Pedro A. Colón (born April 7, 1968) is an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He is a Judge of the

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

in the Milwaukee-based 2nd district since November 2023. He previously served 13 years as a

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 9 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and crimina ...

judge in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

, and prior to his judicial service, he was a member of 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

for six terms, representing the 8th Assembly district from 1999 to 2010. He was the first Latino elected to the

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 Republ ...

, and now the first Latino to judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Background

Born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, April 7, 1968, Colón grew up on the South Side of Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee's Thomas More High School. He received his B.A. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

in 1991, and his J.D. from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1994.

Political history

He was first elected to the State Assembly in 1998, making him the first Latino to be elected a member of either house of the

; he was reelected in the next five elections. He served as vice-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance and of the Judiciary and Ethics Committee. He briefly ran for

Mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

in 2003, but withdrew, endorsing and becoming co-chair of the campaign for eventual 2004 election winner Tom Barrett. Colón also ran unsuccessfully for Milwaukee city attorney in 2008 against incumbent Grant Langley. On May 26, 2010, Colón announced that he was not running for re-election in the 2010 general election, and resigned from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission, which he once chaired. The next day, he confirmed that he was applying for a job as the deputy director of legal services at the District, and had resigned to avoid a potential

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

Wisconsin circuit judge

In September 2010, Governor Jim Doyle appointed Colón a

judge for Milwaukee County. He was elected to a full term in the April 5, 2011, spring election, and was subsequently re-elected in 2017 and 2023.

Court of Appeals

Just after the 2023 election,

judge Timothy Dugan announced he would not run for re-election in 2024. Colón announced his campaign to succeed Dugan in May 2023. Dugan subsequently announced he would leave office early, in November 2023. Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers ( ; born November 5, 1951) is an American politician and educator serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2019 as Wisconsin's 26th superintendent of p ...

then appointed Colón to succeed Dugan in November to finish out the remaining year of his term. When sworn in, Colón will be the first Latino to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Personal life

He is married to Betty J. Ulmer; they have two daughters, Lily and Julia, and live in Walker's Point. Judge Colón is on the board of directors of the

National Association of Latino Elected Officials National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

References

External links

* * * ''Follow the Money'' – Pedro A Colón
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Pedro 1968 births 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Wisconsin Lawyers from Ponce Living people Marquette University alumni Politicians from Milwaukee Politicians from Ponce Puerto Rican lawyers University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin circuit court judges