Stephen Nass

Stephen L. Nass (October 7, 1952) is a Wisconsin politician and legislator.

Biography

Born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, Nass graduated from Whitewater High School before receiving a BS from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1978. He also received a MSEd from the same school in 1990.

He was a member of the Wisconsin Air National Guard for 33 years.^[1]

He served on the Whitewater Common Council and has served in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 1991, representing the 31st Assembly District, which includes the town of Lagrange, where he lives (contrary to his frequent identification in the press with the city of Whitewater, the 31st district encompasses a largely rural area that does not include the city of Whitewater.^[1]

Political positions

He has gained statewide prominence primarily for his publicly adversarial relationship with the University of Wisconsin System,^[2] a position that assumed greater significance in 2006 when Nass became chair of the Assembly's Colleges and Universities Committee, which oversees the entire UW System. He was characterized by Paul Soglin, the liberal mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, as "the outlaw chairman of an Assembly committee that is designed to destroy the University of Wisconsin System."^[3] Nass has worked to cut funds for specific University programs that he disagreed with philosophically, saying that they are "too far to the left."^[4]

Specific criticisms of the University are articulated in greatest detail not by Nass himself but rather by his spokesman and research assistant, Mike Mikalsen: according to one account,^[5] "Nass ... acknowledges that Mikalsen dominates the conversation about the UW, explaining that legislators often don't have time to delve too deeply into issues."

When Republicans regained control of the State Assembly in the midterm elections of 2010, Nass also regained his old position as chair of the Colleges and Universities Committee,^[6] triggering a new round of speculation about the implications for the future of Wisconsin higher education.^[2]

Nass was also in the spotlight in May, 2010, when it was reported that he would introduce legislation banning pavement markers designed to minimize conflicts between bicyclists and motorists.^[7][8] According to Nass, “It’s basically about liberal extremists in Madison who hate cars and think everyone should bike to work. ... It is basically making it difficult to use an automobile.”^[8] Nass's position drew a caustic response from then Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who noted that Madison is 70 miles from the district that Nass represents. "Not having been able to solve a single significant state problem (which they actually got elected to do) in their combined 37 years in office these guys now want to micromanage the city of Madison. There's a way they can do that, of course. They can give up their seats in the Legislature and run for the Madison City Council."^[9]

References

External links

• Wisconsin Historical Society-Stephen Nass