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With unanimous consent, the party leaders introduced their respective members as they came before the bar to be sworn in.
Senator Fitzgerald Introduced Senator Lasee
“Senator Alan Lasee was elected to the Senate in 1977 in a special election and has been reelected since that time.
Senator Lasee served as Senate President during the 2005 and 2003 session where he focused on bringing back civility and decorum to this distinguished body. There is no question that while he was the presiding officer, he was successful in helping to restore respect among colleagues and making the Senate more professional.
Senator Lasee has served on several committees during his time in the Senate, but most notably, has been the Chairman of the Committee on Transportation, Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Co-Chairman of the Joint Committees on Organization, Employment Relations and Legislative Council.
During his tenure, Senator Lasee has fought tirelessly for crime victims, taxpayers and rights of property owners.
During the past session, Senator Lasee chaired the Senate Select Committee on DNR Regulatory Reform where he held hearings statewide taking testimony from citizens and business owners in hopes of encouraging the DNR to be more responsive to our citizens and administer their agency in a more efficient manner. No doubt Senator Lasee will continue to lead the charge on these issues in the upcoming session.
Senator Lasee is joined today by his wife Jan and their daughter Polly and her fiancé Mike."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Carpenter
“The Senator from the 3rd is beginning his second term in the State Senate after eight terms in the Assembly, representing the residents of the South Side of Milwaukee and Greenfield.
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He has lived in Milwaukee his entire life. In fact, Milwaukee is a city that his family has called home for over 55 years. His father worked at the Falk Corp and his mother was a telephone operator. She also worked as a poll worker at Morgandale Elementary School, which instilled in him a passion for good government. She passed away a few years ago of Parkinson's disease, adding to his passion to make sure that Wisconsin leads the way in finding medical cures and providing health care to all.
He currently lives with his father, Ken, in a duplex on South 38th Street.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Tim Carpenter."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Jim Sullivan
“The Senator from the 5th is the first of four brand new Senators who we welcome today.
Although he is a new face in the Senate, his district is well known to all of us as the home of the Milwaukee County Medical Complex, Miller Park, State Fair Park, the Milwaukee Mile, the Pettit Ice Center and Milwaukee County Zoo.
He has spent his life serving his community. He grew up in the Milwaukee area, attending public schools and graduated from UW-Madison in 1991. He has served in the U.S. Navy Reserves since 1999. In 2001, He graduated from Marquette Law School, professionally continuing his commitment to serve the people of his community. He also served for six years on the Wauwatosa City Council where he earned a reputation as an effective, thoughtful, consensus building representative of his constituents.
He lives in Wauwatosa with his wife Linda, an accountant with the “Next Door Foundation" and his two sons, Jack (age 8) and Malcolm (age 4).
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Jim Sullivan.
Joining Senator Sullivan today are his wife Linda Docter Sullivan and his parents Carolyn and James Sullivan, Sr.
Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Plale
“The Senator from the 7th is beginning his first full term in the State Senate. He initially came to the Senate after winning a special election in 2003.
The 7th District is one of the state's most dynamic and diverse communities. It includes many of the cultural and commercial centers in the state. From the soaring artistic beauty of the Calatrava to the cutting edge manufacturing advancements at Bucyrus in his hometown of South Milwaukee, this is a community moving forward.
That commitment to progress is evident in all of the major institutions of higher learning that occupy the 7th District: UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee School of Engineering.
His district is also home to Summerfest, the World's Premier Music Festival, as well as the largest Irish and Polish festivals anywhere in the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Jeff Plale.
Joining Senator Plale today are his sons, Jack and Joey, and his parents Don and Josephine Plale. Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Fitzgerald Introduced Senator Leibham
“Senator Leibham was first elected to the State Senate in November 2002 and was re-elected this past November. Prior to his election to the Senate, Joe served in the State Assembly from 1998-2002.
During his time in the State Senate, Senator Leibham has served as a legislative leader in our state's economic development efforts and worked to enhance and improve our job creation efforts through his co-authorship of the Job Creation Act and Job Training legislation during his first session in the State Senate.
Last session, Senator Leibham was successful in working to enact the most comprehensive package of election law reform measures since the late '70s, and has continued to serve as an outspoken advocate for restoring integrity to our election process through his legislative efforts to require a photo ID to vote.
Through his efforts as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, Senator Leibham served as a leader in our efforts to control government spending and lower taxes.
Undoubtedly, Senator Leibham will serve as a stronger leader for families in the upcoming session as he and his wife, Heather, are expecting their first child in February.
Joe is joined here today by his wife Heather; his parents, Ken and Sue; and his in-laws, Cliff and Joan Hansen."
Senator Fitzgerald Introduced Senator Kedzie
“State Senator Neal Kedzie was first elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in November 2002 and re-elected in November 2006.
The 11th Senate District includes portions of Walworth, Waukesha, Jefferson and Kenosha Counties in Southeastern Wisconsin. Prior to being elected to the Senate, he served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 43rd Assembly District.
During the 2005-06 session, Senator Kedzie served as the Assistant Senate Majority Leader and Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee. He is also continuing his service as Chair of the Special Committee on Great Lakes Water Resources Compact Committee.
A trademark of Senator Kedzie's legislative career has been his ability to build consensus among generally polarized groups. This strength has led to the enactment of many significant environmental initiatives, garnering national and even international attention.
