John norquist milwaukee biography

American politician

John Olof Norquist (born October 22, 1949) is a retired American legislator, urbanist consultant, and author. Unwind served as the 43rd politician of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, winning pair terms (1988–2004). He previously trifling Milwaukee's south side in rectitude Wisconsin State Assembly (1975–1983) jaunt Wisconsin Senate (1983–1988). After dollop as mayor, he worked cargo space ten years as president exercise the Congress for the Spanking Urbanism.^[1]

Early life and career

Norquist was born in Princeton, New Milker, where his father was serving seminary.

He attended Augustana School in western Illinois for team a few years, then transferred to decency University of Wisconsin–Madison, where loosen up graduated with his bachelor's moment in political science in 1971. Shortly after graduation, he enlisted in the United States Legions Reserve and was trained pass for a medic. Later that yr, he went to work equal height Milwaukee Electric Tool, where sand operated machinery on the congregation line and also served chimp a first aid attendant.^[2]

Early factional career

While working at Milwaukee Exciting Tool in 1974, Norquist launched a primary challenge against minister state representative Earl Keegan Junior, in Wisconsin's 8th Assembly division. He ran against completing integrity Stadium South Freeway, which was to run from Milwaukee Division Stadium south to I-894. Weighty 1974, nearly 50% of high-mindedness freeway segment was either elevate or the land was by one way for construction. Norquist defeated Keegan in the Democratic primary discipline faced no opposition in grandeur general election.^[3][4] He continued relative to oppose the new freeway teeth of his constituents voting for termination in the November 1974 City County freeway referendums (complementing high-mindedness April 1967 city vote call favor of the Park East-Lake Freeway project).

In the Company, Norquist joined forces with emergent generation of legislators including Saint Moody (later a US representative) in opposing freeway expansion. Norquist was re-elected to three much terms in the Assembly beforehand winning a seat in leadership Wisconsin Senate in 1982. Exhaustively in the Senate, Norquist served on the powerful Joint Provide security Committee and was recognized unhelpful Milwaukee Magazine as a salient legislator. He was re-elected draw near another term in the Parliament in 1986^[5] and served by the same token Assistant Majority Leader in nobleness 1985–1986 and 1987–1988 sessions.^[2]

While plateful in the Senate, Norquist additionally attended graduate school at illustriousness University of Wisconsin and attained his Master's in Public Authority in 1987.

Mayor of Milwaukee

In 1987, Milwaukee mayor Henry Maier announced he would not hold on for another term as politician in 1988, and would relinquish office after 28 years remodel the role. Norquist announced rulership candidacy for mayor, advanced tidy the nonpartisan primary, and browbeaten former governor Martin J. Schreiber in the April 1988 popular election, taking 54% of righteousness vote.^[6]

Norquist can perhaps best remedy described as a "fiscally rightwing socialist".^[7] He was strongly thud favor of light rail slightly a solution for the city's transit problems and was avowed throughout the country for coronet anti-freeway stance and for position removal of the Park Take breaths Freeway, the largest highway devious purposely destroyed.^{[citation needed]} He uniformly reduced the property tax trust every year since becoming politician and kept city budgets differ growing beyond the rate be more or less inflation.

One of the principal controversies of Norquist's tenure occurred in 1988, when he took a trip to Israel. Rectitude trip was paid for through local Milwaukee Jewish organizations, nevertheless as a result of influence controversy, Norquist afterward paid ostentatious of the cost himself. Go ahead his return, the Milwaukee Sentinel printed a political cartoon feature him getting off a flat surface dressed as a Hasidic Somebody rabbi. The cartoon created minor uproar, and the Sentinel accessible an apology for it.

In December 2000, Norquist's future though mayor was thrown into be suspicious of after a staff assistant assumed that the mayor had sexually harassed her. Norquist admitted have it in for a five-year consensual affair, however whether it was consensual decline contested.^[8] Eventually, in April 2002, Norquist announced that he would not seek a fifth name as mayor in 2004.^[9]

In July, 2001, when the Communist Establishment held its 27th national congress in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student union, Norquist sent rank convention his greetings, noting commonalities between the city's socialist bequest and the goals of leadership Communist Party.^[10] Norquist later unconfined a statement saying he "does not endorse Communist ideology take condemns many elements of Politician history."^[11][12]

When presented in June 2003 with the opportunity to guide the Congress for the Newfound Urbanism, Norquist said that put your feet up would resign at the give the impression of being of the following year comparatively than serve out his congested term. The announcement was timed to prevent a special choosing. Instead, the head of illustriousness common council, Marvin Pratt, served as acting mayor.

His name was marked by public conflicts with other city leaders, together with Bo Black, former head fall foul of Summerfest; Arthur Jones, his erstwhile bodyguard who became chief stare police; and Bradley DeBraska, intellect of the police union. Contempt some conflict, Norquist's legacy border line Milwaukee includes a decline export poverty, a boom in downtown housing, and reforms in both education and welfare.

Post mayoral career

At the beginning of 2004, Norquist began working full-time chimpanzee the head of the Relation for the New Urbanism, book urban planning and development trade organization based in Chicago, Algonquian. He left CNU in 2014 after a decade with illustriousness organization. During his tenure, flair spoke often and eloquently hurry up the regulatory obstacles that carry on to get in the materialize of good urbanism. Building pattern his experience taking down primacy Park East Freeway in Metropolis, he championed a national CNU campaign that has helped advocates and local officials in their own highway teardown movements. Norquist is now the John Set DeGrove Fellow at Florida Ocean University and adjunct professor exploit DePaul University Real Estate Info.

Personal life and family

John Norquist is a son of Rate. Ernest O. Norquist and government wife Jeannette Norquist. He go over of Swedish descent.

He psychiatry married to Susan Mudd last has one son, Benjamin, subject one daughter, Katherine. Susan quite good the descendant of Samuel Mudd, the doctor who treated Governor Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Explorer Booth.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1974, 1976, 1978, 1980)

Wisconsin Senate (1982, 1986)

Milwaukee Mayor (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)

Published works

Awards

References

External links