Democratic operative Sachin Chheda leaving state education department
State Superintendent Jill Underly tapped Chheda to be executive director of the Office of the State Superintendent in 2023 after he played a major role in helping her get elected state superintendent in 2021. He denied the $138,000-a-year job was a reward for his campaign work.
Underly, who is running for reelection, faces education consultant Brittany Kinser on April 1.
In a Feb. 27 email to DPI employees shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Chheda said Underly "lives her values every day" and "we need that values-based leadership so much at this difficult moment."
'To be frank," Chheda continued in the email, "events in the larger world compel me to fully re-enter the political arena, which I cannot effectively do as a state employee."
Chheda said he will help Underly's campaign in an informal capacity but will focus his work on issues, not candidates.
"The Trump-Vance-Musk folks are actively destroying the American experiment, and I will be working through organizing and advocacy to restore America's promise," he said.
Chheda has worked in state Democratic politics for years. He ran Gov. Tony Evers' 2013 campaign for state superintendent and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson's campaign to become the city's first elected Black mayor in 2022. He also served as an adviser to Janet Protasiewicz's campaign when she ran for election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023.
WisPolitics first reported the news Monday.
Kelly Meyerhofer covers higher education in Wisconsin. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Democrat Sachin Chheda leaving DPI for political consulting
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
37 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Steve Bannon Attacks Elon Musk Over New Party: 'You're Not American'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Steve Bannon has attacked Elon Musk over his plans to create a new political party. Speaking on his War Room podcast, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist called out the South African-born billionaire, who has U.S. citizenship, and said he was "not American." The Context On Saturday, Musk—who supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election campaign and who the president put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency before the pair fell out—announced he was forming a new political party called the "America Party." He had previously posted a poll on July 4, asking respondents if they wanted a new party, with 65.4 percent saying that they supported the idea. Steve Bannon is seen at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Steve Bannon is seen at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 21, 2025. Credit: Annabelle Gordon/CNP Photo by: Annabelle Gordon - CNP/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images On X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," citing the poll. As a foreign-born U.S. citizen, Musk cannot run for president but he can support third-party candidates, who can put themselves on the ballot in every state, if they have enough signatures to support their bid. It is rare for third-party candidates to break through significantly. What To Know On his podcast on Friday Bannon said: "The foul, the buffoon. Elmo the Mook, formerly known as Elon Musk, Elmo the Mook. He's today, in another smear, and this—only a foreigner could do this—think about it, he's got up on, he's got up on Twitter right now, a poll about starting an America Party, a non-American starting an America Party." He added: "No, brother, you're not an American. You're a South African. We take enough time and prove the facts of that, you should be deported because it's a crime of what you did—among many." What People Are Saying Responding to a clip of Bannon's comments that was posted on X, Musk wrote: "The fat, drunken slob called Bannon will go back to prison and this time for a long time. He has a lifetime of crime to pay for." Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth, previously told Newsweek that "third parties do not tend to have a long lifetime in American politics," adding that Musk's new party "would likely split the Republican vote, potentially resulting in a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, at least in the short term, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system." What Happens Next It is not known how the party will be structured and what other figures will be involved in it. Whether it manages to break through the two-party system and enjoy success remains to be seen.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump Wants to Add His Face to Mount Rushmore. Here's What Its Former Keeper Says About 'the Reality of the Rock'
Experts are weighing in on Donald Trump's open desire to be the fifth face on Mount Rushmore. Trump has floated the idea of adding himself to the famed South Dakota mountainside since his first term, reportedly fancying the idea so much that then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem gifted him an $1,100 bust of his face in the lineup during his park visit in 2020. The possibility of a five-face Rushmore has garnered renewed interest among Trump's most loyal supporters since his return to office, culminating in a House bill introduced by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. But the question of whether the plan could — or should — work still looms. Trump isn't the first proposed addition to the landmark — Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan have also been mentioned in the past as possible additions. But a longstanding argument against any updates to the sculpture, said Dan Wenk, the former superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, is that the piece of art is already finished, visually and rhetorically. According to the National Park Service, the four presidents carved on Mount Rushmore were specifically chosen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum to represent major facets of the United States' first 150 years: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln represent the birth, growth, development and preservation of the country, respectively. 'You wouldn't add another face to Borglum's Mount Rushmore just like you wouldn't add one to da Vinci's 'Last Supper,'' Wenk told The New York Times. 'But I recognize that these types of ideas are no longer off the table.' Another, more practical point is that the mountain may not be able to withstand any further alteration. During the sculpture's creation from 1927 to 1941, questions were constantly raised about the reliability of the mountain's composite, as the rock was in many places delicate and unpredictable. The National Park Service told the Times in a statement that there simply isn't room for another face on the side of the mountain. 'The carved portion of Mount Rushmore has been thoroughly evaluated, and there are no viable locations left for additional carvings,' the park service told the outlet. Borglum — the main mind behind Mount Rushmore's design — ultimately changed his plan nine times, due to rock inconsistency, fractures and fragility in the mountain. Early plans, according to Smithsonian magazine, included an entablature with a short history of the country, a staircase, a Hall of Records to include the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the torsos of each president featured. But each idea was abandoned due to the rock's fragility. While there is, technically, free mountainside space on either side of the historic sculpture, Borglum believed only the space he ended up using in the final product was actually workable, and there would be no more room for any sort of addition. Thus, those wishing to see Mount Rushmore evolve in any artistic way are likely to be disappointed, Wenk told the Times. 'Fortunately, from my view — and not just for Trump but anybody else — they're fighting against the reality of the rock," Wenk said. Read the original article on People
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
With One War Over, Netanyahu Heads to Washington Amid Calls to End Another
For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the meeting with President Trump scheduled for Monday will serve as a kind of victory lap after the joint Israeli-U.S. assault last month on Iran's nuclear facilities. The White House visit — the prime minister's third since Mr. Trump returned to office — is likely to add luster to Mr. Netanyahu's laurels, especially with his voters back home, analysts said, as he soon heads into an election year. But such trips have yielded surprises in the past. The last time Mr. Netanyahu was in the Oval Office, in April, he sat somewhat awkwardly at Mr. Trump's side as the president announced that Washington would be engaging in 'direct' talks with Iran in a last-ditch effort to rein in the country's nuclear program. That month, Mr. Netanyahu tried to convince Mr. Trump that the time was right for a military assault on Iran, but he was swatted down. This time, Mr. Trump is eager to advance a cease-fire deal for Gaza that would see Hamas release hostages and would ultimately end the long war in the Palestinian enclave that was set off by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. On Sunday, Israel was sending negotiators to Qatar, a mediating country, to try to bridge differences with Hamas. The United States said it was also brokering talks between Israel and Syria aimed at restoring calm along their frontier. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
