Frank Lasee
Frank G. Lasee (b. December 11, 1961) is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing District 1 from 2011 to 2017. He resigned on December 29, 2017, in order to serve as the administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's Worker's Compensation Division.[1]
Lasee was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 8th Congressional District of Wisconsin.[2] Lasee was defeated by Mike Gallagher in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.[3]
Lasee served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 2 from 2005 to 2009.
Biography
Lasee earned his B.S in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, majoring in humanistic studies.[4]
Prior to serving in the legislature, Lasee was the Ledgeview, Wisconsin Town Board Chair from 1993 to 1997, and was a supervisor for an insurance company. In addition to being a Legislator, Lasee is a real estate broker.[5]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Insurance, Housing, and Trade, Chair |
| • Labor and Regulatory Reform |
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lasee served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Vice Chair |
| • Insurance, Housing, and Trade, Chair |
| • Judiciary and Public Safety |
| • Review of Administrative Rules |
| • Joint Survey on Retirement Systems, Co-Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lasee served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Elections and Urban Affairs |
| • Financial Institutions and Rural Issues, Vice Chair |
| • Government Operations, Public Works, and Telecommunications |
| • Insurance and Housing, Chair |
| • Tax Exemptions, Co-chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lasee served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Financial Institutions and Rural Issues, Vice Chair |
| • Insurance and Housing, Chair |
| • State and Federal Relations and Information Technology, Vice Chair |
| • Transportation and Elections |
Issues
Guns in schools
Lasee achieved notoriety through his proposal to allow public school teachers to carry guns. Lasee asserts that such policies have been effective in other countries such as Israel and Thailand.[6] Lasee notes that the proposal would have to "work with a federal law that bans guns on school grounds."[7]
Law school funding
Lasee proposed to cut state funding to the University of Wisconsin Law School, claiming that lawyers are a "plague of locusts" and that we already have too many. His plan includes an initial cut of $1 million and a complete removal of funding by 2010. This would affect about 10 percent of the school's total funding.
Consolidating counties
Lasee feels that Wisconsin has too many counties at 72, and should consolidate the counties in rural areas. He believes that this would produce a cost savings in government, pointing out that original county lines were created at a time when distance was more serious factor.[8]
Taxpayers Bill of Rights
A Taxpayers Bill of Rights, also known as TABOR, was introduced by Frank Lasee and Jeff Wood in 2004 in Wisconsin. They stated "taxpayers in this state need protection."[9] TABOR includes five basic provisions:[10]
- Limit state and school spending growth to population growth plus inflation.
- Limit county and municipalities the same way.
- Any increase in income, sales, franchise, or property tax rates, would require the approval of voters.
- Any proposal by the state or local governments to borrow money would require the approval of voters.
- Establish an emergency fund and budget stabilization fund.
Taxpayer protection act
A 2006 proposal was the "Taxpayer Protection Act." The TPA proposed to tie governments revenue to inflation, population, personal income growth etc.[11]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as a race to watch. The seat was left open following incumbent Reid Ribble's (R) decision to retire. Mike Gallagher (R) defeated Tom Nelson (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Gallagher defeated Frank Lasee and Terry McNulty in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.[12][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Mike Gallagher |
62.7% | 227,892 | |
| Democratic | Tom Nelson | 37.3% | 135,682 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 18 | |
| Total Votes | 363,592 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mike Gallagher |
74.5% | 40,322 | ||
| Frank Lasee | 19.8% | 10,705 | ||
| Terry McNulty | 5.7% | 3,109 | ||
| Total Votes | 54,136 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission |
||||
2014
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for 17 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Dean Debroux ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Frank Lasee ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Lasee defeated Debroux in the general election. Richard Skare (D) was removed from the ballot before the primary elections.[13][14][15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank Lasee Incumbent |
61.6% | 47,438 | |
| Democratic | Dean Debroux | 38.4% | 29,555 | |
| Total Votes | 76,993 | |||
2010
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2010
Lasee was elected State Senator for the 1st District in 2010. He ran for Wisconsin State Senate District 1, an open seat vacated by Senator Alan Lasee who did not run for re-election. He defeated Dave Hutchison and Jon Soyring in the September 14, 2010, primary. He defeated Democratic opponent Monk Elmer in the November 2, 2010, general election. [16][17]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 1 (2010) General Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Frank Lasee (R)
|
43,415 | 60.04% | ||
| Monk Elmer (D) | 28,800 | 39.83% | ||
| Wisconsin Senate, District 1 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Frank Lasee (R)
|
12,523 | 56.77% | ||
| Dave Hutchison (R) | 7,726 | 35.02% | ||
| Jon Soyring (R) | 1,800 | 8.16% | ||
2008
Lasee denounced the Wisconsin teachers union (WEAC) for running ads against him, which he suggested the $400,000 in ads purchased by WEAC contributed to his defeat. (The State assembly races have historically cost less than $35,000.)
Campaign themes
2016
The following issues were listed on Lasee's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Frank Lasee's campaign website, http://www.laseeforcongress.com/issues | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Lasee and his wife, Amy Joy, have six children.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wisconsin scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 through December 31. There were also special sessions. The first special session was January 5. The second special session was August 1 through September 15.
- Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business in Wisconsin: 2016 legislative voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor policy.
- Wisconsin Family Action: 2017-2018 legislative scorecard
- Legislators are scored by the Wisconsin Family Action on their votes on legislation related to "marriage, family, the sanctity of human life, or religious freedom."[19]
- Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on legislation WMC deemed as "most important issues for the business community."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 15.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 5 through December 31.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 4.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 7 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 10 through March 16.
|
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District election, 2016
- Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Frank + Lasee + Wisconsin + Senate"
See also
- Wisconsin State Legislature
- Wisconsin State Senate
- Wisconsin State Senate Committees
- Wisconsin Joint Committees
- Wisconsin state legislative districts
External links
- Campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Project Vote Smart - Biographical profile
- Project Vote Smart - Legislative profile
- Frank Lasee on Twitter
- Frank Lasee on Facebook
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ San Fransisco Chronicle, "2 Republican state lawmakers resign to work for Walker," December 29, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "GOP Rep. Reid Ribble retiring," January 30, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Politico, "Wisconsin House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016
- ↑ Inside, "Alumni: UW-Green Bay alums doing a capitol job," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Candidate Lasee," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ NBC15, "Arming Teachers with Guns," October 4, 2006
- ↑ MSNBC, "Wis. Lawmaker wants teachers to carry guns," October 5, 2006
- ↑ Wisconsin Technology Council, "Lop off a few Wisconsin counties? It’s not as far-fetched as it seems," August 7, 2007
- ↑ University of Wisconsin, "Regents, Assembly speaker discuss implications of Taxpayer Bill of Rights," March 4, 2004
- ↑ Heartland.org, "Wisconsin Needs a Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights," February 1, 2004
- ↑ Wisconsin.edu, "Walsh updates Board on failure of Taxpayer Protection Act; Reilly shares “Good News,”" May 5, 2006
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed April 25, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed April 25, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Family Action, "2015-2016 legislative scorecard," accessed May 31, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alan Lasee (R) |
Wisconsin State Senate District 1 2011-2017 |
Succeeded by Caleb Frostman (D) |
