John T. Dickert (born December 6, 1962) is an American Democratic politician and was the 57th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. He now works as the Administrator of the Division of State and Local Finance in the

Wisconsin Department of Revenue The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for the administration of all tax laws, as well as valuing property and overseeing the wholesale distribution of alcoholic beverages and enforceme ...

, appointed by Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 200 ...

in May 2019. He was elected mayor in a 2009 special election and was re-elected twice, in 2011 and 2015. He resigned as mayor in 2017 to work as executive director of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

Cities Initiative.

Early life

Dickert's familial roots extend three generations in Racine. In 1880, his great-great grandfather arrived and started a family and small plumbing business, Dickert Brothers Plumbing Company. That business lasted more than a century. John Dickert was born December 6, 1962. He attended St. Catherine's High School and received his bachelor's degree in political science and mass communication from the

University of Wisconsin–La Crosse The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UWL or UW Lax) is a public university in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Established in 1909, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. With 9,600 ...

. While in college, he was elected to the

La Crosse County La Crosse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 120,784. Its county seat is La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area with ...

Board of Supervisors. Dickert then worked as an intern for

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Les Aspin Leslie Aspin Jr. (July 21, 1938 – May 21, 1995) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defens ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Dickert returned to Racine to serve as Congressional District Director for State Assemblyman

Peter Barca Peter William Barca (born August 7, 1955) is an American Democratic politician and the current Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in the administration of Governor Tony Evers. Barca is a lifelong resident of the Kenosha area. B ...

. Dickert ran twice in Democratic primary elections for

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, ...

in the 61st district against Robert Turner, but was defeated both times. Dickert became a real estate agent for

Coldwell Banker Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is an American real estate franchise owned by Anywhere Real Estate, with headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. It was founded in 1906 in San Francisco, and has approximately 3000 offices in 49 countries and territor ...

in 2003 and First Weber in 2007, then ran for mayor of Racine in 2009.

Mayoralty

John Dickert served as mayor from May 2009 through July 2017. He was first elected to finish the term of Gary E. Becker, who had resigned in January after being charged with six felonies. He was elected on May 5, 2009, and was inaugurated on May 19, taking over from acting Mayor Tom Friedel. After winning regular elections in August 2011 and again in August 2015, Dickert ultimately served one full term and two partial terms. While mayor, Dickert served as president of the Urban Alliance, a group of mayors from Wisconsin’s largest metro regions, from its creation in 2011 until he was succeeded by Manitowoc mayor Justin Nickels in 2014. Dickert also served on the

United States 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 ...

, primarily as Vice Chair of the Metro Economies Committee, as well as on its Mayors Water Council. Additionally, he was a member of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Coastal Management Council. On March 27, 2017, Dickert announced his plans to resign from the mayoralty to take the position of executive director at the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a binational group of U.S. and Canadian "mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River." Dickert had previously served on the organization's board of directors, and was the chairman of the board between 2014 and 2015. Dickert formally resigned on July 16, 2017, and Dennis Wiser, previously president of the Racine City Council, automatically became acting mayor. Democrat

Cory Mason Cory D. Mason IV (born January 25, 1973) is a Democratic Party politician and the mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. From 2007 to 2018, Mason served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the city of Racine and eastern Racine County. ...

was elected Mayor of

on November 7, 2017 after winning the special election.

Department of Revenue

In May 2019, Dickert was tapped by newly-inaugurated Governor

and newly-appointed Secretary of Revenue

Peter W. Barca Peter William Barca (born August 7, 1955) is an American Democratic politician and the current Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in the administration of Governor Tony Evers. Barca is a lifelong resident of the Kenosha area. B ...

to serve as administrator for the Division of State and Local Finance in the

. The Division of State and Local Finance is responsible for administering the state's property tax valuation and assessment program, with emphasis on properly valuing commercial, manufacturing, and other special properties. On his appointment, Secretary Barca said: "John's background as the former three-term mayor of the City of Racine along with his experience in residential and commercial real estate provides him with a unique perspective for this position. His keen understanding of local government and the issues facing local government officials will help us to better serve their needs and, more importantly, their citizens."

Personal life

Dickert lives in Racine with his wife and two children Riley and Eleanor.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1990, 2002)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election

Racine Mayor (2009–2015)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, April 7, 2009 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Special Election, May 5, 2009 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 5, 2011 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickert, John T. 1961 births Living people Mayors of Racine, Wisconsin Wisconsin Democrats