Charles Chvala

Charles J. "Chuck" Chvala (born December 5, 1954) is a Wisconsin political commentator, businessman and former state legislator.

Chuck Chvala
Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
In office January 1999 – October 21, 2002
Preceded by	Michael Ellis
Succeeded by	Russ Decker and Fred Risser (interim co-leaders)
In office June 14, 1996 – April 1998
Preceded by	Michael Ellis
Succeeded by	Michael Ellis
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
In office April 1998 – January 1999
Preceded by	Michael Ellis
Succeeded by	Michael Ellis
In office October 1995 – June 14, 1996
Preceded by	Robert Jauch
Succeeded by	Michael Ellis
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 16th district
In office January 1985 – January 2005
Preceded by	Carl Thompson
Succeeded by	Mark Miller
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 98th district
In office January 1983 – January 1985
Personal details
Born	December 5, 1954 Merrill, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Mother	Mary Ann (née Severt) Chvala
Father	Jack Chvala
Residence	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison

Early life

Born in Merrill, Wisconsin, Chvala's family moved to Madison where he attended La Follette High School, and served as a student member of the Madison School Board.[1] He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later received his J.D. degree from its law school.

Career

Before running for office, Chvala was a practicing lawyer. He served as board chairman of Vets House, a non-profit; and as a board member of The Attic, another non-profit.

Chvala currently practices law in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition, he is involved in several real estate projects, and serves as a regular contributor to The Insiders, a political commentary series in Wisconsin.[2][3][4]

State Assembly

In 1978, Chvala ran unsuccessfully for the 37th Assembly district, which encompassed parts of Madison's far east, finishing second in a five-person Democratic primary. Over the next four years, battles in the legislature and courts redrew and renumbered districts, and in 1982 he ran for the 98th Assembly district, which encompassed parts of Madison's far east side, finishing first out of a five-candidate primary and easily winning the general election.

State Senate

He served in the Wisconsin State Senate from January 1985 until January 2005.

From 1995-2002 he led Senate Democrats during a time of razor-thin, one-vote party balances, leading to flips between Democratic and Republican leadership control. For example, Chvala was majority leader in early 1998, but in April Republican Mary Lazich won a special election to replace Democratic Sen. Lynn Adelman, who had been appointed to the federal bench, which flipped control of the 17-16 chamber to Republicans, making Chvala minority leader. A few months later, Democrats won in the fall elections by a one-seat margin, flipping control back in January 1999, making Chvala majority leader again.[5]

In the fall of 2002, Chvala and other legislative leaders were ensnared in a caucus scandal. He was charged with 20 felony counts, including extortion, misconduct in public office and filing false election reports. He pleaded guilty to two counts, and was sentenced to nine months in jail with two years of probation.[6]

Campaign for governor

In 1994, he was the Democratic nominee for governor, and lost in the general election to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson.[7]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1978, 1982)

Wisconsin Assembly, 37th District Election, 1978[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 12, 1978
	Democratic	David M. Travis	2,043	31.61%
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	1,869	28.92%
	Democratic	Harold F. Klubertanz	1,624	25.13%
	Democratic	S. Michael Shivers	564	8.73%
	Democratic	Jeanne M. Tabbutt	363	5.61%
Total votes			6463	100%

Wisconsin Assembly, 98th District Election, 1982[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 14, 1982
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	3,579	42.93%
	Democratic	Norman A. Cummings	1,497	17.96%
	Democratic	Rita Wlodarczyk	1,367	16.4%
	Democratic	Jane Hoepker	1,181	14.17%
	Democratic	Judson Knoll	712	8.54%
Total votes			8336	100%
General Election, November 3, 1982
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	11,338	69.9%
	Republican	Robert T. Stanek	4,881	30.09%
Total votes			16,219	100%

Wisconsin Senate (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000)

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 1984[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 11, 1984
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	7,255	100%
Total votes			7,255	100%
General Election, November 6, 1984
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	35,213	55.44%
	Republican	Thomas L. Storm	28,301	44.56%
Total votes			63,514	100%

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 1988[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 13, 1988
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	12,129	100%
Total votes			12,129	100%
General Election, November 8, 1988
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	40,586	62.47
	Republican	J. Michael Blaska	24,379	37.53%
Total votes			16,219	100%

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 1992[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 8, 1992
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	17,635	100%
Total votes			17,635	100%
General Election, November 3, 1992
	Democratic	Charles J. Chvala	46,888	63.63%
	Republican	Eric D. Gordon	26,799	36.37%
Total votes			73,687	100%

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 1996[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 10, 1996
	Democratic	Chuck Chvala	6,301	100%
Total votes			6,301	100%
General Election, November 8, 1996
	Democratic	Chuck Chvala	39,618	53.67%
	Republican	Tom Metcalfe	32,997	44.7%
	Libertarian	Mike A. Oprish	1,204	1.63%
Total votes			73,819	100%

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 2000[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 12, 2000
	Democratic	Chuck Chvala	6,587	100%
Total votes			6,587	100%
General Election, November 7, 2000
	Democratic	Chuck Chvala	51,076	57.97%
	Republican	Lisa B. Nelson	37,037	42.03%
Total votes			88,113	100%

Wisconsin Governor (1994)

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 1994[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 13, 1994
	Democratic	Chuck Chvala	121,916	100%
Total votes			121,916	100%
General Election, November 8, 1994
	Republican	T. Thompson/S. McCallum	1,051,326	67.26%
	Democratic	C. Chvala/D. Dean	482,850	30.89%
	Libertarian	D. Harmon/K. Robinson	11,639	.74%
	Other	E. Frami/M. O'Hare	9,188	.59%
	Independent	M. Mangan	8,150	.52%
Total votes			1,563,153	100%

Notes

1. La Follette High School celebrating 50th anniversary with kickoff event Saturday, by Andrea Anderson, Wisconsin State Journal, July 17, 2013, retrieved May 29, 2020
2. Wispolitics.com, June 12, 2020, retrieved June 16, 2020
3. ExploreLawyers.com, retrieved June 16, 2020
4. PropertyDrive.com, retrieved June 16, 2020
5. Democrats set targets for more Senate seats, by Pete Millard, Milwaukee Business Journal, June 4, 2000, retrieved June 23, 2020
6. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin-Published Opinion-Case 03-0442 CR-State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Charles Chvala, Defendant-Appellant
7. "Term: Chvala, Chuck 1954". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Wisconsin Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
8. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1979). "Vote for Representatives to the Assembly by District, page 906". In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin.
9. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Vote for Representatives to the Assembly by District, pages 892, 912". In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
10. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1985). "Vote for Senators, by District". In Theobald, H. Rupbert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1985-1986 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 903, 921. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
11. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1989). "Vote for Senators, by District". In Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1989-1990 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 907, 922. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1993). "Vote for Senators, by District". In Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1993-1994 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 900, 922. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
13. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1997). "Vote for Senators, by District". In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 1997-1998 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 888, 889. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
14. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2001). "Vote for Senators, by District". In Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2001-2002 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 917, 918. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
15. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1995). "Vote for State Officers by County, pages 891, 912". In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 1995-1996 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. Retrieved June 17, 2020.

External links

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN