Wisconsin Senate, District 4

Last updated
Wisconsin's 4th
State Senate District
2011 WI Sen 04.png
Wisconsin Senate District 4, defined in 2011 Wisc. Act 43
Senator
  Lena Taylor
D Milwaukee
since January 3, 2005 (16 years)
Demographics26.4%  White
61.6%  Black
4.8%  Hispanic
5.4%  Asian
0.3%  Native American
1.5% Other
Population (2010)
  Voting age
172,425 [1] [2]
120,560
Notes Milwaukee metro area (north)

The 4th Senate District of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin State Senate. [3] Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within northern Milwaukee County. It comprises part of the city of Milwaukee's north side, as well as the village of Shorewood, the southern half of the city of Glendale, and part of northern Wauwatosa. [4]

Contents

Current elected officials

Lena Taylor is the senator representing the 4th district. She was first elected in the 2004 general election, and is now serving her fifth term. Prior to her election as senator, she was a member of the State Assembly, representing the 18th Assembly district from 2003 to 2005. [5]

Each Wisconsin State Senate district is composed of three Wisconsin State Assembly districts. The 4th Senate district comprises the 10th, 11th, and 12th Assembly districts. The current representatives of those districts are: [6]

The district is also located within Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, which is represented by U.S. Representative Gwen Moore. [7]

Past senators

At the time of the creation of the state of Wisconsin, the 4th Senate District was defined in the Constitution as consisting of Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties. [8] In the first two sessions of the state legislature, the 4th District was represented by:

The Senate was redistricted from 19 to 25 districts before the 1853 session; the old 4th Senate District was now the 20th and 21st Districts, and the new 4th District consisted of the Towns of Erin, Richfield, Germantown, Jackson, Polk, Hartford, Addison, West Bend, Newark, Trenton, Farmington, Kewaskum and Wayne, in Washington County, formerly part of the original 11th District. The new 4th was represented by:

For the 1857 session, the Senate was expanded to 30 seats; the new 4th district included all of Washington County now, and once more elected:

As of 1862, the Senate expanded to 33 seats, a size it would retain well into the 21st century; the 4th District remained unchanged. It elected:

In 1871, the Senate was drastically redistricted. Washington County became part of a revised 33rd District. A new 4th District was created, consisting of Monroe and Vernon Counties (formerly parts of the 31st and 30th Districts respectively). This new district elected:

In 1876, the District lost Monroe County, and gained Crawford County instead. The new district elected:

In 1887, the Senate districts were again totally revamped; the new 4th District consisted of the 1st, 6th, 9th, 13th and 18th Wards of Milwaukee (the old 4th was split between new 16th and 31st Districts). It elected

In 1891 and 1892, the Senate was redistricted; after lawsuits, the 4th District lost the 6th and 9th Wards, gaining the 3rd and 7th Wards instead. It elected:

By 1896, the Milwaukee portion of the 4th District had been reduced to the 6th, 13th, 18th and 21st Wards, but it gained Whitefish Bay, and the Towns of Granville and Milwaukee.

After the 1901 redistricting, the 4th consisted of Milwaukee's 1st, 13th, 18th and 21st Wards and added the Villages of East Milwaukee and North Milwaukee.

After the 1921 redistricting, the 4th lost Milwaukee's 1st Ward, but gained its 25th, and lost Granville and North Milwaukee (the former East Milwaukee was now Shorewood). This district re-elected Morris for over a decade to come. By the 1931 redistricting, the City of Milwaukee portion of the 4th was reduced to the 13th, 18th and 21st Wards, but the district included the Town of Milwaukee and the village of Shorewood, plus the addition of the villages of Fox Point and River Hills. It continued to elect Oscar Morris until his 1939 death in office.

The 1950s was a period of redistricting plans, referenda and lawsuits. By 1954, the 4th District still had three Milwaukee Wards (the 1st, 18th and 20th), Fox Point, River Hills, Shorewood, and Whitefish Bay, and added Bayside, Brown Deer, and Glendale (which between them had absorbed all of the old Town of Milwaukee). This new 4th District elected:

After more lawsuits and failure by the legislature to act, in 1964 the Wisconsin Supreme Court reapportioned the legislative districts for the 1964 elections. The 3rd and 18th Wards of the City of Milwaukee, the part of Bayside in Milwaukee County, Brown Deer, Fox Point, River Hills, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay became the new 4th.

In 1971, the legislature was reapportioned without incident. The new 4th encompassed the seven North Shore suburbs, but also Thiensville, Mequon, and eight townships in Southeastern Washington County, from Erin in the southwest to Farmington in the northeast. This new district elected:

In 1984, an election was held under a plan passed by the legislature in 1983, under which the 4th consisted of the North Shore suburbs east of Brown Deer and Glendale, plus part of Milwaukee's inner city and the East Side of Milwaukee east of the Milwaukee River south to where the river flows into Milwaukee's harbor.

