The 47th Assembly District of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in south-central Wisconsin, the district comprises municipalities in south-central Dane County, including the city of Monona, the village of McFarland, and the northern half of the city of Fitchburg. It also contains the

Capital Springs State Recreation Area Capital Springs State Recreation Area is a state park unit of Wisconsin, United States, in development just south of Madison. The total area of the park is , with designated as a state park. The park was authorized in 2000, the centennial of ...

, the Pflaum-McWilliams Mound Group, and the Alliant Energy Center. The seat is represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Jimmy P. Anderson Jimmy P. Anderson (born August 26, 1986) is an American politician. From Fitchburg, Wisconsin, Anderson received his J.D. degree from University of Wisconsin Law School. A Democrat, he has served in the Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin ...

since January 2017. Fitchburg Neighborhood - panoramio

Alliant Energy Center Exposition Hall exterior

The 47th Assembly district is located within

Wisconsin's 16th Senate district The 16th Senate District of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin State Senate. Located in south-central Wisconsin, the district comprises much of eastern Dane County. It contains the east side of Wisconsin's capital city, Madiso ...

, along with the 46th and 48th Assembly districts.

History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act
1971 Wisc. Act 304
which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties. The 47th district was drawn with novel boundaries, taking part of the former Dane County 5th district and part of the Rock County 2nd district. The last representative of the Rock County 2nd district,

Janet Soergel Mielke Janet Soergel Mielke (born Janet A. Soergel, June 30, 1937) is a retired American secretary, union officer, and Democratic politician from Rock County, Wisconsin. She served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 1971 through 1975. Biog ...

, won the 1972 election to become the 1st representative of the 47th Assembly district. The boundaries of the 47th district have changed significantly in almost every one of the redistrictings since 1982. The court-ordered 1982 redistricting placed the district in northern Wisconsin. The 1983 legislative redistricting, which superseded the court-ordered plan, brought the district back to southern Wisconsin, covering most of Green County, sprawling through western and northern Rock County into southwest Jefferson County. The 1992 and 2002 maps had the district based in Columbia County and parts of northern Dane County. The 2011 plan moved the district into central Dane County. In its current boundaries, the 47th district is one of several districts which violates the

Wisconsin Constitution The Constitution of the State of Wisconsin is the governing document of the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It establishes the structure and function of state government, describes the state boundaries, and declares the rights of state citizens. The ...

's requirement for districts to "consist of contiguous territory." The district has several isolated territorial islands, due to the inclusion of the towns of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

and Blooming Grove, but not the wards of city of Madison which would be needed to connect the various pieces of the towns.

List of past representatives

References

Wisconsin State Assembly districts Dane County, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-geo-stub