James J. Schmitt (born June 7, 1958) is an American politician from

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 ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served as the mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, 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 adver ...

, 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 c ...

He is an active

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and one of his brothers was ordained into religious life. In 2011 he was recognized by the ''

Green Bay Press-Gazette The ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' is a newspaper whose primary coverage is of northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. It was founded as the ''Green Bay Gazette'' in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1871. The ''Green Ba ...

'' 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 Green Bay, Wisconsin, succeeding Paul Jadin 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 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 The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.) was a regulatory agency for the State of Wisconsin which administered and enforced Wisconsin law pertaining to campaign finance, elections, ethics and lobbying. The agency was re-organized, ov ...

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 District Attorney. In September 2016, Schmitt agreed to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement 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 A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

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