Tim Carpenter | |
|---|---|
_(2).jpg) Carpenter in 2009 | |
| President pro tempore of theWisconsin Senate | |
| In office July 16, 2012 – January 7, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph K. Leibham |
| Succeeded by | Joseph K. Leibham |
| Member of theWisconsin Senate from the3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Brian Burke |
| Member of theWisconsin State Assembly | |
| In office January 4, 1993 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Kunicki |
| Succeeded by | Josh Zepnick |
| Constituency | 9th Assembly district |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 4, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | James F. Rooney |
| Succeeded by | Rosemary Potter |
| Constituency | 20th Assembly district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Timothy W. Carpenter (1960-02-24)February 24, 1960 (age 65) Milwaukee,Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (BA) University of Wisconsin–Madison (MA) |
| Website | Official website |
Timothy W. Carpenter (born February 24, 1960) is anAmericanDemocratic politician fromMilwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been a member of theWisconsin Senate for more than 20 years, representing theWisconsin's 3rd Senate district since 2003. His district comprises much of the south side of the city of Milwaukee. He previously served 18 years in theWisconsin State Assembly (1985–2003).
Carpenter was born on February 24, 1960, atSt. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee.[1] He graduated from Milwaukee'sCasimir Pulaski High School and attendedMarquette University in 1978, before transferring toUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he received hisbachelor's degree inpolitical science andhistory in 1982.[2] He continued graduate work at Milwaukee, but was interrupted when he was elected to the Legislature in 1984. He later resumed his education at theLa Follette School of Public Affairs at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned hismaster's degree in 1995.[1]
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After graduating from college, Carpenter worked briefly at a number of jobs, at Rustlers Steak House and as a courier forFederal Express.[1] He had become involved with theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin at an early age and became a member of the state party's administrative committee.[3] In 1984, at age 24, while still a student at the La Follette School, he entered into the race forWisconsin State Assembly in the open20th Assembly district seat. The 20th Assembly district was heavily Democratic, based in southernMilwaukee—Carpenter faced five opponents in theDemocraticprimary. He prevailed in the six-way race with just 27% of the vote, and faced no opponent in the 1984 general election.[4]
Carpenter was elected to theWisconsin State Assembly in 1984 and served nine terms representing the 9th Assembly District until 2002, holding the post of SpeakerPro Tempore in 1993. He was first elected to represent Wisconsin's 3rd Senate District in 2002. During the 2007–08 biennium, he served asPresidentPro Tempore of the Wisconsin State Senate.
During the 2007-08 biennium, he was the chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues, Long Term Care, and Job Creation.
Carpenter is currently a member of the Senate Committee on Health; the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government; the Senate Committee on Labor, Regulatory Reform, Veterans and Military Affairs; the Senate Committee on Licensing, Constitution and Federalism; and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.[5]
He was also previously the Chair of the Legislative Council Study Committee on addressing recidivism in High-Risk Juvenile Offenders.
During the protests in Wisconsin, Carpenter, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, left the state to deny the State Senate a quorum onGovernor Scott Walker's controversial "Budget Repair" legislation. Based on the revelations from a prank phone call on Gov. Walker, detailing plans to pass his bill, Carpenter called upon Gov. Walker to resign.[6]
On June 23, 2020, Carpenter was recording a protest near the Wisconsin state capitol when he was assaulted by BLM (Black Lives Matter) protesters. A short time later he collapsed and was taken to the hospital for a suspected concussion.[7]
In 2004, Carpenter unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination forUnited States House of Representatives in the4th congressional district, losing the primary election to fellow state senatorGwen Moore.
