70th Wisconsin Legislature

70th Wisconsin Legislature
← 69th 71st →
Wisconsin State Capitol ca.1915
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 1, 1951 – January 5, 1953
Election	November 7, 1950
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	George M. Smith (R)
President pro tempore	Frank E. Panzer (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	Ora R. Rice (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
Regular January 10, 1951 – June 14, 1951

The Seventieth Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1951, to June 14, 1951, in regular session. ^[1]

Senators representing odd-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and odd-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 7, 1950. Senators representing even-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 2, 1948. ^[1]

Major events

• January 1, 1951: Inauguration of Walter J. Kohler Jr. as the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin.
• February 27, 1951: The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution came into force, establishing the two term limit for U.S. presidents.
• April 3, 1951: Wisconsin voters ratified two amendments to the state constitution:
  • Repealing the prohibition on taxing federal lands.
  • Setting an 8% combined municipal debt limit for city and school purposes.
• April 11, 1951: Amidst disagreements over strategy in the Korean War, U.S. president Harry Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur from command.
• May 8, 1951: The first thermonuclear weapon was tested by the United States at Enewetak Atoll.
• July 28, 1951: The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees was signed.
• August 13, 1951: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Henry P. Hughes resigned.
• September 1, 1951:
  • Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler appointed George R. Currie to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to succeed Henry P. Hughes.
  • The United States, Australia, and New Zealand signed the ANZUS mutual defense pact.
• September 8, 1951: The United States and Japan signed the Security Treaty between the United States and Japan, allowing for a continuation of United States military forces basing in Japan.
• February 6, 1952: King George VI of the United Kingdom died and was immediately succeeded by his daughter, who was later crowned as Queen Elizabeth II.
• November 4, 1952: 1952 United States general election:
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President of the United States.
  • Walter J. Kohler Jr. re-elected Governor of Wisconsin.
  • Joseph McCarthy re-elected United States senator from Wisconsin.
  • Wisconsin voters rejected a non-binding referendum on changes to constitutional guidelines for redistricting. Holding the referendum was part of a compromise which enabled the passage of the Rosenberry redistricting plan.

Major legislation

• April 12, 1951: An Act ... relating to the inclusion of public employes under the Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance System, and making an appropriation, 1951 Act 60. Created the Wisconsin Public Employees Social Security Fund, and made Wisconsin the first state to allow some state and local employees to be covered by Social Security.
• July 10, 1951: An Act ... relating to civil defense, 1951 Act 443. Established the state office of civil defense.
• August 17, 1951: An Act ... relating to the apportionment of assemblymen and senators, 1951 Act 728. This was the first full legislative redistricting of Wisconsin since 1921. This plan was the product of a nonpartisan redistricting commission, popularly referred to as the "Rosenberry Commission" for its chairman, the former Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice Marvin B. Rosenberry. Because of a compromise, implementation of the plan was delayed until the 1954 election to allow the consideration of a constitutional amendment which would have altered redistricting rules.

Party summary

Senate summary

Senate partisan composition

  Democratic: 7 seats

  Republican: 26 seats

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Dem.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	6	26	32	1
Start of Reg. Session	7	26	33	0
From Dec. 3, 1951 [note 1]		25	32	1
Final voting share	21.88%	78.13%
Beginning of the next Legislature	7	26	33	0

Assembly summary

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 23 seats

  Republican: 76 seats

  Vacant: 1 seat

	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Dem.	Rep.		Vacant
End of previous Legislature	24	72	96	4
Start of Reg. Session	24	76	100	0
From Mar. 24, 1951 [note 2]	23		99	1
Final voting share	23.23%	76.77%
Beginning of the next Legislature	25	75	100	0

Sessions

• Regular session: January 10, 1951 –June 14, 1951

Leaders

Senate leadership

• President of the Senate: George M. Smith (R)
• President pro tempore: Frank E. Panzer (R–Oakfield)
• Majority leader: Warren P. Knowles (R–New Richmond)
• Minority leader: Gaylord Nelson (D–Madison)

Assembly leadership

• Speaker of the Assembly: Ora R. Rice (R–Delavan)
• Majority leader: Arthur O. Mockrud (R–Westby)
• Minority leader: George Molinaro (D–Kenosha)

Members

Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate for the Seventieth Wisconsin Legislature: ^[2]

