In 2012, Ortiz-Velez made her first attempt at election to the
Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, challenging four term incumbent supervisor Peggy A. West (then going by the name "Peggy Romo West"). West prevailed in the spring election with 55.71%. Ortiz-Velez challenged West again in 2018, however, and this time defeated her, taking 57% of the vote. Ortiz-Velez was one of several candidates to benefit from the support of then-
County Executive Chris Abele in his attempts to reshape the County Board in 2018. She was re-elected without opposition in April 2020. During her time on the County Board, she was a member of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, the Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee, and the Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee. She was also a member of the
Mitchell Park Domes Task Force, tasked with developing a long-term plan for the 50-year-old nature conservatory—Ortiz-Velez committed to preserving the domes for future generations in her campaign platform. In the primary, she faced JoAnna Bautch, the sister of outgoing Assemblymember JoCasta Zamarripa, and the Wisconsin Director of
Citizen Action. In the primary, Ortiz-Velez supported expanding
BadgerCare (Wisconsin's
Medicaid program) and legalization of
medical marijuana. Ortiz-Velez earned 78% of the vote in the
general election, defeating Republican Angel Sanchez.
Caucus split In September 2025, Ortiz-Velez quit the Assembly Democratic caucus after months of conflict with other members, and was then briefly banned from the
Wisconsin State Capitol after she allegedly threatened to shoot three Democratic colleagues. Ortiz-Velez had previously split from the Democratic caucus on several high profile votes since her arrival in the Assembly in 2021; one of her first major floor speeches was to oppose Democratic redistricting efforts. Recently, Ortiz-Velez has been in a heated feud with fellow Milwaukee representative
Priscilla Prado over the Legislature's new Hispanic Legislative Caucus—which Ortiz-Velez declined to join. Ortiz-Velez also plans to testify on an upcoming bill about local executive emergency powers to accuse Milwaukee County executive
David Crowley of exceeding his authority in requesting county officials to disclose their
COVID-19 vaccination status. Ortiz-Velez was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct in February 2026 over the August incident, and pled no contest to the charge. ==Personal life and family==