Bill Kramer
Bill Kramer (b. January 21, 1965) is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 97 from 2006 to 2015. First elected to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore in the 2013 legislative session, he served as Majority Leader after being elected to the position on September 4, 2013, the day of former leader Scott Suder's resignation. Kramer was removed from the position in a unanimous vote on March 4, 2014. His removal followed allegations that he had sexually harassed and groped two women.[1][2][3] Kramer did not seek re-election in 2014.
Biography
Kramer was born and raised in Waukesha. He attended St. Mary's Grade School and Waukesha South High School. Kramer received his accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, graduating magna cum laude with BBA in accounting in 1987. After passing the CPA exam, he worked as an accountant for four years. Kramer attended Duke University School of Law, graduating with his law degree and passing the North Carolina Bar exam in 1994. Kramer practiced law for several years in the areas of tax and complex civil litigation.
Kramer is the founder and owner of Kramer Financial Management and also works as a Certified Financial Planner.[4]
Kramer served three terms as a Waukesha County Supervisor, representing the south side of Waukesha from 1994 to 2006.[4]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kramer served on the following committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Assembly Organization |
| • Financial Institutions |
| • Rules |
| • Joint Legislative Council |
2011-2012
During the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kramer served on these committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Assembly Organization |
| • Financial Institutions, Chair |
| • Joint Legislative Council |
| • Joint Survey on Retirement Systems, Co-Chair |
| • Rules |
2009-2010
During the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kramer served on these committees:
| Wisconsin committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Audit |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Financial Institutions |
| • Judiciary and Ethics |
| • Audit |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Legislation sponsored in 2009 includes:
- AB-171 Global positioning device placed on a person's vehicle without that person's consent or knowledge made a felony; JRCCP report
- AB-196 State agency and school district operations expenditures, contracts, and grants: DOA required to make certain information available on a Web site; DPI duties
For a full listing of sponsored legislation and details see the House site.
Elections
2012
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2012
Kramer won re-election in the 2012 election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 97. Kramer ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14 and defeated Marga Krumins (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Bill Kramer Incumbent |
64.6% | 18,399 | |
| Democratic | Marga Krumins | 35.3% | 10,051 | |
| - | Scattering | 0.1% | 31 | |
| Total Votes | 28,481 | |||
2010
- See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2010
Kramer was re-elected to Wisconsin State Assembly District 97. He defeated Democrat Dawn Caruss in the general election on November 2, 2010. He was unopposed in the September 14, 2010, primary election.[7]
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 97 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Bill Kramer (R)
|
13,272 | |||
| Dawn Caruss (D) | 6,390 | |||
| Wisconsin State Assembly, District 97 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Bill Kramer (R)
|
6,208 | 99.89% | ||
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.
While in high school Kramer was a member of the National Honor Society, played football, ran track and was on the debate team. In college, he was an active member of Beta Alpha Psi, the honorary accounting fraternity, and graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in accounting in 1987.
Noteworthy events
Sexual harassment and assault allegations
Kramer was removed as majority leader of the Wisconsin state House on March 4, 2014, after it was alleged that he groped one woman and harassed another while at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C.[3]
On March 28, 2014, Kramer was charged with sexual assault in a 2011 incident where he allegedly groped and kissed an aide without her consent. He pleaded no contest to the charges in October 2014 and was sentenced to four months in jail.[8]
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.
2014
In 2014, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 4.
- Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce: 2013-2014 voting record
- Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position.
- National Federation of Independent Business in Wisconsin: 2013-2014 legislative voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor policy.
- Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters: 2013-2014 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues.
- Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce: 2013-2014 voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on legislation WMC deemed as "most important issues for the business community."
- Wisconsin Professional Police Association: 2013-2014 report card
- Legislators are scored on their votes by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association on legislation related to Wisconsin's law enforcement community.
- Wisconsin Sierra Club: 2013-2014 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
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.
|
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google News search for the term "Bill + Kramer + Wisconsin + Assembly"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Wisconsin State Legislature
- Wisconsin State Assembly
- Wisconsin State Assembly Committees
- Wisconsin Joint Committees
- Wisconsin state legislative districts
External links
- Representative Kramer's campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006
- Wisconsin Democracy Campaign profile
- Representative Kramer's Facebook
- Representative Kramer's LinkedIn
Footnotes
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "2013 Assembly Resolution 1," January 7, 2013
- ↑ The Badger Herald, "Rep. Bill Kramer elected as new Assembly majority leader," September 9, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 StarTribune, "Wisconsin Assembly Republicans strip majority leader of post amid abuse allegations," March 4, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kramer for Assembly, "About," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall Partisan Primary," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "2012 Fall General Election," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed April 25, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Rep. Bill Kramer sentenced to 5 months in jail for groping incident," November 25, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Wisconsin State Assembly District 97 2007-2015 |
Succeeded by Scott Allen (R) |
