David Bowen (Wisconsin politician) facts for kids

David Bowen was born on January 28, 1987. He is a politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2015 to 2022. He represented the 10th Assembly district. Before that, he was a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

Early Life and Education

David Bowen was born in Milwaukee. His parents came from Jamaica. He graduated with honors from Bradley Tech High School in 2005.

He joined youth leadership programs. These included Urban Underground and Public Allies. These programs help young people become leaders. He also volunteered with Urban Underground. He studied at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. There, he learned about helping communities and education.

While in college, David became a program director at Urban Underground. He also helped committees working to prevent violence.

Serving the Community

In April 2012, David Bowen was elected to the County Board. He represented District 10. At that time, he was the youngest person on the board. He was also one of the youngest Black elected officials in the Milwaukee area.

He helped create a "living wage" law. This law made sure companies working with Milwaukee County paid their employees fairly. The law required them to pay at least $11.32 an hour. The County Executive tried to stop the law, but David and others made sure it passed.

In 2014, David ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly. The person holding the seat, Sandy Pasch, was not running again. David won the primary election. He then ran unopposed in the general election. This means no one ran against him. He was re-elected in 2016, 2018, and 2020. He did not have opponents in those elections either.

In 2022, David ran for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. He later dropped out of the race. Another Democrat, Darrin Madison, took his place in the Assembly. In 2023, David ran for a seat on the Milwaukee Common Council. He lost by a very small number of votes.

Understanding Politics

David Bowen was a "superdelegate" at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. A superdelegate is a special kind of delegate. They are usually party leaders or elected officials. They can vote for any candidate they choose. David supported Bernie Sanders at the convention. He was a superdelegate because he was a leader in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

In 2019, he ran to be the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He was not elected for that role.