Jason M. Fields (born January 29, 1974) is an American politician, and a former stockbroker, financial advisor, and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He was a Democratic member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

for six terms (2005–2013 & 2017–2021). Fields ran for Milwaukee City Comptroller, the city's top financial job, in the 2020 spring election, but lost narrowly.

Background

Jason Fields was born in Milwaukee on January 29, 1974, to Johnie Fields Jr and Debra Fields. He graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran High School in 1992. He worked as a stockbroker, financial advisor, and banker, and is a certified financial education instructor. He returned to school as an adult, earning his

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Business Management from Milwaukee's

Cardinal Stritch University , mottoeng = To value the better things , established = 1937 ( years ago) , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (Roman Catholic) , endowment ...

in 2014. He is a member of the Prince Hall Masons, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the

Elks Lodge The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a so ...

of Milwaukee #46, and the International Society of Business Leaders.

Public office

Fields, who had served as Fourth Congressional District Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party and held other party office, was first elected to the Assembly in 2004, and was thrice reelected from 2006-2010). His

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

assignments included those on

financial institutions Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...

(which he chaired during the 2009-2011 session);

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

;

jobs Jobs may refer to: * Job, an activity that people do for regular income gain People * Steve Jobs (1955–2011), co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc ** Steve Jobs (disambiguation) * Laurene Powell Jobs (born 1963), widow of Steve Jobs * Lisa ...

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and small business,

education reform Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. The meaning and education methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, t ...

;

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

; ways and means,

workforce development Workforce development, an American approach to economic development, attempts to enhance a region's economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses. It essentially develops a human-resources strategy. Work-force dev ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

; and

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and local affairs.

2012 Primary Defeat

In 2012, he lost his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary, losing to Mandela Barnes, son of a public school teacher, who had made major issues of Fields's support for the

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

program, and Fields’s opposition to limiting interest rates charged by

payday loan A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. The term "payday" in payday loan refers to ...

companies whose charges can exceed a 500%

annual percentage rate The term annual percentage rate of charge (APR), corresponding sometimes to a nominal APR and sometimes to an effective APR (EAPR), is the interest rate for a whole year (annualized), rather than just a monthly fee/rate, as applied on a loan, mort ...

. (Fields's brother Jarett, who was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the nearby 19th District, was also defeated.) Fields was one of two veteran Milwaukee-area Democratic incumbents (the other being Peggy Krusick) to be unseated in that August primary by challengers who argued that the incumbent was too conservative to represent the district properly.

2016 Return

In 2016, Barnes announced he would challenge incumbent

Lena Taylor Lena C. Taylor (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 4th district. She previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 18th district from 2003 to 2005. Tay ...

in a Democratic primary for her seat in 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 ...

. This left an opening in the 11th Assembly District, and Fields decided to run again for his old seat. He defeated Milwaukee community organizer Darrol D. Gibson in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.

2020 Comptroller election

In 2020, Fields announced he would run for election as Milwaukee City Comptroller. He topped the field in the February primary election, taking 43% of the vote, but was narrowly defeated in the general election by deputy comptroller Aycha Sawa. Fields made an issue of Sawa's handling of an audit of lead piping which was rated as exaggerated and misleading. The comptroller election was one of several Wisconsin elections significantly impacted by the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin The global COVID-19 pandemic struck the U.S. state of Wisconsin in early February 2020. Although Wisconsin has to date experienced 144 deaths per 100,000 residents, significantly fewer than the US national average of 196 deaths, COVID-19 was one ...

Leaving office

On May 12, 2020, Fields filed paperwork with the

Wisconsin Elections Commission The Wisconsin Elections Commission is a bipartisan regulatory agency of the State of Wisconsin established to administer and enforce election laws in the state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission was established by a 2015 act of the Wisconsin Leg ...

declaring he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2020. He also released a press release confirming the decision, stating, "After much consideration about the future, and conversations with my dear wife, La Tasha Fields, I have decided to not seek re-election to the Wisconsin State Assembly, District 11."

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary Election, September 14, 2004 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 2004 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 2006 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 2008 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 2010

Wisconsin Assembly (2012)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary Election, August 14, 2012 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 2012

Wisconsin Assembly (2016, 2018)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary Election, August 9, 2016 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 2016 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 2018

Milwaukee Comptroller (2020)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, February 18, 2020 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 2020

References

External links

Representative Jason Fields
at

Wisconsin 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 Republica ...

''(Official page)''
Fields for Milwaukee
''(Campaign site)'' '
Archived version
'' * * * ''Follow the Money'' - Jason M Fields
200820062004
campaign contributions
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Jason 1974 births Living people Politicians from Milwaukee Cardinal Stritch University alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Wisconsin American Prince Hall Freemasons 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people