Mary Louise "Mary Lou" Munts ( Rogers; August 21, 1924December 22, 2013) was an

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 ...

lawyer, economist, and Democratic politician from

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. She served 12 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 Madison's south side.

Biography

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Munts graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

. She received her master's degree in economics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and then her law degree from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

. From 1973 until 1985, Munts served in the

from

. Munts was instrumental in securing the passage of Wisconsin's Marital Property Act (1986

In 1983m Munts became the Co-Chair of the Wisconsin Legislature's very powerful Joint Committee on Finance -- the first woman to achieve that status. She retired from the Wisconsin Assembly in 1984 after being appointed to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. In 1992, Munts was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...

National Governing Board and became a member of Common Cause Wisconsin shortly thereafter. In 1984, Munts was appointed to the

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating public utilities in the energy, telecommunications, gas and water companies located in U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2021, the agency regul ...

By Gov. Tony Earl (1983-87) and became chairman of the commission in 1986. In 1995, Munts became the Co-Chair of Common Cause Wisconsin with former moderate Republican strategist Bill Kraus. She advocated for stronger campaign finance reform and stronger ethics legislation—including the prosecution for felony misconduct in public office of Wisconsin legislative leaders Scott Jensen (R), Chuck Chvala (D), Brian Burke(D), and Steven Foti (R) during the infamous 2001-2002 Wisconsin Legislative Caucus Scandal. She retired from the CC/WI Board in 2005. Mary Lou Munts is remembered as one of the most effective and admired Dane County state legislators and public figures. And, as Co-chair of Common Cause in Wisconsin, as one of Wisconsin's leading political reform advocates. Munts died on December 22, 2013, in

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United ...

.Mary Lou Munts-As A Wisconsin Legislator, Mary Lou Munts was "queen of consensus," ''Milwaukee Sentinel Journal'', Jan Ubelherr, January 9, 2014.

Notes

Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Swarthmore College alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Women state legislators in Wisconsin 1924 births 2013 deaths Lawyers from Madison, Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub