David M. "Dave" Travis (born September 21, 1948) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

communications consultant and Democratic politician. He served 30 years in 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, ...

, representing

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

, and was majority leader of the Assembly from 1991 to 1995.

Biography

Travis was born September 21, 1948. He earned 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 ...

from

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

and went on to earn his master's from the

Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, commonly known as the ''La Follette School'', is a public graduate public policy school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It offers master's degrees in public affairs and international ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. He also attended

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) is a public technical and community college based in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves students in parts of 12 counties in south-central Wisconsin: Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, J ...

and Bindl Flight School, in

Waunakee, Wisconsin Waunakee () is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waunakee bills itself as "The Only Waunakee in the World". History When t ...

, where he earned a private

pilot's license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a speci ...

. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Travis went to work as an administrative assistant for the Wisconsin Senate Democratic Caucus. By 1974, he had risen to become staff director for the caucus. In 1978, incumbent assemblymember Peter D. Bear announced he would run for

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 ...

, creating a vacancy in Wisconsin's 37th Assembly district. Travis decided to run in the Democratic primary, and prevailed in a field of five candidates that included future Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader

Charles Chvala Charles Joseph "Chuck" Chvala (born December 5, 1954) is an American real estate dealer, lawyer, and former politician. He served 20 years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Dane County, and was the Democratic leader from 1995 through ...

. Over the next five years, Wisconsin would go through two significant redistrictings. In 1982, after the Legislature and Governor failed to agree on a map reflecting the

1980 United States census The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was th ...

, a federal court ordered the implementation of their own map, which was designed to punish incumbent legislators. Travis' district shifted from a mostly urban district on Madison's north side to the new 93rd Assembly district, which was composed of most of northwestern Dane County. He survived a competitive general election and returned to office in 1983, where the new Legislature set about creating a new redistricting plan to override the court-ordered plan. Under the new map, Travis resided in the new 81st Assembly district, which would be his constituency for the remainder of his career. He was re-elected twelve more times in the 81st district. Travis announced in May 2007 that he would not run for a 16th term in the Assembly.

References

External links

Official website
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 ...

(Archived November 10, 2006) * ''Follow the Money'' - David Travis
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campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, David 1948 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni People from Waunakee, Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly