Tim Carpenter

Tim Carpenter
Wisconsin State Senate District 3
Incumbent
In office
2003 - Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position	10
Party	Democratic
Leadership
Speaker Pro Tempore, Wisconsin State Assembly
1994
Compensation
Base salary	$49,943/year
Per diem	$88/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	202
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Assembly Member, Wisconsin State Assembly
1985 - 2001
Education
Bachelor's	University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Master's	University of Wisconsin, Madison
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Tim Carpenter is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate. He has represented District 3 since 2002. He was the President Pro Tempore from 2007-2008. Previously, he was elected in 1984, at the age of 24, to the Wisconsin State Assembly. He served as the Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore in 1993.

Carpenter is a graduate of Pulaski H.S. He received a bachelor's degree from U.W. Milwaukee and a master's degree from the LaFollette Institute of U.W. Madison.

Before becoming a legislator, he held jobs at both Rustlers Steak House and Federal Express. He is one of the two openly gay Wisconsin Senators..

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Carpenter served on the following committees:

Wisconsin Committee Assignments, 2013
• Health and Human Services
• State and Federal Relations
• Transportation, Public Safety, and Veterans and Military Affairs
• Information Policy and Technology

2011-2012

At the beginning of the 2011 legislative session, Carpenter served on the following committees:

Wisconsin Committee Assignments, 2011
• Health
• Insurance and Housing
• Public Health, Human Services, and Revenue
• Tax Exemptions

2009-2010

At the beginning of the 2009 legislative session, Carpenter served on the following committees:

Wisconsin Committee Assignments, 2009
• Public Health, Senior Issues, Long-Term Care, and Job Creation
• Public Health, Human Services, and Revenue, Vice Chair
• Veterans and Military Affairs, Biotechnology, and Financial Institutions
• Joint Survey on Retirement Systems

Legislative walkout

Carpenter and the 13 other Democratic senators participated in a legislative walkout on February 17, 2011 in opposition to Assembly Bill 11 - a Republican-sponsored bill aimed at limiting collective bargaining rights, compensation and fringe benefits of public employees. The Democratic departure left the Senate one vote shy of a quorum. Reports confirmed the senators fled to a hotel in Rockford, Illinois. State police were dispatched by Governor Scott Walker (R) to retrieve the senators, but were unable to cross state lines. The 14 state senators who left the state are being described as the "Badger 14" or "Fab 14."

On February 22, speaking from the basement of an Illinois hotel, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller provided the minority response to Gov. Scott Walker, saying, "The governor has the tools at his disposal to put this issue to an end. As soon as he is willing to take a compromise, we will go back to work in an instant." Miller stated that the legislators payed for the trip themselves, and that no taxpayer money was spent.

Walker called on the Democratic senators to return to the state by March 1 in order to vote to restructure the state's debt. If they did not, he stated he may have to start cutting state jobs, saying:

It’s not just a number, it’s not just a budget, it’s ultimately a real person with a real family, so I’m going to push that back as far as I can. We’ve got to have real numbers to balance the budget to avoid layoffs. My hope is those 14 state senators … realize that in the end, it’s much better off to avoid those cuts, it’s much better off to avoid the most dire consequences that will come if we don’t pass this bill.

The Democratic senators said they would not return until the governor was willing to compromise on the budget-repair bill.

Democrats threatened with arrest

Republicans passed a unanimous resolution on March 3 finding the missing legislators in contempt and threatening them with arrest. It gave them until 4 p.m. to return or the sergeant-at-arms was ordered to take "any and all necessary steps, with or without force, and with or without the assistance of law enforcement, by warrant or other legal process, as he may deem necessary in order to bring that senator to the Senate chambers."

The constitutionality of that resolution was unclear, however, as the Wisconsin Constitution only allows for the arrest of legislators while in session if they are suspected of committing a felony, treason, or breach of the peace. Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, said the resolution was an "unreasonable abuse of police power."

Sen. Jon Erpenbach provided the Democratic response, stating, "All 14 of us remain in Illinois, very strong in our convictions. Issuing arrest warrants at 4 p.m. isn't going to solve the problem. This is a debate about protection of the middle class in Wisconsin; that is what the Republicans should be focusing on."

The move by Republicans came the day after they issued fines of $100 a day for not showing up at the Capitol, along with taking away parking spaces. The week before Republicans also passed a rule suspending direct-deposit of paychecks. Sen. Erpenbach found a way around this by granting power of attorney to two of his aides, giving them power to, among other things, pick up his paycheck. In the end Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald mailed the check to Erpenbaach.

Meeting/possible compromises

On March 7, Democratic leader Sen. Mark Miller sent a letter to the governor and senate majority leader asking for a meeting near the Wisconsin-Illinois border to restart talks on the collective bargaining issue. Gov. Walker responded at a press conference, calling the letter "ridiculous," and saying that several meetings between the two sides have taken place, but that Miller has stood in the way of a compromise.

Sen. Chris Larson said, "Dems will return when collective bargaining is off the table. That could be soon based on the growing public opposition to the bill and the recall efforts against Republicans."

On March 8, the Governor's office released an email exchange dated March 6 between Eric Schutt, Walker's deputy chief of staff, and Democratic Senators Cullen and Jauch. The exchange discusses possible compromises on the bill, including allowing unions to bargain for wages beyond inflation rates, permitting collective-bargaining on certain economic issues, allowing public workers to collectively bargain workplace safety issues, and limiting collective bargaining agreements to 2 years or less.

