Early life and career
Paul Tittl was born at a hospital in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. His parents at the time resided in Delavan, Wisconsin, but they returned to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where they had been raised. Paul Tittl grew up in Manitowoc, and graduated from Manitowoc's Lincoln High School in 1980. [1] After high school graduation, he went to work as a sales manager for a vacuum retailer. [2] In 1987, he became the owner of the Vacuum & Sewing Center in Manitowoc. [3] A decade later, he opened a paintball supply shop, called "Paintball Pauls", due to his own passion for paintball.
Early political career
Tittl made his first run for public office in 2000, when he ran for an open seat on the Manitowoc County board of supervisors. [3] He narrowly lost the election to James Barnes, who prevailed by 10 votes. [4] Tittl requested a recount, but picked up only 1 additional vote, resulting in a final tally of 341 for Tittl and 350 for Barnes. [5]
Four years later, he returned to electoral politics, running for an open seat on the Manitowoc city council. He won that election by a healthy margin, and began his service on the city council two weeks later. [6] He was re-elected in 2006 and simultaneously elected to the county board, facing no opponent in either election. [7] [8] Shortly after the 2006 local elections, Tittl was elected president of the city council. [9]
That summer, Tittl announced his first bid for election to the Wisconsin State Assembly, running as a Republican against Democratic incumbent Bob Ziegelbauer in the 25th Assembly district. Then as now, the 25th district comprised the city of Manitowoc and surrounding parts of Manitowoc County; in 2006, Ziegelbauer was running for his 8th term as representative. [10] During the campaign, Tittl made an issue of the "Marriage Protection Amendment", a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Wisconsin to prevent the state from authorizing or recognizing same-sex marriages; but Ziegelbauert—a moderate Democrat—also supported the amendment. [11] Ziegelbauer further bolstered his bipartisan credentials that fall by appearing in an advertisement for Republican congressional candidate John Gard, a longtime colleague of Ziegelbauer's in the Assembly and the incumbent speaker. [12] In the waning days of the campaign, Tittl also sought to frame some incidents of Ziegelbauer's legislative career as supporting benefits for undocumented immigrants, but local papers found that the allegations contradicted the legislative record. [13] Ziegelbauer won the election with 54% of the vote. [14]
After his defeat, Tittl refocused his attention on local politics for the next several years. He lost his city council seat in a surprising upset in 2008, [15] but was re-elected to the county board without opposition in 2008, 2010, and 2012. [16] After the 2010 election, he was narrowly elected chairman of the county board, defeating incumbent chair James Brey by a single vote. [17]
State Assembly
In January 2012, Bob Ziegelbauer announced that he would not run for an 11th term in the Assembly. [18] Tittl announced his candidacy to succeed Ziegelbauer in April 2012. [19] He faced three opponents for the Republican nomination, businessman Mike Howe, Army veteran Barry Nelson, and plumber Jason Sladky. Tittl prevailed with 53% of the vote, and went on to the general election against the Democratic nominee, James Brey, Tittl's predecessor as county board chair. [20] Tittl won the general election with 57% of the vote. [21] He has won re-election six times in the district.
In the 2015 term, Tittl was appointed chair of the Assembly Committee on Mental Health Reform, [22] he has been chair of that committee and its successor committees since that time, now serving as chair of the Assembly Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention. [1]
Personal life and family
Paul Tittl is the youngest of four children born to Frederick and Rita ( née Daley) Tittl. Frederick Tittl was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War and managed a supermarket in Manitowoc for 27 years, then worked for the The Manitowoc Company until his retirement.
Paul Tittl married Lisa Smith of Mishicot, Wisconsin, on September 6, 1986; [2] [23] they had one son together but divorced. Paul later married Julie Lynn Ahrens on April 25, 1992, and became stepfather to her daughter. [24] Paul and Julie still reside in Manitowoc.
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