics across the Chippewa Valley were closing. And the inpatient Alcohol and Drug Abuse (AODA) treatment facility was also being discontinued.
There has always been a lack of resources for mental health care. As a mental health professional in this community for nearly 20 years, I’ve seen these needs up close. With the closure of a hospital that housed an inpatient behavioral health unit, several outpatient therapy offices, and the AODA treatment facility, those needs didn’t just increase— they skyrocketed. We all know our healthcare system is far from perfect, but this experience laid bare just how fragile our healthcare system— including mental health care— really is.
In addition to being a mental health counselor, I am also the City Council President in Eau Claire, which gave me a broader, community-wide perspective on these disruptions. I did everything I could to care for my community during that time. But still, I found myself asking: how can one person make a meaningful difference?
That question, I believe, points us toward the larger answer. To truly care for our community, we must care for one another. Since the pandemic, there’s been a persistent undercurrent of isolation and loneliness. Many people still feel disconnected— and that disconnection is deeply tied to our collective mental health. Mental health exists on a continuum. At one end, there’s hospitalization due to immediate danger to self or others. At the other, there’s the daily stress and overwhelm that can be alleviated by being with people who care about us.
I am always thinking about how to care for others— whether in my private practice, where I provide outpatient counseling, or in my role as City Council President, where I am responsible for the wellbeing of the broader community. Having served on City Council since 2018, I’ve had many opportunities to show up for Eau Claire in meaningful ways— to help make sure everyone feels welcome and that they belong. These two things— welcome and belonging— are vital to mental health.
I often think of a Venn diagram where one circle is me as a mental health counselor and the other is me as an elected official. The overlap— that shared space— is where care and connection live. And it’s in that space that I feel the most purpose and the greatest potential for change.
When we build policies with empathy, when we make decisions rooted in a true understanding of people’s needs, and when we listen more than we speak, we shape communities that are not just functional— but compassionate. Being both a counselor and a civic leader has allowed me to bring that lens into every conversation, every vote, every initiative. Whether I’m advocating for affordable housing, investing in public spaces that encourage connection, or supporting crisis response teams that meet people where they are, my work is grounded in a belief that a community’s health is measured not just in economic terms, but in how well we care for the most vulnerable among us.
This is the work I’m committed to. It’s not always easy. It often means holding space for grief and frustration while continuing to push forward with hope. It means speaking out, even when it’s uncomfortable. And it means continuing to believe in the power of community, connection, and care— even when the world feels uncertain.
I don’t have all the answers. But I do know this: when we lead with empathy and stay rooted in our shared humanity, we can build a healthier, more resilient future for everyone. That’s the kind of leadership I strive to bring to Eau Claire— and to every space I’m privileged to be in.