Republicans pass bill

2011 Wisconsin Senate Recalls
Senators Facing Recall
Robert Cowles • Alberta Darling • Sheila Harsdorf • Dave Hansen • Jim Holperin • Randy Hopper • Dan Kapanke • Luther Olsen • Robert Wirch
Other Recall Information
Recalls by Year • Recall Law in Wisconsin • Recall laws in other states • Recalls in Wisconsin • 2011 Scott Walker Budget Repair Bill • Protests over Budget Repair Bill • Wisconsin Government Accountability Board • Recall timeline • Election Results

In a surprise maneuver, Senate Republicans on March 9 passed controversial reforms to the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers. In a process that took just over two hours, Republicans passed the bill by a vote of 18-1, with Sen. Dale Schultz (R) casting the only no vote.

Republicans skirted the need for a quorum by removing the sections of the bill that had to do with appropriating funds. With these removed, the bill only needed to be passed by a simple majority -- rather than requiring a quorum of 20 senators. At 4 p.m. on March 9 a conference committee on the budget-repair bill was convened. Two hours later the committee met and advanced the new measure without debate. Immediately following that, the Senate met and passed the new version, also without debate. It was then sent to the Assembly.

The only Democrat present at the meeting, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D), attempted to stop the proceedings, stating that the committee was in violation of the state's open meeting law. According to the law, most public bodies are required to give 24 hours notice before a meeting. The two hours notice that the committee provided led Barca to declare, "Mr. Chairman, this is a violation of law! This is not just a rule — this is the law." Ignoring Barca, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) ordered the vote taken as shouts of protest rang from the galleries.

The bill was given a stay by Dane County Court Judge Maryann Sumi. On May 26, 2011, Sumi struck down the legislative actions leading to the bill eliminating public employee collective bargaining on the grounds that it violated the state's Open Meetings Law. The state Departments of Justice and Department of Administration appealed the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On June 14 the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled the district court decision, stating it "exceeded its jurisdiction, invaded the legislature’s constitutional powers...and erred in enjoining the publication and further implementation of the act."

Recall campaigns

In the wake of events surrounding the bill, both Democratic and Republican senators were targeted by active recall campaigns. Recall sponsors filed signatures on petitions targeting 6 Republican state senators and 3 Democratic state senators. Challenges were filed in all 9 of those campaigns, and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board approved the six campaigns against Republicans at meetings on May 23 and May 31, and approved the three campaigns against Democrats on June 8. Democrats held onto the 30th district seat on July 19. Republicans lost two seats in the August 9 recalls, but held onto four. Two incumbent Democrats successfully retained their seats on August 16.

Elections

2010

See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2010

Carpenter was re-elected in the Senate District 3 in 2010. He had no primary opposition. His opponent in the November 2, 2010 general election was Republican Annette Miller Krznarich.

Wisconsin State Senate, District 3 (2010) General Election
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Tim Carpenter (D)		23,401	61.09%
Annette Krznarich (R)		14,796	38.63%

Wisconsin Senate, District 3 Democratic Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Tim Carpenter (D)		5,589	99.43%

2006

On November 7, 2006, Tim Carpenter won re-election to the Wisconsin State Senate, District 3. He ran unopposed.

Tim Carpenter raised $26,156 for his campaign.

Wisconsin State Senate, District 3 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Tim Carpenter (D)		30,768

Legislation

Sen. Carpenter has recently introduced bills regarding:

• Prohibiting cell phone use while operating a school bus
• Stopping expansion of Interstate 94
• The veto power of the county executive
• Legislative oversight of federal stimulus money.
• Regulation of dietitians
• Fuel tax adjustments
  

...and others

Past and current endorsements

Sen. Carpenter has endorsed and made contributions to the campaigns of several Democratic candidates such as Christine Sinicki, Stan Gruszynski, Dave Hansen, Robert Wirch, Josh Zepnick, and Sandy Pasch.

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Carpenter received $35,686 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

Wisconsin State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Tim Carpenter's campaign in 2010
Public Fund	$9,875
Wal-Mart	$1,000
Wisconsin Education Association Council	$950
JP Morgan Chase & Co	$500
Marshall, Lysne	$500
Total Raised in 2010	$35,686

2008

In 2008, Carpenter collected $17,516 in donations.

Listed below is the top contributor to his campaign.

Donor	Amount
Leonard Pascucci	$1,000

Leonard Pascucci and Managed Health Services Insurance Corp.

2006

Managed Health Services Insurance Corp., Wisconsin Education Assoc. Council, Chaudry Rana, Wisconsin Realtors Assoc., Milwaukee Teachers Education Assoc.

2002

Jack Smith, Wisconsin Realtors Assoc., Jon Erpenbach, David Radke, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 150, United Professionals Local Union 1199W, Allen Guerin, Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, SEIU Wisconsin State Council, Greater Milwaukee Teamsters, Dan Iverson, Paul DeVido, Wisconsin Education Assoc. Council, Doug Nelson, Wisconsin Credit Union League

2000

Public fund

1998

Douglas E. Nelson, Wisconsin Credit Union League, NW Mutual Life Insurance PAC

External links

Suggest a link

Wikipedia® has an article on:

Tim Carpenter

• Wisconsin Senate Biography
• Project Vote Smart biographical profile
• Project Vote Smart legislative profile
• Sen. Carpenter's website
• Campaign website
• Campaign contributions: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008
• Biography of Carpenter by the Progressive Democrats of America

Personal

Tim Carpenter was born in Milwaukee, WI, the same city he lives in currently.

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	Wisconsin State Senate District 3 2002–present	Succeeded by NA