Senate partisan representation

  Democratic: 7 seats

  Republican: 26 seats

Dist.	Counties	Senator	Residence	Party
01	Door, Kewaunee, & Manitowoc	Everett LaFond	Two Rivers	Rep.
02	Brown & Oconto	Fred F. Kaftan	Green Bay	Rep.
03	Milwaukee (South City)	Casimir Kendziorski	Milwaukee	Dem.
04	Milwaukee (Northeast County & Northeast City)	George A. Mayer	Milwaukee	Rep.
05	Milwaukee (Northwest City)	Bernhard Gettelman	Milwaukee	Rep.
06	Milwaukee (North-Central City)	William A. Schmidt	Milwaukee	Dem.
07	Milwaukee (Southeast County & Southeast City)	Roman R. Blenski	Milwaukee	Dem.
08	Milwaukee (Western County)	Allen Busby	West Milwaukee	Rep.
09	Milwaukee (City Downtown)	Henry Maier	Milwaukee	Dem.
10	Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, & St. Croix	Warren P. Knowles	New Richmond	Rep.
11	Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, & Washburn	Arthur Lenroot Jr.	Superior	Rep.
12	Ashland, Iron, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, & Vilas	Clayton Hicks	Phillips	Rep.
13	Dodge & Washington	Frank E. Panzer	Oakfield	Rep.
14	Outagamie & Shawano	Gordon A. Bubolz	Appleton	Rep.
15	Rock	Robert P. Robinson	Beloit	Rep.
16	Crawford, Grant, & Vernon	Foster B. Porter	Bloomington	Rep.
17	Green, Iowa, & Lafayette	Melvin Olson	South Wayne	Rep.
18	Fond du Lac , Green Lake & Waushara	Alfred Van De Zande	Campbellsport	Rep.
19	Calumet & Winnebago	William Draheim	Neenah	Dem.
20	Ozaukee & Sheboygan	Gustave W. Buchen (died Dec. 3, 1951)	Sheboygan	Rep.
21	Racine	Gerald T. Flynn	Racine	Dem.
22	Kenosha & Walworth	William Trinke	Lake Geneva	Rep.
23	Portage & Waupaca	Oscar W. Neale	Stevens Point	Rep.
24	Clark, Taylor, & Wood	Melvin Laird Jr.	Marshfield	Rep.
25	Lincoln & Marathon	Clifford Krueger	Merrill	Rep.
26	Dane	Gaylord Nelson	Madison	Dem.
27	Columbia, Richland, & Sauk	Jess Miller	Richland Center	Rep.
28	Chippewa & Eau Claire	Arthur L. Padrutt	Chippewa Falls	Rep.
29	Barron, Dunn, & Polk	William E. Owen	Menomonie	Rep.
30	Florence, Forest, Langlade, Marinette, & Oneida	Philip Downing	Amberg	Rep.
31	Adams, Juneau, Monroe, & Marquette	J. Earl Leverich	Sparta	Rep.
32	Jackson, La Crosse, & Trempealeau	Rudolph Schlabach	La Crosse	Rep.
33	Jefferson & Waukesha	Chester Dempsey	Hartland	Rep.

Members of the Assembly

Members of the Assembly for the Seventieth Wisconsin Legislature: ^[2]

