Julie Lassa

Julie Lassa
Wisconsin State Senate District 24
Incumbent
In office
2003 - Present
Term ends
January 3, 2013
Years in position	10
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$49,943/year
Per diem	$88/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 4, 2008
First elected	2003
Next election	November 6, 2012
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Assembly Member, Wisconsin State Assembly
1999-2003
Education
Bachelor's	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1993
Personal
Birthday	10/21/1970
Place of birth	Stevens Point, WI
Websites
Office website

Julie Lassa (b. October 21, 1970) is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate who currently serves as State Senate Minority Caucus Leader. She has represented District 24 since 2003. She was previously an Assemblywoman on the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1998 to 2003. She served on the Dewey Town Board from 1993 to 1994 and is a former Chair of the Portage County Democratic Party.

Lassa's professional experiences include executive director of Plover Area Business Association and legislative aide.

Lassa earned as BS in political science/public administration from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point; and did graduate work at University of Wisconsin, Madison, La Follette Institute of Public Affairs.

On May 10, 2010, Lassa officially announced her candidacy for the seventh district congressional district seat, currently held by Dave Obey.

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lassa has been appointed to these committees:

• Joint Committee on Legislative Audit
• Economic Development and Veterans and Military Affairs
• Financial Institutions and Rural Issues

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lassa served on these committees:

• Children and Families and Workforce Development Committee, Wisconsin Senate
• Economic Development Committee, Wisconsin Senate, Chair
• Public Health, Human Services, and Revenue
• Finance Committee, Wisconsin Senate
• Joint Committee on Finance
• Special Committee on Performance-Based Disease Management Programs for Large Population , Chair
• Special Committee on Strengthening Wisconsin Families, Chair

Legislative walkout

Lassa 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

2012

Lassa is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the Wisconsin State Senate, District 24 seat. She is unopposed in the primary election. The general election is November 6, 2012.

2011 recall

See also: Recall of Wisconsin State Senators (2011)

A recall campaign against Lassa began in February following Lassa's decision to walkout of the Senate and leave the state with the rest of the Democrats over Gov. Scott Walker's Budget Repair Bill. The campaign ended on May 16, when an organizer announced that they were only able to collect about one-third of the signatures necessary.

Prior to the announcement that the recall campaign had failed, the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board over newspaper ads calling for the senator's recall. The ads were paid for by a group that is not registered as a PAC calling itself Citizens of District 24. Since they are not registered as such, their spending on advertising is limited to $25, but the ads cost almost $500.

2010

See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2010

Lassa's seat was not up for election in 2010. Lassa ran for U.S. Congress District 7 in 2010. She defeated opponent Don Raihala in the September 14, 2010 primary. She faced Republican Sean Duffy for the seat vacated by the retiring Representative David Obey in the November 2, 2010 general election. Duffy defeated Lassa.

U.S. Congress, District 7 (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Sean Duffy (R)		132,551
Julie Lassa (D)		113,018

2008

On November 4, 2008, Julie Lassa won re-election to the Wisconsin State Senate, District 24.

Julie Lassa raised $57,06 for her campaign, while Tom Kimmet raised $2,675.

Wisconsin State Senate, District 24 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Julie Lassa (D)		57,985
Tom Kimmet (R)		27,660

Sponsored legislation

Recent legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Sen. Lassa includes:

• A bill creating a tax credit for businesses that sponsor college tuition
• A bill prohibiting the purchase of tobacco products for a minor

Donors

2010

According to reports available as of May 16, 2011, Lassa raised $14,330 in 2010. Listed below are the top five contributors to her campaign.

Donor	Amount
Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association	$1,000
Centene Corp	$1,000
Northwestern Mutual Life	$1,000
PepsiCo	$600

2008

In 2008, Lassa collected $57,066 in donations. Financial, insurance and real estate interests were his largest donor group.

Listed below are the top four contributors to her campaign.

Donor	Amount
Wisconsin Insurance Alliance	$1,000
Dawne Bushman	$1,000
Pamela Meyer	$1,000
Wisconsin Education Association Council	$1,000

External links

Suggest a link

Wikipedia® has an article on:

Julie Lassa

• Sen. Lassa's Wisconsin State Legislature website
• Project Vote Smart legislative profile
• Project Vote Smart biographical profile
• Campaign contributions: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010
• Julie Lassa legislation information on State Surge
• Lassa on Twitter
• Lassa on Facebook
• Lassa on LinkedIn

Personal

Lasser is married and has two children.

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	Wisconsin State Senate District 24 2003–present	Succeeded by NA