A 1992 court-ordered redistricting moved most of the district west of the Milwaukee River, except for Glendale and part of Shorewood, and added a large slice of the inner city, extending at its westmost to the county line with Waukesha County. This new 4th elected:

A new court-ordered map was created in 2002, by which the District was moved even further west into the inner city and out to 124th Street. In 2004, it elected Lena Taylor, the present incumbent. The 2011 redistricting expanded the portion of the district in the inner city, while still retaining Shorewood and part of Glendale. Taylor was re-elected from that district in 2012.

Note: the boundaries of districts have changed over history. Previous politicians of a specific numbered district have represented a completely different geographic area, due to redistricting.

SenatorPartyNotesSessionYearsDistrict Definition
District created1848 Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties
Warren Chase Dem. 1st
2nd 1849
John A. Eastman Dem. 3rd 1850
4th 1851
Bertine Pinckney Whig 5th 1852
Baruch S. Weil Dem. 6th 1853 Washington County
Baltus Mantz Dem. Died in office. 7th 1854
--Vacant--
James Rolfe Ind. 8th 1855
Baruch S. Weil Dem. 9th 1856
10th 1857
Densmore Maxon Dem. 11th 1858
12th 1859
13th 1860
14th 1861
Frederick Thorpe Dem. 15th 1862
16th 1863
17th 1864
18th 1865
19th 1866
20th 1867
Adam Schantz Dem. 21st1868
22nd1869
23rd1870
24th1871
William Nelson Rep. 25th1872 Monroe and Vernon counties
26th1873
Adelbert Bleekman Rep. 27th1874
28th1875
J. Henry Tate Rep. 29th1876
30th1877 Crawford and Vernon counties
George W. Swain Rep. 31st1878
32nd1879
Ormsby B. Thomas Rep. 33rd1880
34th1881
Van S. Bennett Rep. 35th1882
36th18831884
Joseph W. Hoyt Rep. 37th18851886
38th18871888
John J. Kempf Rep. 39th18891890
40th18911892
James W. Murphy Dem. Resigned41st18931894
James C. Officer Rep. Won 1894 special election.42nd18951896
J. Herbert Green Rep. 43rd18971898
44th18991900
45th19011902
46th19031904
Theodore C. Froemming Rep. 47th19051906
48th19071908
Henry Bodenstab Rep. 49th19091910
50th19111912
William L. Richards Rep. 51st19131914
52nd19151916
Herman C. Schultz Rep. 53rd19171918
54th19191920
Oscar Morris Rep. Died in office55th19211922
56th19231924
57th19251926
58th19271928
59th19291930
60th19311932
61st19331934
62nd19351936
63rd19371938
--Vacant--64th19391940
Milton T. Murray Rep. Won 1939 special election.
65th19411942
66th19431944
John C. McBride Rep. 67th19451946
68th19471948
George A. Mayer Rep. 69th19491950
70th19511952
Harry F. Franke Jr. Rep. 71st19531954
72nd19551956
Kirby Hendee Rep. 73rd19571958
74th19591960
Jerris Leonard Rep. 75th19611962
76th19631964
77th19651966
78th19671968
Nile Soik Rep. 79th19691970
80th19711972
Robert W. Kasten Rep. Resigned after election to U.S. House.81st19731974
Northeast Milwaukee County


--Vacant--82nd19751976
Jim Sensenbrenner Rep. Won 1975 special election.
Resigned after election to U.S. House.
83rd19771978
--Vacant--84th19791980
Rod Johnston Rep. Won 1979 special election.
85th19811982
86th19831984
Northeast Milwaukee County
Barbara Ulichny Dem. 87th19851986
88th19871988
89th19891990
90th19911992
Gwen Moore Dem. 91st19931994
92nd19951996
93rd19971998
94th19992000
95th 20012002
96th 20032004
Northwest Milwaukee County
Lena Taylor Dem. 97th 20052006
98th 20072008
99th 20092010
100th 20112012
101st20132014
Northwest Milwaukee County
102nd20152016
103rd 20172018
104th 20192020
105th 20212022

See also

Political subdivisions of Wisconsin

Notes

  1. 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. 20–23. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. Wisconsin Legislative District Health Profile - Senate District 4 (PDF) (Report). University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. "Senate District 4". Wisconsin Legislature . Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  4. "Wisconsin Legislative Districts - Senate District 4 Boundaries". Wisconsin Legislature . Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  5. "Senator Lena C. Taylor". Wisconsin Legislature . Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  6. District Map
  7. Congressional District Map
  8. "Constitution of the state of Wisconsin: Article XIV, Sec. 12" in Manual for the use of the assembly, of the state of Wisconsin, for the year 1853 Madison: Brown and Carpenter, Printers, 1853; p. 37
  9. "Members of the Wisconsin Legislature 18481999 State of Wisconsin Legislative Bureau. Information Bulletin 99-1, September 1999. p. 4

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