Lena Taylor | |
---|---|
Wisconsin Circuit Judge for the Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 41 | |
Assumed office January 30, 2024 | |
Appointed by | Tony Evers |
Preceded by | Audrey Skwierawski |
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 4th district | |
In office January 3,2005 –January 26,2024 | |
Preceded by | Gwen Moore |
Succeeded by | --Vacant-- |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 18th district | |
In office April 30,2003 –January 3,2005 | |
Preceded by | Antonio R. Riley |
Succeeded by | Tamara Grigsby |
Personal details | |
Born | Milwaukee,Wisconsin,U.S. | July 25,1966
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Wisconsin,Milwaukee (BA) Southern Illinois University,Carbondale (JD) |
Profession | Lawyer |
Lena C. Taylor (born July 25,1966) is an American lawyer,judge,and former politician serving as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County,since January 2024. She previously served 19 years as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate,representing the 4th State Senate district from 2005 to 2024,and was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for one term before that. [1] [2]
Taylor previously ran unsuccessfully for Milwaukee County executive in 2008 and mayor of Milwaukee in 2020 and 2022.
Lena Taylor was born and raised in Milwaukee,Wisconsin. She graduated from Milwaukee's Rufus King High School in 1984 and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,where she earned her bachelor's degree in English in 1990. As an undergraduate,she became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She continued her education after graduation,earning her J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1993. [1]
After graduating from law school,Taylor went to work as a public defender for more than two years,representing indigent citizens in need of legal services. In 1996,she opened Taylor and Associates Law Office,a general practice firm on the north side of Milwaukee.
Taylor made her first run for public office in the Spring of 2003,in a special election for Wisconsin State Assembly necessitated by the resignation of state representative Antonio R. Riley. In the Democratic primary,she faced Ted Kraig,then co-chair of the health care task force for Citizen Action. [3] Taylor prevailed in the primary with 68% of the vote,and faced no other opposition for the special general election in the heavily Democratic district. [4] [5]
About a year after Taylor joined the Assembly,her district's state senator,Gwen Moore,announced a run for United States House of Representatives,creating an open seat in the 4th state Senate district for the fall 2004 election. [6] Taylor declared for the state senate,and faced a competitive primary against six-term incumbent state representative Johnnie E. Morris-Tatum from the neighboring 11th Assembly district. [7] She prevailed with 47% of the vote;Morris-Tatum received 36%,and a third candidate received 17%. [8] She faced no opponent in the general election. [9] When Democrats won the Senate majority in 2006,Taylor was named chair of the Senate committee on judiciary and corrections,and was also appointed to a seat on the powerful budget-writing Joint Finance Committee. [1]
In the fall of 2007,Taylor announced she would run for Milwaukee County executive,challenging Republican incumbent Scott Walker in the Spring 2008 election. [10] Walker was already widely perceived as a likely candidate for governor in 2010,and Wisconsin Democrats saw the campaign as a chance to derail him,while Republican donors—both in the state and around the country—funneled money into his campaign. [11] Taylor was badly outspent in the election,with Walker raising more than $500,000 for the campaign. [12] Walker prevailed,taking 58% of the vote and went on to win the 2010 gubernatorial election two years later. [13]
She was re-elected without opposition in 2008,and retained her committee positions as Democrats continued in the majority. [14] As chair of the judiciary and corrections committee,she expanded the committee's work on criminal justice reforms and implemented the "State of Justice" tour,bringing committee hearings to several different locations around the state of Wisconsin. [15]
After the 2010 election,Republicans gained full control of state government,winning both chambers of the Legislature and the governor's office. Shortly into the start of the 2011 legislative term,Walker proposed his controversial "Budget Repair Bill",which would eliminate collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin's public-sector unions. This resulted in mass protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol,which continued for months. Responding to public pressure and unable to slow down the legislative consideration of the bill,Taylor fled the state with 13 other Democratic state senators in order to deny a quorum. The situation received national attention,and Taylor was a frequent guest on progressive political talk shows,appearing several times on The Ed Show . [16] During the course of debate,Taylor made statements comparing Walker's proposed legislation to Adolf Hitler's plan to eliminate unions. [17] On her Twitter account she wrote "LIKE HITLER in 1933,WALKER is busting unions." [18] [19]
Ultimately,Republicans in the Senate stripped out budget-related items from the bill in order to bypass the quorum requirement. After the bill became law,Democrats attempted to capitalize on the outrage caused by the passage of the anti-union legislation and shifted to a recall campaign over the next year. Republicans countered by attempting to recall several Democrats who had fled the state,but Taylor was not targeted due to her strongly Democratic district. [20] [21] Recall elections were ultimately held for 13 state senators and the governor,3 Republican state senators were successfully removed from office,and Democrats were briefly restored to the majority in the state senate. During that time in the majority,Taylor served as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee. [22]