In February 2012, Carpenter was one of two State Senators (the other being fellow DemocratSpencer Coggs) to win a place on the ballot for Milwaukee CityTreasurer in the Spring 2012 election, defeating former State TreasurerDawn Marie Sass andSocialist Rick Kissell in the non-partisan primary.[8] Coggs polled 13,559 votes; Carpenter 12,880; Sass 5,089 and Kissell 2,241.[9] In the general election, Coggs won 35,096 votes to Carpenter's 34,293.[10]
In 2015, Carpenter ran in a special election for the Milwaukee Common Council on August 18, 2015. A primary took place on July 21, 2015. Carpenter advanced in the primary along with Mark Borkowski, who ended up winning with 50.7% of the vote.[11]
Carpenter is gay, and is one of threeopenlyLGBTQ members of theWisconsin Legislature. He is a member of theSierra Club, Jackson Park Neighborhood Association, Story Hill Neighborhood Association, and the Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home Advisory Council.
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984[4] | Primary | September 11 | Tim Carpenter | Democratic | 2,021 | 27.53% | Stephen P. Kotecki | Dem. | 1,625 | 22.13% | 7,342 | 396 |
| Terry L. Witkowski | Dem. | 1,312 | 17.87% | |||||||||
| William G. Hart | Dem. | 1,202 | 16.37% | |||||||||
| Carl A. Kopps | Dem. | 1,139 | 15.51% | |||||||||
| Jack H. Gleason | Dem. | 43 | 0.59% | |||||||||
| General | November 6 | Tim Carpenter | Democratic | 18,107 | 100.0% | 18,107 | 18,107 | |||||
| 1986[12] | Primary | September 9 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 3,538 | 65.51% | Stephen P. Kotecki | Dem. | 1,863 | 34.49% | 5,401 | 1,675 |
| General | November 4 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 11,081 | 70.53% | Jerome D. Schultz | Rep. | 4,630 | 29.47% | 15,711 | 6,451 | |
| 1988[13] | General | November 8 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 17,870 | 100.0% | 17,870 | 17,870 | ||||
| 1990[14] | General | November 6 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 8,872 | 67.17% | Dorothy Wosick Seidl | Rep. | 4,336 | 32.83% | 13,208 | 4,536 |
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992[15] | General | November 3 | Tim Carpenter | Democratic | 17,790 | 100.0% | 17,790 | 17,790 | ||||
| 1994[16] | General | November 8 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 9,569 | 59.33% | James T. Sanfilippo | Rep. | 6,559 | 40.67% | 16,128 | 3,010 |
| 1996[17] | Primary | September 10 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 3,312 | 72.44% | James T. Sanfilippo | Dem. | 1,260 | 27.56% | 4,572 | 2,052 |
| General | November 5 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 14,758 | 100.0% | 14,758 | 14,758 | |||||
| 1998[18] | General | November 3 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 11,418 | 100.0% | 11,418 | 11,418 | ||||
| 2000[19] | General | November 7 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 14,244 | 70.60% | Richard T. Mannisto | Rep. | 5,863 | 29.06% | 20,176 | 8,381 |
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Primary[20] | September 10 | Tim Carpenter | Democratic | 8,491 | 52.92% | Pat Farley | Dem. | 5,328 | 33.21% | 16,044 | 3,163 |
| Roman R. Blenski(deceased) | Dem. | 2,187 | 13.63% | |||||||||
| General[21] | November 5 | Tim Carpenter | Democratic | 24,431 | 97.96% | 24,939 | 23,923 | |||||
| 2006 | General[22] | November 7 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 30,768 | 98.51% | 31,232 | 30,304 | ||||
| 2010 | General[23] | November 2 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 23,401 | 61.09% | Annette Miller Krznarich | Rep. | 14,796 | 38.63% | 38,305 | 8,605 |
| 2014 | General[24] | November 4 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 29,291 | 97.10% | 30,166 | 28,416 | ||||
| 2018 | General[25] | November 6 | Tim Carpenter (inc.) | Democratic | 36,875 | 97.40% | 37,860 | 35,890 | ||||
| Wisconsin State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from the20th district January 3, 1985 – January 4, 1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin State Assembly from the9th district January 4, 1993 – January 3, 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Wisconsin Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theWisconsin Senate from the3rd district January 3, 2003 – present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of theWisconsin Senate July 16, 2012 – January 7, 2013 | Succeeded by |