James J. Schmitt (born June 7, 1958) is an American politician from Wisconsin. A Republican, he served as the mayor of

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 lev ...

, from 2003 to 2019, becoming the city's longest-serving mayor.

Personal life

The fourth of 11 children born to James and Mary (née Gleichner) Schmitt in

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's advert ...

, he attended Roncalli High School and

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the co ...

He is an active Roman Catholic, and one of his brothers was ordained into religious life. In 2011 he was recognized by the '' Green Bay Press-Gazette'' editorial board as Person of the Year.

Career

Business

In the private sector, Schmitt was president of Famis Manufacturing Inc. and in 1997 received the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Politics

Schmitt served two consecutive terms on the Brown County Board of Supervisors. On April 1, 2003 he was elected the 41st mayor of

, succeeding

Paul Jadin Paul F. Jadin (born May 2, 1955) was the 40th mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 1995 to 2003. Electoral history Jadin won his first general election with 55% of the vote and was the first mayor of Green Bay in over fifty years to run for re- ...

who had not sought re-election. In 2007, Schmitt was re-elected with 70% of the vote and won again in April 2011."About the Mayor"
, greenbaywi.gov; accessed January 30, 2015. He serves on the Advisory Board of both the

U.S. Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. On February 17, 2015, Schmitt received 51 percent of the vote in a three-way primary. He went on to defeat Tom DeWane 53% to 47%. With this victory, Schmitt extended his tenure to 16 years and overtook

Sam Halloin Samuel J. Halloin (March 20, 1923 - January 11, 2013) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin from 1979 to 1995. Halloin, who served for four consecutive terms, is the second longest-serving Mayor of Green Bay in ...

as the longest-serving mayor in Green Bay history.

Campaign finance investigation

In January 2015, Green Bay city council Aldermen Chris Wery, Guy Zima, and Andy Nicholson alleged that Schmitt had accepted as much as $10,000 in illegal donations for his mayoral campaign. Schmitt contended that the errors were unintentional and handed his records over to the Brown County District Attorney and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board to be audited. Due to a potential

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

, the Brown County District Attorney turned the records over to the

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

District Attorney. In September 2016, Schmitt agreed to plead guilty as part of a

plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

to three misdemeanor charges, including false statements to an election official, accepting campaign contributions not belonging to the reported contributor, and accepting campaign contributions in excess of state limits. He was subsequently convicted on these criminal charges and sentenced to a monetary forfeiture and community service. It was found that 17 individuals had donated more than the $1,040 contribution limit, and there were two corporate donations, which are illegal under state election laws. On February 20, 2017, the Common Council held a vote on the removal of Schmitt over campaign finance violations. While a majority of the 12 member board voted for removal, 9 votes were necessary to remove the mayor from office. As only 8 voted for removal, he retained his seat by one vote. In 2017, seven City Council members signed a letter stating their disapproval of the conduct of one of Schmitt's accusers, Alderman Chris Wery, who used his bank job to pry into an opponent's financial records.Council sends Wery letter of disapproval
greenbaypressgazette.com. Accessed August 10, 2022.

Family

Schmitt married Dona Degenhardt on May 26, 1990. They have three living children (all daughters) and another child who died in infancy.

References

External links

Green Bay mayor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt, Jim 1958 births Living people People from Two Rivers, Wisconsin St. Norbert College alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Mayors of Green Bay, Wisconsin Harvard Kennedy School alumni American people of German descent Wisconsin Republicans 21st-century American politicians Catholics from Wisconsin