The 39th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly.[1] Located in central Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Green Lake and Marquette counties, along with much of western Fond du Lac County and parts of northeast Columbia County, southeast Winnebago County, and eastern Adams County. It includes the cities of Berlin, Green Lake, Markesan, Montello, Princeton, and Ripon. The district also contains Fox River National Wildlife Refuge, Summerton Bog, Ripon College and the historic Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon—the birthplace of the Republican Party.[2] The district is represented by Republican Mark Born, since January 2013.[3] After the 2024 redistricting, Born no longer resides in the new district.
| Wisconsin's 39th State Assembly district | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2024 map defined in 2023 Wisc. Act 94 2022 map defined in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission 2011 map was defined in 2011 Wisc. Act 43 | |||||
| Assemblymember |
| ||||
| Demographics | 91.45% White 1.9% Black 3.84% Hispanic 0.74% Asian 1.67% Native American 0.13% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | ||||
| Population (2020) • Voting age | 59,796 47,563 | ||||
| Website | Official website | ||||
| Notes | Central Wisconsin | ||||
The 39th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 13th Senate district, along with the 37th and 38th Assembly districts.[4]
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Little White Schoolhouse, birthplace of the Republican Party -
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History
editThe district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties.[5] The 39th district was drawn with novel boundaries in central Jefferson County. Under the previous apportionment scheme, Jefferson County as a whole constituted an Assembly district. The last representative of the Jefferson County district, Byron F. Wackett, was elected in 1972 as the first representative of the 39th Assembly district.[6]
Following the 1982 court-ordered redistricting, which scrambled all State Assembly districts, the 1983 redistricting moved the 39th district to Dodge County. The district has remained in the same area since 1983, with variations in the boundaries.
Notable former representatives of the 39th district include Jeff Fitzgerald, who was the 78th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was instrumental in the passage of the controversial 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, which resulted in months of protests and, eventually, several recall elections.
List of past representatives
edit| Member | Party | Residence | Counties represented | Term start | Term end | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created | ||||||
| Byron F. Wackett | Rep. | Watertown | Jefferson, Walworth | January 1, 1973 | January 3, 1977 | [6][7]: 183 |
| Milton Lorman | Rep. | Fort Atkinson | January 3, 1977 | November 27, 1979 | [7]: 156 | |
| --Vacant-- | November 27, 1979 | February 7, 1980 | ||||
| Randall S. Knox | Rep. | Jefferson | February 7, 1980 | January 3, 1983 | [7]: 152 | |
| Robert S. Travis Jr. | Rep. | Platteville | Grant, Richland | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1985 | [7]: 181 |
| Robert Goetsch | Rep. | Oak Grove | Columbia, Dodge | January 7, 1985 | January 1, 2001 | [7]: 141 |
| Jeff Fitzgerald | Rep. | Horicon | Dodge | January 1, 2001 | January 7, 2013 | [7]: 138 |
| Mark Born | Rep. | Beaver Dam | Dodge, Washington | January 7, 2013 | Current | [3] |
| Columbia, Dodge | ||||||
References
edit- ^ "Assembly District 39". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ "Wisconsin Legislative Districts - Assembly District 39 Boundaries". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Representative Mark Born". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ An Act ... relating to: legislative redistricting (Act 94). Wisconsin Legislature. 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1973). "Legislature" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 227–230. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1975). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1975 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 46–47. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2007). "Feature Article: Those Who Served: Wisconsin Legislators 1848 – 2007" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 138, 141, 152, 156, 181, 183. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved February 23, 2021.