Chris Taylor (politician)

Christine "Chris" Taylor (born January 13, 1968) is an American lawyer, politician, and judge of the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Dane County. She previously served nine years in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Democrat.[1][2]

The Honorable Chris Taylor
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Dane Circuit, Branch 12
Incumbent
Assumed office August 1, 2020
Appointed by	Tony Evers
Preceded by	Jill Karofsky
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 3, 2013 – July 31, 2020
Preceded by	Terese Berceau
Succeeded by	Francesca Hong
Constituency	76th district
In office August 9, 2011 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Joe Parisi
Succeeded by	Melissa Sargent
Constituency	48th district
Personal details
Born	Christine Taylor January 13, 1968 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	James Feldman
Children	Samuel Benjamin
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1990) University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1995)

Background

Taylor and her older sister were raised by her parents in Southern California. She graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California, and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. She then attended the University of Wisconsin Law School, earning her J.D. in 1995. She remained in Wisconsin, was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin, and worked as a private practice attorney in Milwaukee and Madison from 1996 to 2002. She then became the public policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin state legislature

In 2011 a vacancy occurred in the Wisconsin State Assembly due to the resignation of Joe Parisi, who had been elected to serve as Dane County Executive. Taylor had not held any public office before, but topped the crowded six-person Democratic primary with 31% of the vote. She faced no Republican opponent in the general election, and won 5,459 votes; there were 591 write-in votes against her.[3]

The heavily Democratic 48th District included parts of the east and far east sides of Madison, parts of Monona and McFarland and the towns of Blooming Grove and Dunn.[3] But this would be the final year for these district boundaries, as new districts had already been passed by the Republican Legislature. In 2012, she would run for re-election in the redrawn 76th district, which contained parts of downtown Madison and northeast Madison—including the Wisconsin State Capitol.

In 2017, after Representative Peter Barca announced he would step down from his role as Democratic minority leader in the Assembly, Taylor was considered a strong candidate to replace him. However, she supported Gordon Hintz for the role and was appointed to the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee shortly thereafter.[4] In addition to Joint Finance, Taylor currently serves on the Joint Legislative Council and the Assembly committees on Federalism and Interstate Relations, on Finance, and on Public Benefit Reform.[2]

Taylor was re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, but only faced an opponent in 2016, when she won 83% of the vote. On March 26, 2020, Taylor announced she would not be a candidate for re-election in 2020.[5][6]

Wisconsin circuit court

On June 11, 2020, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced he was appointing Taylor to the Wisconsin circuit court in Dane County. Taylor will replace Judge Jill Karofsky, who was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the April General Election.[1]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2011)

Wisconsin Assembly, 48th District Special Election, 2011[7][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Special Democratic Primary, July 12, 2011
	Democratic	Chris Taylor	3,383	31.40%
	Democratic	Vicky Selkowe	2,452	22.76%
	Democratic	Fred Arnold	1,507	13.99%
	Democratic	Andy Heidt	1,190	11.05%
	Democratic	Bethany Ordaz	1,149	10.67%
	Democratic	Dave De Felice	1,086	10.08%
		Scattering	6	0.06%
Plurality			931	8.64%
Total votes			10,773	100.0%
Special Election, August 9, 2011
	Democratic	Chris Taylor	5,453	93.50%
		Scattering	379	6.50%
Plurality			5,074	87.00%
Total votes			5,832	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (2016)

Wisconsin Assembly, 76th District Election, 2016[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 8, 2016
	Democratic	Chris Taylor	33,628	82.77%
	Republican	Jon Rygiewicz	6,877	16.93%
		Scattering	124	0.31%
Plurality			26,751	65.84%
Total votes			40,629	100.0%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Reilly, Briana (June 11, 2020). "Evers appoints Chris Taylor to replace Karofsky in Dane County Circuit Court". The Capital Times. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
2. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2019). "Elected officials: Legislature" (PDF). Wisconsin Blue Book 2019-2020 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-7333817-0-3. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
3. Rose, Devin (August 9, 2011). "Taylor wins uncontested race for 48th Assembly District". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
4. Sommerhauser, Mark (October 3, 2017). "Madison Democrat Chris Taylor named to Legislature's budget committee". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
5. Schmidt, Mitchell (March 27, 2020). "Rep. Chris Taylor will not seek another term after nearly 10 years in state Assembly". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
6. "Statement from Rep. Chris Taylor on Not Seeking Re-election to the State Legislature in 2020". Office of Rep. Chris Taylor (Press release). March 26, 2020. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
7. Canvass Results for 2011 Special Primary Election Assembly 48 - 7/12/2011 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. July 18, 2011. p. 1. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
8. Canvass Results for 2011 Special Election Assembly 48 - 8/9/2011 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 11, 2011. p. 1. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
9. Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 26. Retrieved June 13, 2020.

External links

• Representative Chris Taylor at Wisconsin Legislature (Archived version)
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Chris Taylor (Wisconsin) at Ballotpedia
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Follow the Money - Chris Taylor
  • 2018 2016 2014 2012 2011 campaign contributions