Prior to losing their majority,however,Republicans passed pivotal redistricting legislation,which implemented one of the most successful gerrymanders in U.S. history. The 2012 election was the first on this new map,and quickly restored Republicans to majorities. Taylor's district remained overwhelmingly Democratic,and she faced only an independent opponent in 2012,winning her third term with 86% of the vote. [23]
Taylor would go on to win two more terms in her Senate district. The only opposition she encountered in those elections was a primary challenge in 2016 from state representative Mandela Barnes,but she managed to prevail with 60% of the vote. [24] [25] [26]
In the fall of 2019, Taylor launched a campaign for mayor of Milwaukee, challenging four-term incumbent Democratic mayor Tom Barrett in the 2020 Milwaukee mayoral election. [27] She survived the February non-partisan primary, which narrowed the field to the top two vote-getters, [28] but was defeated by Barrett in the general election, receiving 36% of the vote. [29] [30] [31]
After incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Mandela Barnes announced he would not run for re-election, Taylor briefly entered the race to succeed him, announcing her candidacy in October 2021. [32] [33] She ended her campaign just two months later, on December 25, 2021, choosing instead to focus on the upcoming Milwaukee mayoral election. [34]
After Joe Biden was elected president in 2020, Tom Barrett received an ambassadorial appointment and vacated the mayor's office after his Senate confirmation, necessitating a special election in 2022. Taylor ran again, but this time fell to third place in the non-partisan primary, behind acting mayor Cavalier Johnson and long-time city councilmember Bob Donovan, and therefore did not advance to the April general election. [35] [36]
In the 2023 Spring election, Taylor sought election to a municipal judge seat in Milwaukee. [37] She was defeated in the April 4 general election by Molly Gena, the managing attorney of a pro bono legal services provider. [38] [39]
In April 2018, Taylor used the term "house nigger" during a dispute with a bank teller. When the teller refused to cash a check for insufficient funds, Taylor called the teller a "house nigger". Both Taylor and the teller are African Americans. [40]
On January 26, 2024, Governor Tony Evers announced he was appointing Taylor to fill the Wisconsin circuit court judgeship in Milwaukee County left vacant by the resignation of judge Audrey Skwierawski. Taylor would resign from the Senate later that day, and was sworn in as judge on January 30. [2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special Democratic Primary, April 1, 2003 [4] | |||||
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 2,640 | 67.88% | ||
Democratic | Ted Kraig | 1,249 | 32.12% | ||
Plurality | 1,391 | 35.77% | |||
Total votes | 3,889 | 100.0% | |||
Special General Election, April 29, 2003 [5] | |||||
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 475 | 95.96% | ||
Write-in | 20 | 4.04% | |||
Plurality | 455 | 91.92% | |||
Total votes | 495 | 100.0% |
Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Primary [8] | Sep. 14 | Lena C. Taylor | Democratic | 10,042 | 46.80% | Johnnie Morris-Tatum | Dem. | 7,735 | 36.05% | 21,456 | 2,307 |
James White | Dem. | 3,633 | 16.93% | |||||||||
General [9] | Nov. 2 | Lena C. Taylor | Democratic | 62,689 | 99.16% | --unopposed-- | 63,223 | 62,155 | ||||
2008 | General [14] | Nov. 4 | Lena C. Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 66,751 | 98.82% | 67,551 | 65,951 | ||||
2012 | General [23] | Nov. 6 | Lena C. Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 67,064 | 86.62% | David D. King | Ind. | 10,154 | 13.11% | 77,426 | 56,910 |
2016 | Primary [24] | Aug. 9 | Lena C. Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 11,454 | 60.56% | Mandela Barnes | Dem. | 7,433 | 39.30% | 18,913 | 4,021 |
General [25] | Nov. 8 | Lena C. Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 62,099 | 98.33% | --unopposed-- | 63,153 | 61,045 | ||||
2020 | General [26] | Nov. 3 | Lena C. Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 62,405 | 98.34% | 63,458 | 61,352 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, April 1, 2008 [13] | |||||
Republican | Scott Walker (incumbent) | 98,039 | 58.66% | +1.38pp | |
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 68,785 | 41.16% | -1.35pp | |
Write-in | 294 | 0.18% | |||
Plurality | 29,254 | 17.50% | +2.73pp | ||
Total votes | 167,118 | 100.0% | -29.65% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan Primary, February 18, 2020 [30] | |||||
Democratic | Tom Barrett (incumbent) | 33,151 | 50.01% | ||
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 20,347 | 30.69% | ||
Democratic | Tony Zielinski | 10,385 | 15.67% | ||
Independent | Paul Rasky | 1,902 | 2.87% | ||
Write-in | 509 | 0.77% | |||
Total votes | 66,294 | 100.0% | |||
General Election, April 7, 2020 [31] | |||||
Democratic | Tom Barrett (incumbent) | 57,492 | 62.55% | ||
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 33,572 | 36.52% | ||
Write-in | 852 | 0.93% | |||
Plurality | 23,920 | 26.02% | |||
Total votes | 91,916 | 100.0% | |||
Democratic hold | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special Nonpartisan Primary, February 15, 2022 [30] | |||||
Democratic | Cavalier Johnson (incumbent) | 25,779 | 41.79% | ||
Independent | Bob Donovan | 13,742 | 22.28% | ||
Democratic | Lena C. Taylor | 7,877 | 12.77% | -17.92pp | |
Democratic | Marina Dimitrijevic | 7,521 | 2.87% | ||
Independent | Earnell Lucas | 5,886 | 9.54% | ||
Independent | Michael Sampson | 514 | 0.83% | ||
Independent | Ieshuh Griffin | 315 | 0.51% | ||
Write-in | 56 | 0.09% | |||
Total votes | 61,690 | 100.0% | -6.94% |
Robert W. Wirch is an American Democratic politician from Kenosha County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 22nd Senate district since 1997. He previously served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 1993 to 1997, and served on the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors before that.
