Patty Burbach of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, is speaking out after a far-left activist group called Forward Kenosha is using a photo of Patty Burbach’s late husband Peter, along with their family’s story, without her permission. The post portrays their voluntary land sale as an eminent domain acquisition tied to the Foxconn project and deploys it in support of David Crowley. The post also accuses Tom Tiffany of voting in favor of the Foxconn deal. Burbach says the portrayal of her family is inaccurate and “totally negative and totally wrong,” and wants to set the record straight in her own words. The Facebook post can be viewed here: ttps://www.facebook.com/share/1Ew98gtunY/
In a video recorded at her home, Burbach said she and her husband sold their land on Braun Road years earlier through a legitimate and voluntary transaction. “We were not forced to sell them,” she stated. “We had very good realtors that were even helping us look for a house.” A local husband-and-wife realtor team assisted them in finding a smaller place in the area as they prepared to downsize for retirement. Roughly a decade ago, her late husband Peter (who died of cancer in March 2024) had grown tired of the ongoing upkeep on the property, including mowing and other maintenance that became too much as he got older. The couple wanted to sell regardless of the buyer. They completed a legitimate sale with paperwork and receipts to document it, Burbach said, and moved into a beautiful area of Mount Pleasant. Both were conservatives who cared about their community. Like many others, they could not have foreseen the Foxconn outcome, but they want future business deals in the region handled with fairness and integrity.
Forward Kenosha is a far-left progressive advocacy group founded by Kenosha-area Democrats Gina Walkington, Jodi Muerhoff, Lori Hawkins, and others, according to Kenosha County Eye. Hawkins, a longtime chair of the Kenosha County Democratic Party, also works in candidate services with Wisconsin Progress. Hawkins previously served as a community organizer and Executive Director and of CUSH, the Kenosha-based interfaith social justice organization.
Forward Kenosha has backed several candidates in local and state races, all of whom lost. Hawkins challenged State Sen. Van Wanggaard in 2018 and lost by roughly 16 points (58%–42%). Walkington ran against Samantha Kerkman (Kenosha County Executive) that same year; despite an endorsement from Kenosha native and actor Mark Ruffalo, she lost by about 24 points (62%–38%). Walkington later faced additional setbacks, including failing to qualify for the ballot in a 2022 county board race after insufficient valid signatures.
Burbach learned of the Forward Kenosha post from her son. “They’re using this article that has my husband’s picture on it without my permission,” she said. “It was totally negative and totally wrong… it is wrong what the Democrats did against us… this is not proper to do this. And I love my husband, we’re married for over thirty three years, we had a good marriage, but this has to get out there so it doesn’t happen to somebody else.”
Rep. Tom Tiffany labels Crowley as “Data Center David,” and has made data centers a prominent campaign issue. In ads and statements he has vowed to “hold data centers accountable and make them pay” while promoting Wisconsin as a potential hub “not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.” He has advocated requiring facilities to bring their own 100% clean energy (solar, wind, and storage) and has declined to support rolling back state tax subsidies projected to cost billions in forgone revenue. Analyses have estimated that powering major projects such as Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant campus could require tens of thousands of acres of land for renewables (solar/wind farms).
Southeast Wisconsin residents, including those in Mount Pleasant and Racine County, remain wary after the Foxconn project. That deal involved large public subsidies, infrastructure spending, and in some cases eminent domain for a project that was never fully developed as promised. To secure the Foxconn deal, state and local governments offered billions in tax incentives and public subsidies, making it one of the largest corporate incentive packages in U.S. history.
Many locals now insist that any new large-scale data center projects must proceed transparently without non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and with communities having a real say, full cost recovery from the companies, and no repeat of past overreach. Southeast Wisconsin is not anti-business; we want a fair deal.
As noted in the Heartland Post, people burned by Foxconn want legitimate questions answered rather than another round of corporate promises backed by public risk. Patty does not want her decision to sell her farmland to be used as a political pawn; she was not a victim of eminent domain. However, other Mount Pleasant residents were victimized by aggressive land acquisitions. Patty and other members of the tight-knit community fully understand the implications of a bad business deal. They want to ensure Microsoft is held accountable and the community receives a fair deal as it continues to develop the former Foxconn site. Related Heartland Post Story.
