Scott L. Fitzgerald
Scott L. Fitzgerald is an American politician and one-time newspaper publisher. He is a Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 13th District since 1994. In the wake of the 2018 elections when Democratic candidates were elected to the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state in Wisconsin, Fitzgerald pushed for legislation to remove powers from the incoming Democratic administration.
He is running for the Republican nomination for in the 2020 election.
Early life, education and career
Fitzgerald was born in Chicago, but moved with his family to Hustisford, Wisconsin, at age 11. He graduated from Hustisford High School in 1981, and earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in 1985. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1981 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Armor Branch in 1985. He completed the Army Command and General Staff College and served in a number of assignments during his 27 years of service, including battalion commander. In 2009, he retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He worked for nearly a decade as a newspaper publisher. He purchased the Dodge County Independent News in Juneau, Wisconsin, in 1990, and sold it in 1996 to the Watertown Daily Times, where he remained as associate publisher for several years.Wisconsin Senate
In 1994, Fitzgerald was elected to the Wisconsin Senate, and he has been re-elected since 1998. He was elected by his Senate Republican colleagues as Senate majority leader for the 2011–2012 legislative session. In prior sessions, Fitzgerald has served as Minority Leader, Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, and Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee.2011 Wisconsin protests
In 2011 there were public employee protests conducted in opposition to Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill. In January 2011, Fitzgerald said he wanted to meet with the unions before changing the laws, adding, "We're not going to walk through hell and go through that if the Governor doesn't offer that up."On February 8, 2011, Fitzgerald's father was appointed to head the state patrol by the Walker administration. Three days later, Governor Walker introduced his budget repair bill that limited collective bargaining from most municipal workers, which Fitzgerald, and all but one Republican in the State Senate, supported.
Gerrymandering
In 2011, Wisconsin Republicans drew the state's legislative map with 99 Assembly and 32 Senate districts. This map was later ruled as an "unconstitutional gerrymander" in 2016 by a three-judge panel. In response, Fitzgerald and Wisconsin state Republicans hired attorney Paul Clement to fight this ruling before the Supreme Court. As of 2016, the state has spent over $2 million to defend the legislative maps.Curbing powers of the Evers administration
In the wake of the 2018 elections when Democratic candidates were elected to the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state in Wisconsin, Fitzgerald pushed for legislation to take powers away from the incoming Democratic administration. The legislation would also reduce the time allowed for early voting in Wisconsin election. A similar law that curbed early voting was struck down by courts in 2016, with the court ruling that the law "intentionally discriminates on the basis of race," and that it was "stifling votes for partisan gain." The bill would also prevent the incoming Democratic administration to withdraw from a lawsuit seeking to repeal the Affordable Care Act by taking the power to do so away from the governor and hand it to the Republican-led and gerrymandered Wisconsin legislature. Fitzgerald described concern over the stripping of power as a "manufactured outrage by the Democrats". Fitzgerald justified the attempt to curb the powers of the incoming administration, saying "state legislators are the closest to those we represent" and suggesting that urban voters do not reflect the real electorate.COVID-19 pandemic
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fitzgerald opposed calls by Wisconsin governor Tony Evers to delay an election from early April to late May, to make it a mail-in election, and to mail ballots to all registered voters. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that many voters would be effectively disenfranchised, and in-person voting was also considered a public health risk. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Fitzgerald "had no answer to how local election officials are supposed to keep people safe as a massive shortage of poll workers has resulted in the closure or reduction of polling locations, forcing more people to vote at a single site."Due to the slow response by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature to waive a requirement that unemployed Wisconsites wait a week before they can be reimbursed unemployment benefits, Wisconsin lost out on $25M in federal funding from the federal CARES Act. Senate majority leader Fitzgerald, along with Assembly speaker Robin Vos, were warned that this would happen unless they passed the waiver.
In July 2020, Fitzgerald said he was opposed to a statewide face mask mandate.
U.S. House of Representatives
In September 2019, Fitzgerald announced he would run for. The announcement came two weeks after 21-term incumbent and fellow Republican Jim Sensenbrenner announced his retirement. His state senate district covers much of the congressional district's eastern portion. He did not have to give up his state senate seat to make his congressional bid; Wisconsin state senators serve staggered four-year terms, and Fitzgerald was not up for reelection until 2022.It was initially thought that the Republican primary–the real contest in what has long been the most Republican district in Wisconsin–would attract a crowded field. However, Republicans quickly cleared the field for Fitzgerald; according to the Cook Political Report, he was the only substantive candidate in the field when nominations closed.
Family
Fitzgerald's father, Stephen "Steve" Fitzgerald, was Sheriff of Dodge County, Wisconsin, for 14 years and served as the U.S. marshal for the Western District of Wisconsin. He was later appointed head of the Wisconsin State Patrol by Walker.Fitzgerald's younger brother, Jeff, was an Assembly representative from the 39th Assembly District, and was Assembly Speaker during the 2011–2012 legislative session.