Assembly partisan composition

  Democratic: 23 seats

  Republican: 76 seats

  Vacant: 1 seat

Milwaukee County districts

Senate Dist.	County	Dist.	Representative	Party	Residence
31	Adams & Marquette		Louis C. Romell	Rep.	Adams
12	Ashland		Bernard J. Gehrmann	Rep.	Mellen
29	Barron		Charles H. Sykes	Rep.	Cameron
11	Bayfield		Vic C. Wallin	Rep.	Grand View
02	Brown	1	Robert E. Lynch	Dem.	Green Bay
		2	Harvey Larsen	Rep.	Denmark
10	Buffalo & Pepin		Mamre H. Ward	Rep.	Durand
11	Burnett & Washburn		Holger Rasmusen	Rep.	Spooner
19	Calumet		Henry M. Peters	Rep.	Menasha
28	Chippewa		Sylvia H. Raihle	Rep.	Chippewa Falls
24	Clark		Walter E. Cook	Rep.	Unity
27	Columbia		Arnie F. Betts	Rep.	Lodi
16	Crawford		Rodney J. Satter	Rep.	Prairie du Chien
26	Dane	1	Ruth Bachhuber Doyle	Dem.	Madison
		2	William Proxmire	Dem.	Madison
		3	Hermann Eisner	Dem.	Cross Plains
13	Dodge	1	Elmer L. Genzmer	Rep.	Mayville
		2	Elmer C. Nitschke	Rep.	Burnett
01	Door		Frank N. Graass	Rep.	Sturgeon Bay
11	Douglas	1	Byron C. Ostby	Rep.	Superior
		2	Charles E. Nelson	Rep.	Superior
29	Dunn		G. H. Bakke	Rep.	Menomonie
28	Eau Claire		John T. Pritchard	Rep.	Eau Claire
30	Florence, Forest, & Oneida		Clarence W. Gilley	Rep.	Rhinelander
18	Fond du Lac	1	Nicholas J. Lesselyoung	Rep.	Fond du Lac
		2	Charles A. Peterson	Rep.	Rosendale
16	Grant	1	Robert S. Travis	Rep.	Platteville
		2	Hugh A. Harper	Rep.	Lancaster
17	Green		Harry A. Keegan	Rep.	Monroe
18	Green Lake & Waushara		Halbert W. Brooks	Rep.	Green Lake
17	Iowa		Robert McCutchin	Rep.	Arena
12	Iron & Vilas		Arne H. Wicklund	Dem.	Gile
32	Jackson		Larry D. Gilbertson	Rep.	Black River Falls
33	Jefferson		Theodore S. Jones	Rep.	Lake Mills
31	Juneau		Ben Tremain	Rep.	Hustler
22	Kenosha	1	Joseph Lourigan	Dem.	Kenosha
		2	George Molinaro	Dem.	Kenosha
01	Kewaunee		Julius Stangel	Rep.	Kewaunee
32	La Crosse	1	Raymond Bice Sr.	Rep.	La Crosse
		2	Harry W. Schilling	Rep.	Onalaska
17	Lafayette		Martin O. Monson	Rep.	South Wayne
30	Langlade		Walter D. Cavers	Rep.	Antigo
25	Lincoln		Emil A. Hinz	Rep.	Merrill
01	Manitowoc	1	John A. Norman	Rep.	Manitowoc
		2	Frank J. LeClair	Rep.	Two Rivers
25	Marathon	1	Martin C. Lueck	Rep.	Hamburg
		2	Paul A. Luedtke	Rep.	Wausau
30	Marinette		Roy H. Sengstock	Rep.	Marinette
09	Milwaukee	1	Robert W. Landry	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		2	Michael F. O'Connell	Dem.	Milwaukee
08		3	Robert T. Huber	Dem.	West Allis
09		4	Frank E. Schaeffer Jr.	Dem.	Milwaukee
03		5	George Sokolowski	Dem.	Milwaukee
09		6	Le Roy Simmons	Dem.	Milwaukee
06		7	John Schaller	Dem.	Milwaukee
08		8	Joseph P. Murphy	Dem.	Milwaukee
05		9	Eugene M. Lamb	Rep.	Milwaukee
07		10	Leland McParland	Dem.	Cudahy
03		11	Ervin J. Ryczek	Dem.	Milwaukee
07		12	William Banach (died Mar. 24, 1951)	Dem.	Milwaukee
			--Vacant from Mar. 24, 1951--
04		13	Ralph Landowski	Dem.	Milwaukee
		14	Harry F. Franke Jr.	Rep.	Milwaukee
05		15	Raleigh W. Falbe	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		16	Edward F. Mertz	Dem.	Milwaukee
07		17	Martin F. Howard	Rep.	Milwaukee
06		18	Charles J. Schmidt	Dem.	Milwaukee
05		19	Walter L. Merten	Rep.	Milwaukee
08		20	John E. Reilly Jr.	Rep.	Wauwatosa
31	Monroe		Earl D. Hall	Rep.	Tomah
02	Oconto		Reuben La Fave	Rep.	Oconto
14	Outagamie	1	Walter Melchior	Rep.	Appleton
		2	Gerald Lorge	Rep.	Bear Creek
20	Ozaukee		Nicholas J. Bichler	Dem.	Belgium
10	Pierce		Arthur L. Peterson	Rep.	Prescott
29	Polk		Raymond A. Peabody	Rep.	Milltown
23	Portage		John Kostuck	Dem.	Stevens Point
12	Price		Vincent J. Zellinger	Rep.	Phillips
21	Racine	1	Harold Gade	Dem.	Racine
		2	Lawrence R. Larsen	Rep.	Racine
		3	Robert J. Matheson	Rep.	Mount Pleasant
27	Richland		Milford C. Kintz	Rep.	Richland Center
15	Rock	1	Edward Grassman	Rep.	Edgerton
		2	Burger M. Engebretson	Rep.	Beloit
12	Rusk & Sawyer		Paul J. Rogan	Rep.	Ladysmith
27	Sauk		James R. Stone	Rep.	Baraboo
14	Shawano		Robert G. Marotz	Rep.	Shawano
20	Sheboygan	1	Fred E. Nuernberg	Rep.	Sheboygan
		2	Henry W. Timmer	Rep.	Waldo
10	St. Croix		William A. Bergeron	Rep.	Somerset
24	Taylor		Millard M. Kapitz	Rep.	Rib Lake
32	Trempealeau		Russell Paulson	Rep.	Strum
16	Vernon		Arthur O. Mockrud	Rep.	Westby
22	Walworth		Ora R. Rice	Rep.	Delavan
13	Washington		Kenneth W. Haebig	Rep.	West Bend
33	Waukesha	1	Alvin J. Redford	Rep.	Waukesha
		2	Alfred R. Ludvigsen	Rep.	Hartland
23	Waupaca		Richard E. Peterson	Rep.	Clintonville
19	Winnebago	1	Harvey R. Abraham	Rep.	Oshkosh
		2	Arnold J. Cane	Rep.	Menasha
24	Wood		William W. Clark	Rep.	Vesper

