Wisconsin's 28th Senate district
| Wisconsin's 28th State Senate district | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Senator |
| ||||
| Demographics | 87.9% White 2.0% Black 6.0% Hispanic 3.8% Asian 0.3% Native American | ||||
| Population (2010) • Voting age | 172,218[1][2] 134,326 | ||||
| Website | Official website | ||||
| Notes | Southeastern Wisconsin | ||||
The 28th District of the Wisconsin Senate is located in Southeastern Wisconsin, and is currently composed of parts of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth counties.[3] During the late 19th and early 20th century, it was located around Richland County, Wisconsin and neighboring counties.
Current elected officials
Julian Bradley is the senator serving the 28th district. He was first elected to the State Senate in the 2020 general election.
The area of the 28th Senate District contains three State Assembly Districts:[4]
- The 82nd (represented by Ken Skowronski)
- The 83rd (represented by Chuck Wichgers)
- The 84th (represented by Mike Kuglitsch)
The district is also located within Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, which is represented by U.S. Representative Bryan Steil.[5]
Past senators
The boundaries of districts have changed over history. Previous politicians of a specific numbered district often represented a different geographic area, due to redistricting.
The 28th District was created in 1856, when the Senate was expanded from 25 to 30 members. At that time, it consisted of Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Dallas (later renamed Barron), Douglas, Dunn County, La Pointe (later renamed Bayfield), Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix Counties.
The first Senator from the 28th was William Wilson of Menomonie, who served in the 1857 session (the tenth session of the Wisconsin Legislature).
The district has also been represented by:
- Daniel Mears, 1858-1859
- Charles B. Cox, 1860-1861
As of the redistricting of 1861, the 28th now consisted of Ashland, Burnett, Dallas (later renamed Barron), Douglas, La Pointe (later renamed Bayfield), Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix counties (it was not changed in the redistricting of 1866):
- Herman L. Humphrey, 1862-1863
- Austin H. Young, 1864-1865
- Marcus Fulton, 1866-1867
- William J. Copp, 1868-1869
- Edward H. Ives, 1870-1871
The district was entirely changed for the 1871 election, being changed into one consisting of Crawford and Richland counties.
- Henry L. Eaton, 1872-1873
- Daniel Downs, 1876-1877
During Downs' term, the district was changed: it dropped Crawford County, and would instead consist of Iowa and Richland counties for many years.
- Archibald Campbell, 1878-1879
- Joseph McGrew, 1880-1881
- William Meffert, 1882-1883
- Norman L. James, 1885-1888
- Robert Joiner, 1889-1892
An 1892 special session of the legislature declared that, The counties of Iowa and Lafayette and the towns of Cassvilla, Clifton, Ellenborough, Harrison, Hazel Green, Jamestown, Liberty, Lima, Paris, Platteville, Potosi, Smelser, Waterloo and Glen Haven in the county of Grant were now the 28th District.
- Calvert Spensley, 1893-1896
The Legislature redistricted once again, and the 28th would consist of Crawford County, Wisconsin, Richland and Vernon counties for two terms.
- Oliver Munson, 1897-1908
When Munson was up for re-election in 1904, Crawford County was once more no longer part of the district, which would remain unchanged for the 1908 election.
- David James, 1909-1912 (brother of Norman)
By the time of the 1912 election, the district had totally changed, and would now consist of Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties:
- Edward Ackley, 1913-1916
- Roy P. Wilcox, 1917-1920
- Herman Lange, 1921-1928
- Peter J. Smith, 1929-1932
- G. Erle Ingram, 1933-1940
- George H. Hipke, 1941-1948
- Arthur L. Padrutt, 1949–1956
- Davis A. Donnelly, 1957-1964
In May 1964, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered a complete redistricting and re-numbering of all Wisconsin Senate districts. As a result, the 28th, which had historically been a northern and western Wisconsin district, was now a district consisting of portions of Milwaukee County (villages of Greendale and Hales Corners; and the cities of Franklin and Greenfield); Racine County (towns of Burlington, Caledonia, Dover, Norway, Raymond, Rochester, Waterford and Yorkville; the villages of Rochester, Union Grove and Waterford; and the city of Burlington); and Waukesha County (towns of Eagle, Mukwonago, Muskego, Ottawa, Summit and Vernon; the villages of Big Bend, Dousman, Eagle, Mukwongo and Oconomowoc Lake; and the city of New Berlin). From the new district, which has been further redistricted but has remained in the suburban portions of Southeastern Wisconsin, have been elected these Senators:
- Taylor Benson, 1965-1968
- James Devitt, 1969-1976
- Lynn S. Adelman, 1977-1997
Notes
- ^ 2011 Wisconsin Act 43 and 44 with Baldus et al vs. Brennan et al by Municipal Ward (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. October 18, 2012. pp. 202–206. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Wisconsin Legislative District Health Profile - Senate District 28 (PDF) (Report). University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Wisconsin Blue Book, 2011-12 edition, page 74. ISBN 978-0-9752820-1-4.
- ^ Wisconsin Blue Book, 2013-14 edition, page 74. ISBN 978-0-9752820-1-4.
- ^ Wisconsin Blue Book, 2013-14 edition, page 17. ISBN 978-0-9752820-1-4.