Dave Hansen (born December 18, 1947) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Democratic politician and former state legislator. He was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

from 2001 through 2021, representing the 30th senatorial district. State Sen

Early life and education

Hansen was born in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea le ...

. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Green Bay The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UW-Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with regional campuses in Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Shebo ...

in 1971, marrying Jane Dessart the same year; the couple has three children.Julie Pohlman (ed.)
State of Wisconsin 2015–2016 Blue Book
'. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 2015, p. 78.

Early career

Before being elected to public office, Hansen was a school teacher, a Teamster's Union steward, and also a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

for the City of Green Bay. He served on the Board of Supervisors for Brown County from 1996 to 2002.

Wisconsin State Senate

Hansen was elected to the

in November 2000. He defeated incumbent Republican Senator Gary Drzewiecki. He was re-elected in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. He served as the Assistant Democratic Leader from 2003 until 2016.

2011 Act 10 protests

On February 20, 2011 Hansen, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, fled the state to deny the State Senate a quorum on Governor Scott Walker's legislation, which, among other things, limited collective bargaining benefits for most municipal and state employees.

2011 Recall effort

Hansen was the target of a recall effort as a result of his leaving the state in an attempt to prevent the Senate from being able to vote on Act 10. On July 19, however, he handily defeated his challenger and retained his seat. A chronology of the recall effort: * February 25: The committee "Recall Dave Hansen" officially registered with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. 13,582 signatures were required by April 26, 2011 to force a recall election. He was considered to be one of the three potentially vulnerable Democratic senators. * April 21: Recall supporters filed about 18,872 signatures with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board. * June 10: Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board certified the recall election. * July 19: Hansen defeated his recall challenger, Republican David VanderLeest, receiving 66% of the vote.

Committees

* Committee on Agriculture, Small Business and Tourism * Committee on Senate Organization * Committee on Transportation and Veterans Affairs * Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges * Joint Committee on Legislative Organization

Decision to retire

On January 9, 2020, Hansen announced he would retire after his term ended in January 2021. He cited the desire to spend more time with his wife, young grandchildren and older grandchildren as they start their careers. Hansen said he raised the possibility of retirement during a family get together over the Christmas holiday. He says his family was very supportive of the decision. Hansen said he was proud of bipartisan cooperation to pass legislation covering senior care and the Silver Alert system. But he also lamented the declining trend away from bipartisanship. Senator Hansen's nephew, De Pere alderman Jonathon Hansen, ran in his uncle's senate district following his retirement.

References

External links

Senator Dave Hansen
at the

Wisconsin State Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

*
constituency site

Dave Hansen
official campaign site *
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Dave 1947 births County supervisors in Wisconsin Living people Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Green Bay alumni Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 21st-century American politicians