Committees

Senate committees

• Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Conservation –M. Olson, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Committees –W. P. Knowles, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures –B. Gettelman, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Education and Public Welfare –R. P. Robinson, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Highways –J. Miller, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on the Judiciary –G. W. Buchen, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Labor and Management –G. A. Bubolz, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Legislative Procedure –F. E. Panzer, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on State and Local Government –R. Schlabach, chair
• Senate Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs –M. Laird, chair

Assembly committees

• Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture –J. T. Pritchard, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Manufacturing –H. W. Brooks, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Conservation –R. S. Travis, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Contingent Expenditures –E. C. Nitschke, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Education –W. W. Clark, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Elections –H. W. Timmer, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Engrossed Bills –T. S. Jones, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Enrolled Bills –R. A. Peabody, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Excise and Fees –H. R. Abraham, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Highways –H. A. Harper, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance and Banking –B. M. Engebretson, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary –A. O. Mockrud, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Labor –E. L. Genzmer, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Municipalities –P. A. Luedtke, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Printing –C. H. Sykes, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Public Welfare –H. Rasmusen, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Revision –C. A. Peterson, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Rules –B. M. Engebretson, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on State Affairs –B. J. Gehrmann, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Taxation –A. F. Betts, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Third Reading –C. E. Nelson, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation –R. Bice, chair
• Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs –R. H. Sengstock, chair

Joint committees

• Joint Standing Committee on Finance –F. B. Porter (Sen.) & A. R. Ludvigsen (Asm.), co-chairs
• Joint Standing Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform Laws –A. Busby (Sen.) & E. Grassman (Asm.), co-chairs
• Joint Special Committee on Reapportionment –R. P. Robinson (Sen.), chair

Employees

Senate employees

• Chief Clerk: Thomas M. Donahue ^[3]
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold Damon
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: A. J. Oelmiller

Assembly employees

• Chief Clerk: Arthur L. May ^[3]
  • Assistant Chief Clerk: Robert H. Boyson
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Norris J. Kellman
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Earl J. Dalton

Notes

1. Republican Gustave W. Buchen (20th District) died.
2. Democrat William Banach (Milwaukee County) died.

References

1. Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2021). "Historical Lists" (PDF). State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2021–2022 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 468, 471, 475, 479–480. ISBN   978-1-7333817-1-0 . Retrieved August 5, 2023.
2. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1952). "Members of the Legislature". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1952 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. pp. 27–72. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
3. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1952). "The State Government: Legislative Branch". The Wisconsin Blue Book 1952 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. pp. 253–257. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

External links

• 1951: Related Documents from Wisconsin Legislature