Kathleen Falk

Kathleen Falk
Kathleen Falk in the 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade, Madison WI
4th Dane County Executive
In office April 21, 1997 – April 18, 2011
Preceded by	Richard J. Phelps
Succeeded by	Joe Parisi
Assistant Attorney General
In office 1983–1997
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-24) June 24, 1951 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Peter Bock (m. 2002)
Children	Eric Phillips
Residence	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.) Stanford University (B.A.)
Profession	Prosecutor, politician

Kathleen Falk (born June 26, 1951) is an American politician who was the County Executive of Dane County, Wisconsin, serving from 1997 until 2011. In 2006, she was the Democratic Party nominee for the office of Attorney General of Wisconsin. She was an Assistant Attorney General and Public Intervenor in the Wisconsin Department of Justice from 1983 to 1997. Prior to her tenure as a prosecutor, Falk served as co-director and counsel to the Wisconsin Environmental Decade. She was the first woman elected Dane County Executive, and in 2002 became the first major party woman candidate for governor in Wisconsin's history.

Falk was one of the Democratic candidates to run against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, in the 2012 recall election.^[1]

Personal life

Falk grew up in Waukesha County and lives in Madison. She earned a B.A. in philosophy from Stanford University in 1973 and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1976.^[2] She is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.^[3] Falk is married to former Democratic State Representative Peter Bock.^[4] She has one son, Eric Phillips,^[5] and is an avid baseball fan, bicyclist,^[6] hunter,^[7] and angler.

Professional life

Non-profit work (1977-1983)

Following law school, Falk became the co-director and general counsel for Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Inc., a non-profit public interest organization devoted to litigating and lobbying for environmental protection goals. As in-house counsel for the organization, she was responsible for tax, labor, business, corporate affairs and litigation. Some of Falk's cases in the Wisconsin Supreme Court created national precedents in environmental protection and consumer utility law.^[8]

Assistant Attorney General (1983-1997)

In 1983, Falk became an assistant attorney general in the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, where she was appointed Public Intervenor by Attorney General Bronson La Follette. In her role as the state’s principal environmental watchdog, Falk’s work included litigation, lobbying and advocacy before agencies, courts and the legislature on a wide variety of matters including wetlands and farmland protection, transportation, mining and septage regulation, prevention of water pollution and urban sprawl, providing public access to navigable waters and encouraging fair procedural and substantive agency decisions. The Public Intervenor position was eliminated in 1995.^[9]

Following the elimination of her previous position, Falk was assigned to the Department of Justice’s Government Operations and Administrative Law Unit. There she represented the State in matters relating to constitutional claims, voting rights and school finance law, and the defense of state agencies. In addition to litigation responsibilities, Falk provided advice and assistance to government officials and citizens with inquiries about the state's open meetings law.

County Executive (1997-2010)

Falk has served as an environmental advocate, an assistant attorney general and Dane County chief executive.^[10] During her 14-year tenure as the county's chief executive officer she implemented mergers of county departments,^[11] vetoed borrowing for jail construction^[12] and ended Dane County’s practice of sending its inmates to other counties.^[13]

For more than a decade Falk's budgets included investments in public safety programs and law-enforcement infrastructure. During her tenure, she created 134 new positions in the county’s sheriff’s department,^[14] she opened a juvenile justice facility,^[15][16] and launched a community-based initiative aimed at gang prevention.^[17][18] Falk's budgets have funded jail diversion programs for non-violent substance-addicted offenders.^[19]

Her time in the county executive’s office included a series of land use initiatives. In 1999, she struck the first-ever agreement with the state of Wisconsin to fund an environmental protection plan for a local highway development.^[20] She called for Wisconsin to ban lawn fertilizer containing phosphorus and on toxic tar sealant,^[21] and stronger storm water regulations.

In 2005, Falk created the “Early Childhood Initiative,” which directed resources and job training to the parents of newborns. Since its inception, it has served more than 250 families in the county’s four poorest neighborhoods.^[14] Three years later, Falk launched an effort to combat the abuse of alcohol in the county. Falk’s model incorporated citizen coalitions, alcohol treatment for non-violent offenders, increased drunk-driving enforcement, a middle school education plan and an intervention pilot program targeting chronic abusers. In 2010, Falk proposed and helped install one of the nation’s first neighboring-farm manure digesters to target phosphorus and runoff pollution in the county’s lakes and streams.^[22]

Resignation

Falk stepped down as county executive in April 2010, citing an interest in contributing to public policy in a new way. Her tenure in office made her the longest serving county executive in the office’s history. “As I looked at what I set out to do, what we have done, and where I can best serve -- the answer was clear. As I approach the seventh decade of my life, it's time for me to find that next chapter of how I can make a contribution,” Falk said at a press conference in October 2010.^[23]

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2013-)

In September 2013, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed Falk to serve as DHHS's Region V Director. As Director, Falk leads the department's efforts in a six-state area that includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.^[24] The Capital Times newspaper called Falk a "great choice for DHHS."^[25]

Awards

Falk has received numerous awards and recognitions from environmental groups, business interests, women's organizations, LGBT equality activists, advocates for the disabled, conservation groups, the American Legion and domestic violence support groups.^[26][27]

Political history

Falk made her first run for public office in 1996, joining a field of accomplished local leaders in the open race for Dane County Executive. She finished first in the runoff and eventually defeated a long-time conservative county board member, Mike Blaska. She was later re-elected three times (2001, 2005, 2009), all by wide margins. In 2002, she unsuccessfully ran for Governor, losing the Democratic primary to Jim Doyle. Falk was Wisconsin's first woman candidate for governor from a major political party.

In 2006, Falk challenged and defeated Wisconsin's Attorney General in a Democratic primary election. She went on to lose the general election race by fewer than 9,000 votes out of more than 2.1 million cast. Falk was advanced as a contender to challenge Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in an ongoing recall attempt, and announced her candidacy for governor on January 18, 2012, but lost in the Democratic gubernatorial primaries to Tom Barrett.^[28]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Recall Election 2012 - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Barrett	390,109	58
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	228,940	34
	Democratic	Kathleen Vinehout	26,926	4
	Democratic	Doug La Follette	19,461	3
	Democratic Party (US)	Gladys Huber	4,842	1

Dane County Executive General Election 2009
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	59,180	59.29
	Republican	Nancy Mistele	40,495	40.57

Wisconsin Attorney General Election 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	J.B. Van Hollen	1,065,453	50.15
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	1,056,594	49.74

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 2002 - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	212,066	38.36
	Democratic	Tom Barrett	190,605	34.48
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	150,161	27.16

Notes

Preceded by Richard Phelps	Dane County Executive 1997 – 2011	Succeeded by Joe Parisi

External links

• Dane County Executive biography
• Falk County Executive campaign website