Jim Doyle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named James Doyle, see James Doyle (disambiguation).
Jim Doyle
Jim Doyle
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 6, 2003
Lieutenant Barbara Lawton
Preceded by Scott McCallum
Born November 23, 1945 (1945-11-23) (age 62)
Washington D.C.
Political party Democratic
Spouse Jessica Doyle
Profession Prosecutor / Attorney
Religion Roman Catholic
Signature Jim Doyle's signature

James Edward (Jim) Doyle (born November 23, 1945) is a Wisconsin politician and member of the Democratic Party. He took office in January 2003 as the 44th Governor of Wisconsin. He defeated incumbent Governor Scott McCallum by a margin of 45% to 41%, a plurality reduced by the relative success of a third party candidate, Ed Thompson, the Libertarian candidate and former Governor Tommy Thompson's younger brother. Although in 2002 Democrats increased their number of governorships, Doyle was the only one of them to unseat a sitting Governor.

Contents

[edit] Personal background

Governor Doyle was born in Washington D.C.[1], the son of Ruth Bachhuber and James E. Doyle Sr. who were founding members of the modern Democratic Party in Wisconsin. James E. Doyle Sr. unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1954 and was appointed as a federal judge in 1965. Ruth Bachhuber Doyle was the first woman from Dane County to be elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1948.

Doyle attended Stanford University for three years, then returned home to Madison to finish his senior year at University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating from college and inspired by John F. Kennedy's call to public service, Doyle worked as a teacher in Tunisia as part of the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969.

In 1972, Doyle earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard University. Doyle then moved to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Arizona, where he worked as an attorney in a federal legal services office.

Doyle is married to Jessica Laird Doyle, niece of former Congressman Melvin R. Laird, and great-granddaughter of William D. Connor, who was Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1907–1909. They have two adopted sons, Gus and Gabe.

[edit] Attorney General

In 1975, Doyle returned to Madison and served three terms as Dane County District Attorney, from 1977 to 1982. After leaving that office, he spent eight years in private practice.

Doyle was elected Wisconsin Attorney General in 1990, and reelected in 1994 and 1998. Between 1997–1998, he served as the president of the National Association of Attorneys General. During his twelve years as Attorney General, Doyle was considered tough on crime, but not unsympathetic to its causes. He also gained recognition through several successful lawsuits against tobacco companies in the state.

[edit] Campaign for Governor

[edit] The 2002 Election

After Tommy Thompson resigned as Wisconsin Governor to become Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2001, Lieutenant Governor Scott McCallum became Governor, serving out the remaining two years of Thompson's term.

Governor McCallum inherited a state with a $3.2 billion budget deficit. In 2003, McCallum signed a budget-repair bill that traded most of a long-term return from the state’s $1.6 billion tobacco settlement for a one-time lump sum that fixed the deficit for a year but didn’t provide the necessary long-term solutions. He then spent all of the money in an attempt to balance the budget in under one year.

While McCallum didn't cause the state's deficit, he was accused of not creating long-term solutions for the state and poor decision making. Doyle seized McCallum's faults and brought them to the surface in his 2002 campaign, accusing him of fiscal mismanagement.

The 2002 governor's race is considered by some to have been the most negative campaign in the state's history, with frequent mudslinging from both candidates and independent groups. In response, Libertarian Ed Thompson (brother of Tommy), publicly critical of the negative campaigning of both major party candidates, became a more viable option for some voters. Thompson garnered a surprising 10% of the vote.

As the dust settled on election day, Doyle defeated McCallum by over four points, becoming the first Democratic governor in the state since Anthony Earl was defeated in 1986. Doyle was sworn in on January 6, 2003 in Madison.

[edit] The 2006 Election

Main articles: Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2006 and Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Doyle defeated Republican Congressman Mark Green in 2006, after a primary in which neither candidate faced opposition. Doyle topped Green 53% to 45% in a year in which no incumbent Democratic governor, senator, or congressman lost their reelection bid.

During the campaign, Doyle was dogged by charges that Georgia Thompson, a state employee, had steered a contract to a firm politically connected with his campaign. Thompson was convicted in late 2006, but unexpectedly released immediately on April 4, 2007 by an appellate court, who called the U.S. Attorney's case "beyond thin". Doyle indicated she could have her old job back. The case's political implications have been taken up by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

[edit] Governor

As Governor, Doyle came into office with a $3.2 billion deficit and although in the 2006 campaign he claimed to solve the state's deficit problems Wisconsin ended the year 2006 with a deficit of $2.15 billion. Proposals for new programs have been constrained by continued budget cutting and his honoring a campaign pledge not to raise taxes. He signed a property tax freeze that has resulted in an anticipated decrease in average statewide property taxes in 2006.[2] His stated priorities are; investing in public schools (including the University of Wisconsin system), lowering property taxes, regional economic development, transportation reform and funding of stem cell research.

In February 2007, Doyle proposed to tax oil companies more than $270 million over the next two years to help pay for the state's transportation needs. [1]

Doyle raised about $500,000 in the first half of 2007, leading political analysts to think Doyle is financially ready should he decide to become the state's first third-term Democratic governor. In a speech to the state Democratic Party convention on July 6, 2007, Doyle promised to improve health care, job training and education in Wisconsin then added: "And at the end of these four years of working together, who knows, maybe we'll need four more." [3]

[edit] Electoral history

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Doyle 800,971 45.1
Republican Scott McCallum (Incumbent) 732,796 41.4
Libertarian Ed Thompson 185,085 10.5
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidate 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Doyle (Incumbent) 1,139,115 52.8 +7.7
Republican Mark Green 979,427 45.3

[edit] Sources

  • Laird, Helen L., 'A Mind of Her Own Helen Connor Laird and Her Family 1888-1982' The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Wisconsin Gov. Doyle Pitches $270 Million 'Big Oil' Tax". Reuters, February 12, 2007.

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Don Hanaway		 Attorney General of Wisconsin
1991 – 2003		 Succeeded by
Peg Lautenschlager
Preceded by
Scott McCallum		 Governor of Wisconsin
2003 – Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Governors of Wisconsin
Territory Wisconsin Seal
State
v • d • e
Current governors of states and territories of the United States