Joan A. Ballweg is an American business owner and Republican politician from Green Lake County, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 14th Senate district since 2021. She previously served eight terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 2005 to 2021, and was mayor of Markesan, Wisconsin, from 1991 to 1997.
The 2010 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 2, 2010. All of Wisconsin's executive and administrative officers were up for election as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, seventeen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2010 Wisconsin Fall Partisan Primary was held September 14, 2010.
Recall elections for nine Wisconsin state senators were held during the summer of 2011; one was held on July 19, and six on August 9, with two more held on August 16. Voters attempted to put 16 state senators up for recall, eight Democrats and eight Republicans, because of the budget bill proposed by Governor Scott Walker and circumstances surrounding it. Republicans targeted Democrats for leaving the state for three weeks to prevent the bill from receiving a vote, while Democrats targeted Republicans for voting to significantly limit public employee collective bargaining. Scholars could cite only three times in American history when more than one state legislator has been recalled at roughly the same time over the same issue.
LaTonya Johnson is an American activist and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 6th Senate district since 2017. Before her election to the Senate, she served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was president of AFSCME Local 502.
The 2014 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 4, 2014. Wisconsin's Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer were all up for election, as well as Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives. The November general election in 2014 also featured a statewide referendum on an amendment to the Constitution of Wisconsin. The 2014 Wisconsin Fall Primary Election was held on August 12, 2014.
The 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker sought re-election to a third term, and was challenged by Democratic candidate and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, as well as Libertarian Phil Anderson and independent Maggie Turnbull. Evers, along with his running mate Mandela Barnes, managed to defeat Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in a closely fought and widely watched race, ending unified Republican control of the state.
The 2016 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2016. One of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats and all eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election, as well as half of the Wisconsin Senate seats and all 99 Wisconsin State Assembly seats. Voters also chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the 45th president of the United States. The 2016 Fall Partisan Primary was held on August 9, 2016.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin. The party primaries were held on August 9, 2022. Incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes by 26,718 votes — a one-point margin of victory.
The 2024 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections. 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested in regular elections. Senators are divided into 3 classes whose six-year terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every 2 years. Class 1 senators will face election in 2024.
The 2020 Milwaukee mayoral election was held on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, concurrent with Wisconsin's Spring general election and presidential preference primary. Incumbent mayor Tom Barrett won his fifth four-year term as mayor of Milwaukee, receiving 62% of the vote against state senator Lena Taylor.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Wisconsin will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Wisconsin. Primary elections will take place on August 13, 2024.
The 2022 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democratic governor Tony Evers won re-election to a second term by a margin of 3.4%, defeating Republican nominee Tim Michels.
The 2020 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 3, 2020. All of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election, as well as sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Voters also chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the president of the United States. The 2020 Fall Partisan Primary was held on August 11, 2020.
Dora Elizabeth Drake is an American community advocate and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 11th Assembly district since 2021.
The 2022 Wisconsin fall general election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022. All of Wisconsin's partisan executive and administrative offices were up for election, as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, the seventeen odd-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2022 Wisconsin fall primary was held on August 9, 2022.
The 2022 Wisconsin Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Seventeen of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate were up for election—the odd-numbered districts. This was the first election to take place after redistricting following the 2020 United States census. This was the only election to take place under the redistricting plan set out in 2022. Before the election, 21 Senate seats were held by Republicans and 12 seats were held by Democrats. 11 Republican seats and 6 Democratic seats were up in this election. The primary election took place on August 9, 2022.
The 2023 Wisconsin Spring Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on April 4, 2023. The featured race at the top of the ticket was for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which became the most expensive judicial election in history. Several other nonpartisan local and judicial offices were also decided on the April 4 ballot, including mayoral elections in some of Wisconsin's larger cities—Green Bay, Madison, and Racine. In addition, a special election was held in the 8th State Senate district, concurrent with the Spring elections. The 2023 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held February 21, 2023.
The 2024 Wisconsin fall general election will be held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 5, 2024. In the presidential election, voters will be choosing ten presidential electors. Wisconsin's junior United States senator, Tammy Baldwin, will be running for re-election, and all of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election, as well as sixteen seats in the Wisconsin Senate and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2024 fall partisan primary will be held on August 13, 2024. The filing deadline for the Fall election is June 3, 2024. Concurrent with the Fall general election, there will also be a special election in Wisconsin's 8th congressional district to serve the remaining months of the 118th United States Congress.
The 2012 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 6, 2012. One of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats and all of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election, as well as sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Voters also chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the president of the United States. The 2012 Fall Partisan Primary was held on August 14, 2012. In the presidential election, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan was the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States.
{{cite report}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)