Peg Lautenschlager

Peg Lautenschlager
42nd Wisconsin Attorney General
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jim Doyle
Succeeded by	J.B. Van Hollen
Personal details
Born	(1955-11-22) November 22, 1955 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin  United States
Political party	Democratic Party of Wisconsin
Spouse(s)	Bill Rippl; 5 children
Residence	Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, U.S.

Peggy A. "Peg" Lautenschlager (born November 22, 1955) was Attorney General of the State of Wisconsin from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2007. She succeeded fellow Democrat James Doyle when Doyle was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 2002. Lautenschlager is the first woman to have been elected Attorney General in the State of Wisconsin.

She was unsuccessful in her September 2006 bid for re-election as the Democratic Party candidate, and became the first incumbent Wisconsin Attorney General to lose a primary in 58 years.^[1]

Personal life

Lautenschlager is a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and still resides there. She is married to Bill Rippl, a retired police officer from the city of Neenah, Wisconsin, and has three children and two stepchildren. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. As of 2011, she is in remission.

Professional life

Lautenschlager is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lake Forest College 1977, honoring in history and mathematics. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in June 1980. From July 1985 to December 1988, Lautenschlager was District Attorney for Winnebago County.

Prior to her service as D.A., she was an attorney in private practice in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, specializing in family and domestic abuse law. She served as a member of the adjunct faculties of the University of Wisconsin Law School, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, and Ripon College, and served as interim circuit court commissioner of Winnebago County.

She served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1989 to 1993 representing the Fond du Lac area. She chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Drug Enforcement, Education, and Treatment and Subcommittee on Corrections Systems Concerns. She also served on the Committees on Criminal Justice, Elections and Constitutional Law, Environmental Resources, Utilities and Mining, Natural Resources, Judiciary, and Education. She served as Vice-chair of Legislative Counsel Committees on Drug Enforcement and Review of Sexual Assault Laws. She decided not to seek re-election in 1992, and instead campaigned for the congressional seat held by incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Petri. She narrowly lost in what was an unexpectedly close race.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Lautenschlager the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, a position she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to and held until April 2001. In that capacity, she was the chief federal law enforcement officer for the state's westernmost 44 counties. During her eight-year tenure, she was responsible for the prosecution of federal criminal actions and litigation of civil matters involving the federal government. In 1996, Lautenschlager was appointed by Janet Reno to serve on the 15-member Attorney General's Advisory Committee. As a member of the committee, Lautenschlager met regularly with Reno and other high ranking Justice Department officials regarding various department issues. She was the first Wisconsinite ever selected to serve on the committee.

She was elected in 2002 as a Democrat to the office of Attorney General, succeeding Jim Doyle who successfully ran for governor. Her campaign raised more money than any previous Democratic campaign for that office. She defeated Vince Biskupic, the Republican candidate, 52% to 48%, despite being outspent by about $200,000. Currently, she is a practicing lawyer and a part-time politics professor at Ripon College.

Controversy

In February 2004, Lautenschlager made national headlines after pleading guilty to drunk driving in Dodge County, about an hour away from Madison.^[2] A Dodge County sheriff's deputy reported to the scene to find her state-owned vehicle in the ditch, and her unharmed inside. Her preliminary breathalizer test at the scene showed that her blood alcohol level was 0.12, 50% above the legal limit of 0.08.^[3] The police report stated that she refused a blood test. Lautenschlager said that she had fallen asleep at the wheel, and had consumed only two glasses of wine earlier that evening. She was arrested, and later released to her husband. (Dodge County Case Number 2004TR001348) A state Ethics Board investigated Lautenschlager's case and ruled that some use of the state car for personal use exceeded state-allowed limits. Lautenschlager reimbursed some of the costs and paid a fine of $784. Her driver's license was also revoked for a year.

Re-election Campaign

In 2006, Lautenschlager faced a Democratic challenger: Kathleen Falk, the county executive of Dane County, a 2002 candidate for Governor and former Assistant Attorney General. She subsequently lost the Democratic nomination to Falk. Falk later lost the general election to former U.S. Attorney J. B. Van Hollen.

Electoral history

• 1992 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 6th District
  • Tom Petri (R) (inc.), 53%
  • Peg Lautenschlager (D), 47%

• 2002 Race for Attorney General
  • Peg Lautenschlager (D), 52%
  • Vince Biskupic (R), 48%

• 2006 Race for Attorney General – Democratic Primary
  • Kathleen Falk (D), 53%
  • Peg Lautenschlager (D) (inc.), 47%

References