Tim Carpenter

Timothy W. Carpenter (born February 24, 1960) is an American politician and Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing the 3rd Senate district since 2003. He previously served 18 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1985–2003).

Tim Carpenter
President pro tempore of the Wisconsin Senate
In office July 16, 2012 – January 7, 2013
Preceded by	Joseph K. Leibham
Succeeded by	Joseph K. Leibham
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Brian Burke
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 4, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Walter Kunicki
Succeeded by	Josh Zepnick
Constituency	9th district
In office January 3, 1985 – January 4, 1993
Preceded by	James F. Rooney
Succeeded by	Rosemary Potter
Constituency	20th district
Personal details
Born	Timothy W. Carpenter February 24, 1960 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (B.A.) University of Wisconsin–Madison (M.A.)
Website	Official website

Early life and education

Carpenter was born on February 24, 1960, at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee.[1] He graduated from Milwaukee's Casimir Pulaski High School and attended Marquette University in 1978, before transferring to University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he received his bachelor's degree in political science and history in 1982.[2] He continued graduate work at Milwaukee, but was interrupted when he was elected to the Legislature in 1984. He later resumed his education at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned his master's degree in 1995.[1]

Political career

After graduating from college, Carpenter worked briefly at a number of jobs, at Rustlers Steak House and as a courier for Federal Express.[1] He had become involved with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin at an early age and became a member of the state party's administrative committee.[3] In 1984, at age 24, while still a student at the La Follette School, he jumped into the race for Wisconsin State Assembly in the open 20th Assembly district seat. The 20th Assembly district was heavily Democratic, based in southern Milwaukee—Carpenter faced five opponents in the Democratic primary. He prevailed in the six-way race with just 27% of the vote, and faced no opponent in the 1984 general election.[4]

Carpenter was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1984 and served nine terms representing the 9th Assembly District until 2002, holding the post of Speaker Pro Tempore in 1993. He was first elected to represent Wisconsin's 3rd Senate District in 2002. During the 2007–08 biennium, he served as President Pro Tempore of the Wisconsin State Senate.

During the 2007-08 biennium, he was the chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues, Long Term Care, and Job Creation.

Carpenter is currently a member of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services; the Senate Committee of Transportation, Public Safety, and Veterans and Military Affairs; and he serves on the Transportation Projects Commission. Senator Tim Carpenter

He was also previously the Chair of the Legislative Council Study Committee on addressing recidivism in High-Risk Juvenile Offenders. 2008 Interim Study Committees

2011 Wisconsin protests

During the protests in Wisconsin, Carpenter, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, left the state to deny the State Senate a quorum on Governor Scott Walker's controversial "Budget Repair" legislation. Based on the revelations from a prank phone call on Gov. Walker, detailing plans to pass his bill, Carpenter called upon Gov. Walker to resign.[5]

2020 protests

On June 23, 2020, Carpenter was recording a protest near the Wisconsin state capitol when he was assaulted by BLM (Black Lives Matter) protesters. A short time later he collapsed and was taken to the hospital for a suspected concussion.[6]

Running for other offices

2004 U.S. House campaign

In 2004, Carpenter unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for United States House of Representatives in the 4th congressional district, losing the primary election to fellow state senator Gwen Moore.

Milwaukee City Treasurer

In February 2012, Carpenter was one of two State Senators (the other being fellow Democrat Spencer Coggs) to win a place on the ballot for Milwaukee City Treasurer in the Spring 2012 election, defeating former State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass and Socialist Rick Kissell in the non-partisan primary.[7] Coggs polled 13,559 votes; Carpenter 12,880; Sass 5,089 and Kissell 2,241.[8] In the general election, Coggs won 35,096 votes to Carpenter's 34,293.[9]

