Gary George (Wisconsin politician) facts for kids

Gary R. George (born March 8, 1954) is an African American lawyer and former politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He represented Milwaukee in the Wisconsin Senate for almost 23 years. During his time in politics, he faced several challenges and investigations. He was eventually removed from office in 2003 through a special vote called a recall. Later, he admitted to breaking rules about receiving money in exchange for directing state funds. He spent three years in federal prison for these actions.

Early Life and Education

Gary George was born and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He lived most of his life there. He went to Marquette University High School. After high school, he studied business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He then earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1979.

Political Journey

Gary George first ran for public office after finishing law school. In 1980, he challenged the current state senator, Monroe Swan, in the Democratic primary election. Swan was the first African American state senator in Wisconsin. Gary George won this election with 60% of the votes. He then easily won the main election. He was elected five more times to the Wisconsin Senate. He did not face any strong opponents until the 2003 recall election, which ended his political career.

In the Senate, Gary George held several important roles. He helped lead the powerful budget committee, called the Joint Finance Committee, from 1984 to 1993. Later, he led the Senate Judiciary Committee, which deals with laws and courts. After some disagreements with other Democratic leaders in the mid-1990s, they worked things out. This allowed him to become the President pro tempore of the Senate. He also chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chaired the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in 1999 and 2001. Even though he was a Democrat, he often agreed with the budget plans of the Republican governor, Tommy Thompson.

First Recall Attempt (1986)

Gary George faced his first attempt to remove him from office in 1986. This happened during his second term as senator. Some people in his district were upset because he supported Republican president Ronald Reagan. He made these comments when he briefly ran for the United States Senate that year.

In September, a group collected nearly 10,000 signatures to try and recall him. However, Gary George and his team successfully argued that many signatures were not valid. For example, some signatures were collected by someone who did not live in the district. Others were from voters who did not live in Gary George's district. After these signatures were removed, the recall effort did not have enough valid signatures to force an election.

Rules Broken (1990)

After a two-year investigation, Gary George was found to be one of several lawmakers who accepted small amounts of money from people who tried to influence laws. This was against the state's rules for politicians. Gary George was accused of receiving $120 from two lobbyists. He also improperly accepted a free hotel room and meals from another lobbyist. He was fined $1,907 and had to do 200 hours of community service.

Business Problems (1993–1997)

Gary George faced investigations again in 1993 because of problems with a check-cashing company he had started. The company, called First Currency Exchange, had financial difficulties. State examiners found a large amount of money missing from the company's accounts. This led to investigations by state and federal agencies.

Gary George had started the company in 1983. He said he gave control to his brother in 1984 to avoid conflicts with his work as a senator. However, some former employees said that Gary George still made all the important decisions for the company. He later faced lawsuits from banks that had lent money to the business. The state ethics board also investigated and suggested that he should face charges for not properly reporting his involvement and income from the business.

Despite these issues, Gary George ran for re-election in 1996 without any opponents. In 1996, Democrats gained a small majority in the Senate. However, Gary George was upset when Democratic leaders did not make him the head of the Joint Finance Committee again. He even tried to make a deal with the Republican Party to get the position he wanted. He couldn't reach an agreement because he wouldn't switch parties. This caused a lasting disagreement between him and the Democratic leader, Charles Chvala. This disagreement made it harder for the Democrats to achieve their goals in the Legislature for the next four years.

The investigation into Gary George's business problems was not fully resolved for a long time. He eventually had to pay back taxes to the state in 2011 because of issues related to First Currency Exchange.

First Run for Governor (1998)

In June 1998, Gary George announced he was running for Governor of Wisconsin. He ran in the Democratic primary election. His opponent was Ed Garvey, a lawyer from Madison. Garvey was well-known for his work with the NFL players' union. Gary George accused Garvey of being part of a "Madison boys club" that he felt had too much power in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Some people thought Gary George's campaign was meant to hurt the Democratic ticket to help the Republican governor, Tommy Thompson. Gary George received only 20% of the primary votes, and Garvey lost badly in the main election.

The 1998 election gave Republicans control of the state Assembly, but Democrats kept a small majority in the Senate. Democratic leaders in the Senate decided to try and work with Gary George again. They didn't want him to switch parties, which would give Republicans full control of the state government. So, they made him president pro tempore of the Senate. He also became chairman of the Senate judiciary committee and co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Second Run for Governor (2002)

After working things out with other Senate Democrats, Gary George had a productive time in the Legislature. He supported things like public television, safety locks for firearms, and help for dairy farmers. By late 2000, he started preparing to run for governor again in the 2002 election. He campaigned a lot in 2001 and 2002. However, he did not make it onto the ballot for the Democratic Primary. The state elections board found that many names or addresses on his nominating petitions were incorrect.

Gary George's supporters also blamed his rival from Milwaukee, Congressman Tom Barrett. Gary George then supported Jim Doyle, who won the election.

Second Recall Campaign (2003)

Early in 2003, a big disagreement happened between the new Democratic governor, Jim Doyle, and the Republican Legislature. This was about a bill that would change how gambling agreements were made with Native American tribes in Wisconsin. Usually, the governor handled these agreements. But with a Democrat as governor, the Republicans passed a bill that would require the Legislature to approve these agreements. Governor Doyle said no to the bill. He said it would make it impossible to renew gambling contracts. Republicans wanted to get enough votes to overrule the governor's decision. In the end, they were one vote short in the Senate. Gary George voted with the Republicans.

After all the challenges in his career, this vote was the final reason for many people to be upset. The vote was not popular in his district. More importantly, it caused a big disagreement with Jerrel Jones, a powerful black media owner in Milwaukee. Years before, Jones had praised Gary George as a talented politician. Jones had also supported Gary George through his many problems. Jones owned the Milwaukee Courier newspaper and a radio station. He was also part of a foundation that gave out money from gambling profits. Jones used his money and media to start a recall campaign against Gary George. At the time, Jones said that Gary George had done "nothing for the community and everything for Gary George" for 20 years.

The recall campaign, supported by Jones, collected 14,395 signatures. This was much more than the number needed. Like in 1986, Gary George tried to get some signatures thrown out. But this time, there were too many valid signatures. On July 9, 2003, the state elections board decided that enough valid signatures had been collected to force a recall election. This made Gary George the second state senator in Wisconsin history to face a recall. Gary George fought this decision all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but the court ruled against him.

In the recall primary election in October 2003, Gary George was clearly defeated by Spencer Coggs, who had been a state representative for a long time.

Later Years

In 2008, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided that Gary George could apply to practice law again. He got his law license back in 2010.

His tax problems from the 1993 business issues finally caught up to him in 2011. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue said he owed $91,000 in back taxes.

Gary George tried to return to politics in 2014. He challenged his former state senate colleague, U.S. representative Gwen Moore, in the primary election. He said he was running because people wanted stronger leadership from Milwaukee's politicians. He lost the election badly in August 2014, getting only 29% of the votes. He ran again in 2016 and 2018, with similar results.

Gary George continues to work as a lawyer in southeast Wisconsin.

Personal Life and Family

Gary George married Mary Cook in 1978. They had two sons together. They divorced in 1990–1991. Mary later married Peter Igel.

Gary George then married Patricia Schulz. He had two more children with his second wife. They now live in Grafton, Wisconsin.

Electoral History

Wisconsin Senate (1980–2003)

U.S. Senator (1986)

Wisconsin Governor (1998)

U.S. House (2014, 2016, 2018)