Adam Gallagher

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Adam Gallagher

Democratic Party

Dane County Treasurer

Tenure

2013 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

12

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Louisiana Tech University, 2000

Graduate

University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2008

Personal

Birthplace

Ruston, La.

Profession

Politician

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Adam Gallagher (Democratic Party) is the Dane County Treasurer in Wisconsin. He assumed office in 2013. His current term ends on January 1, 2029.

Gallagher (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for Dane County Treasurer in Wisconsin. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Gallagher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Adam Gallagher was born in Ruston, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University in 2000 and a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2008. Gallagher has been affiliated with Dane Dems, Rotary, CONNECT Madison, Optimist, the Wisconsin County Treasurer's Association, and Boy Scouts of America.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Dane County, Wisconsin (2024)

General election

General election for Dane County Treasurer

Incumbent Adam Gallagher won election in the general election for Dane County Treasurer on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Gallagher (D)	98.4	287,915
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6	4,629

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 292,544
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Dane County Treasurer

Incumbent Adam Gallagher advanced from the Democratic primary for Dane County Treasurer on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Gallagher	99.9	121,062
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	171

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 121,233
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gallagher in this election.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Dane County, Wisconsin (2020)

General election

General election for Dane County Treasurer

Incumbent Adam Gallagher won election in the general election for Dane County Treasurer on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Gallagher (D)	98.4	273,681
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6	4,449

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 278,130
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Dane County Treasurer

Incumbent Adam Gallagher advanced from the Democratic primary for Dane County Treasurer on August 11, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adam Gallagher	99.6	95,758
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	348

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 96,106 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Gallagher's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Adam Gallagher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gallagher's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have worked to reduce property tax delinquencies while keeping people in their homes. I have also worked intergovernmentally with all levels of government to clean up delinquent, contaminated lands and return them to beneficial use.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Reduce Delinquencies
• Keep people in homes
• Return property to beneficial use

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Helping people keep their property and get caught up on unpaid property taxes.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Understand the needs of the voters and helping them achieve those needs. Sometimes this is direct assistance. Sometimes this is guidance on how they can achieve a personal need. Sometimes this is connecting them with others who can directly assist.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Property tax calculation and collection is the most public duty. Unclaimed funds, county banking administration, and assisting local treasurers are a few of the lesser known responsibilities.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Challenger explosion was the first major news event I recall that was discussed in school. I was 6 at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was in fast food, where I worked for nine months.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Transparency between departments is vital to maintaining trust and understanding throughout government.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Adam Gallagher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gallagher's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was first elected in 2012 as Dane County Treasurer. As Treasurer, I have been working with delinquent taxpayers to get them caught up on their taxes, help connect them with resources that can assist them with keep their properties as much as possible, clean up delinquent contaminated sites, put delinquent properties back into a tax-paying status, and/or get lands into a good use like a new community library.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• It's more valuable to help people get caught up on property taxes and other areas of life than to push them into homelessness.
• As an elected official, I can work with the County Board, County Executive, State and Federal legislators, and the Governor to improve administration of the property tax system.
• In working with the state treasurer and other county treasurers, we can put together a one-shop-stop of resources to assist property taxpayers who are encountering difficult times across the state.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Property taxes, unclaimed funds, public staff support, local clerk and treasurer support

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

While the County Treasurer is lower on the partisan ballot with other county officials, the position is similar to that of Clerk or Sheriff, except with a focus on property taxes. For example, the Clerk ensures compliance and equity in the election process, and the Sheriff oversees compliance of laws. The Treasurer works to enforce and maintain consistency in the property tax system. Delinquent property owners accrue interest and penalties. Property owners who convert land out of agriculture are charged a conversion fee. Unclaimed funds are returned to their rightful owners through newspaper and online public notification. When taxes are not paid, the County Treasurer tax-deeds the property, whereby the county becomes owner of the property and can (1) pay the taxes to retain ownership, (2) sell it to the local municipality, or (3) auction it for public bidding similar to a Sheriff Sale.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The most important characteristic or principal of an elected official is willingness to listen and look at things from the other person's perspective. This can be challenging when times are stressful, and sometimes stating the law is the only option available. However, there are plenty of opportunities that come along when the elected official can work to try finding alternative resources to assist or considering a change in law or practice that will resolve a systemic issue and make things more equitable.

What legacy would you like to leave?

While the Dane County Treasurer's Office is by definition a money-based administration, I have been moving the position into more of a social outreach and resource connection role. When people are struggling with paying taxes, they often have other hardships. So, I have collaborated with social workers, attorneys, financial counselors, and UW-Extension to obtain a list of resources that can assist struggling property owners. Often, I find that when property owners connect with these resources, they are able to work themselves into a better situation over time instead of loosing their property due to unpaid taxes. In working with the State Treasurer and other County Treasurers, I would also like to create a property owner financial education toolkit for more structured young adult education as well as more informal adult education opportunities in the Dane County area and across the state of Wisconsin. Hopefully, this will help prepare future property owners (ex. seniors in high school, those transitioning out of incarceration, etc.).

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first volunteer job was as a camp counselor while in high school. My first part-time job was at KFC for nine months, which took me into college when I transitioned to working as a student aide at the university. My first political job was as as a Senate messenger at the Wisconsin State Capitol while working towards my MS degree in Water Resources Management with an emphasis on environmental law.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

One of the most public activities of the Treasurer's Office is calculating and collecting property taxes. In working with payments that are received after the due date, this office maintains a standard for determining timelines that complies with state law and is applied consistently to all payments. The two statutory exceptions under state law that would qualify a late payment as timely without interest and penalty would be (1) written USPS admittance to error in handling or delay in delivering a payment, or (2) active military duty of 90+ days over the due date of taxes.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

This position requires organization, attention to details, and strict guidance to timelines. The office balances all monies to the penny each and every day the office is open, and on scheduled occasions twice a day. The Treasurer position in particular requires compassion for those in need and the ability to jump between the big-picture and the case-by-case needs. It would also be beneficial for the Treasurer to be able to explain detailed processes in common, simplified descriptions so that property owners understand what is going on and what is expected of them.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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