Some of those efforts include:
- the 2005 Groundwater Quality Protection Act
- the 2003 Groundwater Quantity Protection Act
- the 2003 Green Tier Act
- the 2001 Isolated Wetlands Act
- and the 2000 Wetland Mitigation Act
Senator Kedzie has resided in rural Walworth County for more than 32 years with his wife Kerrie and three children - Erika, Ryan and Sean - and Kerrie is here today for his inauguration."
Senator Fitzgerald Introduced Senator Schultz
“Senator Dale Schultz has served in the Senate since 1991, representing a large region of southwest Wisconsin.
During his tenure Dale has served on committees covering virtually every issue of the day. Although he has gained expertise in many issues, particularly insurance and natural resources, he is best known as a person with broad understanding of how government works and an ability to cut to the chase to help broker bipartisan compromise.
Last session, Dale served as Majority Leader.
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Among his accomplishments, he helped restore civility and decorum to the institution. He signed the agreement that launched WisconsinEye to bring C-SPAN-like television coverage to Wisconsin government. And he brought historic bills to the Senate floor for votes - notably SB 1 regarding ethics reform which passed with bipartisan support.
Perhaps the main reason why Dale has just been elected to his fourth full term is that he shares his constituents' values. That's because he is as comfortable wearing pinstripes and using a microphone as he is wearing plaid and working on tractors.
Dale is joined today by his wife Rachel, who is Superintendent of the Richland School District, and also other members of his family."
Senator Fitzgerald Introduced Senator Ellis
“Senator Michael G. Ellis served as alderman on the Neenah City Council from 1969-1975. He represented Neenah-Menasha in the State Assembly from 1970 until his election to the State Senate in 1982.
He has been re-elected to represent the 19th Senate district six times since then, twice without opposition. The 19th Senate district includes portions of Winnebago and Outagamie counties.
Senator Ellis has served in leadership positions in the Senate, including Assistant Minority Leader, Minority Leader and Majority Leader.
Senator Ellis is known as a leading voice on the state's budget, ethics reform, campaign finance reform and education funding reform.
Senator Ellis and his wife Sandy own and operate the Ellis Quarter Horse farm and stables near Neenah."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Lehman
“The Senator from the 21st is beginning his first term in the State Senate. However, he comes to the Senate with a wealth of experience as a public servant. He served his constituents well in the State Assembly for the past ten years and prior to that was alderman from the south side of Racine for 12 years.
He is also well known in his community for years of service as a high school economics & history teacher. He and his wife Cathie, his parents and two of his three daughters are all graduates of Southside Racine Washington Park High School. Last but not least, he is known to bring the famous Racine pastry called the “kringle" to his colleagues in the State Capitol.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator John Lehman.
Joining Senator Lehman today are his wife Cathy, as well as other friends and family from Racine. Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Kreitlow
“The Senator from the 23rd is beginning his first term in the State Senate.
His district includes northern Eau Claire County, all of Chippewa County, and portions of Clark, Dunn, Marathon, Wood, Taylor and Barron Counties.
He is proud to be a UW-Eau Claire Blugold fan and to hail from the Town of Eagle Point in Chippewa County, the area that “Old Abe," Wisconsin's beloved war eagle, once called home.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Pat Kreitlow.
Joining Senator Kreitlow today is his wife of 20 years, Dr. Sharry Kreitlow, who grew up on a dairy farm near Manitowoc. With them are their daughters Samantha and Chelsea, plus Pat and Sharry's first grandson, Mason Patrick Kreitlow. Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Jauch
“The Senator from the 25th is beginning his sixth term in the Senate and his 25th year in the State Legislature.
He represents far northern Wisconsin, a district that is over 12,000 square miles and is larger than Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware and the District of Columbia combined.
He considers northern Wisconsin the most beautiful region of the state. It borders on Lake Superior and contains the headwaters for the St. Croix scenic waterways and the Mississippi River. The region he represents includes Bayfield, rated the best little city in the Midwest and the gateway to the Apostle Island National Lakeshore.
He has passionately championed public education and children issues and is constantly fighting for economic justice for all citizens.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Bob Jauch.
Joining Senator Jauch today is his wife, Cecelia, who recently retired from 33 years of teaching and his two children Jessica and Christopher. Also with him are his mother Jan from Lac du Flambeau and his mother-in-law Irene, from Park Falls. Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Erpenbach
“The Senator from the 27th is beginning his 3rd term in the State Senate. His district is truly distinctive - from the North side of Madison, the second largest city in the state and State Capitol - to suburban Dane County - to rural Green County and Evansville in Rock County. Its diversity can make balancing the issues and voting very interesting.
He looks forward to continuing to work toward a health care solution, meaningful property tax relief, discussing our education funding model and finding resolution to what he calls “the million dollar monkey on all our backs" -- campaign finance reform. He is an Aquarius, who likes long walks on the beach.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Jon Erpenbach.
Joining Senator Erpenbach today is his family, including his parents, children and other friends. Please stand and be recognized."
Senator Robson Introduced Senator Decker
“The senator from the 29th is beginning his fifth term in the State Senate.
He has had the honor and privilege of representing the people of north central Wisconsin for sixteen years. As an active sportsman who enjoys the outdoors, including hunting and fishing, he is definitely representative of his district.
He is also a journeyman bricklayer and still works in construction when the Legislature is not in session. But first and foremost, he is a legislator who is deeply committed to improving the lives of the residents of the 29th District. With that always in his mind, he plans to continue to work on his ongoing legislative priorities, including education and affordable health care.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Senator Russ Decker.