Personal life

Carpenter is gay, and is one of four openly LGBT members of the Wisconsin Legislature. He is a member of the Sierra Club; Jackson Park Neighborhood Association; Story Hill Neighborhood Association; and the Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home Advisory Council.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, 20th district (1984–1990)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1984[4]	Primary	September 11	Tim Carpenter	Democratic	2,021	27.53%	Stephen P. Kotecki	Dem.	1,625	22.13%	7,342	396
							Terry L. Witkowski	Dem.	1,312	17.87%
							William G. Hart	Dem.	1,202	16.37%
							Carl A. Kopps	Dem.	1,139	15.51%
							Jack H. Gleason	Dem.	43	0.59%
	General	November 6	Tim Carpenter	Democratic	18,107	100.0%					18,107	18,107
1986[10]	Primary	September 9	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	3,538	65.51%	Stephen P. Kotecki	Dem.	1,863	34.49%	5,401	1,675
	General	November 4	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	11,081	70.53%	Jerome D. Schultz	Rep.	4,630	29.47%	15,711	6,451
1988[11]	General	November 8	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	17,870	100.0%					17,870	17,870
1990[12]	General	November 6	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	8,872	67.17%	Dorothy Wosick Seidl	Rep.	4,336	32.83%	13,208	4,536

Wisconsin Assembly, 9th district (1992–2000)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1992[13]	General	November 3	Tim Carpenter	Democratic	17,790	100.0%					17,790	17,790
1994[14]	General	November 8	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	9,569	59.33%	James T. Sanfilippo	Rep.	6,559	40.67%	16,128	3,010
1996[15]	Primary	September 10	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	3,312	72.44%	James T. Sanfilippo	Dem.	1,260	27.56%	4,572	2,052
	General	November 5	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	14,758	100.0%					14,758	14,758
1998[16]	General	November 3	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	11,418	100.0%					11,418	11,418
2000[17]	General	November 7	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	14,244	70.60%	Richard T. Mannisto	Rep.	5,863	29.06%	20,176	8,381

Wisconsin Senate (2002&ndas;2018)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2002	Primary[18]	September 10	Tim Carpenter	Democratic	8,491	52.92%	Pat Farley	Dem.	5,328	33.21%	16,044	3,163
							Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	2,187	13.63%
	General[19]	November 5	Tim Carpenter	Democratic	24,431	97.96%					24,939	23,923
2006	General[20]	November 7	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	30,768	98.51%					31,232	30,304
2010	General[21]	November 2	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	23,401	61.09%	Annette Miller Krznarich	Rep.	14,796	38.63%	38,305	8,605
2014	General[22]	November 4	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	29,291	97.10%					30,166	28,416
2018	General[23]	November 6	Tim Carpenter (inc.)	Democratic	36,875	97.40%					37,860	35,890

References

1. "Biography". Tim Carpenter - Wisconsin State Senator. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
2. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1985). "Biographies" (PDF). The state of Wisconsin 1985-1986 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 35. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
3. "The Wisconsin Assembly". Wisconsin State Journal. January 27, 1985. Retrieved January 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1985). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1985-1986 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 906, 925. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
5. http://wispolitics.com/1006/large/110223_Carpenter_letter.pdf
6. "State Senator says he was attacked during Madison protest, collapses in front of 27 News crew". Jun 24, 2020. Retrieved Jun 25, 2020.
7. "Coggs, Carpenter to square off for treasurer". www.jsonline.com. Retrieved Jun 25, 2020.
8. "Official election results" (PDF). Retrieved 26 July 2018.
9. "Coggs edges Carpenter in city treasurer's race". www.jsonline.com. Retrieved Jun 25, 2020.
10. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1987). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1987-1988 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 888, 907. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
11. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1989). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1989-1990 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 910, 925. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1991). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1991-1992 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 899, 915. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
13. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1993). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1993-1994 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 903, 921. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
14. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1995). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 1995-1996 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 903, 921. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
15. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1997). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 1997-1998 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 899, 903. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
16. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1999). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1999-2000 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 879, 882. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
17. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2000 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. May 10, 2001. p. 13. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
18. Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/10/2002 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. September 24, 2002. p. 14. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
19. Results of Fall General Election - 11/05/2002 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 2, 2002. p. 6. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
20. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. p. 7. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
21. 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. p. 5. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
22. Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. p. 5. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
23. Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 6. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

External links

• Senator Tim Carpenter
• Senator Tim Carpenter at the Wisconsin State Legislature
  • constituency site
• Tim Carpenter official campaign site
• Profile at Vote Smart
• 3rd Senate District, Senator Carpenter in the Wisconsin Blue Book (2005–2006)