Timothy W. Carpenter (born February 24, 1960) is an American 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 has been a member of the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

for more than 20 years, representing the Wisconsin's 3rd Senate district since 2003. His district comprises much of the south side of the city of Milwaukee. He previously served 18 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

(1985–2003).

Early life and education

Carpenter was born on February 24, 1960, at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee. He graduated from Milwaukee's Casimir Pulaski High School and attended

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 1978, before transferring to

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

, where he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

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 ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

in 1982. He continued graduate work at Milwaukee, but was interrupted when he was elected to the Legislature in 1984. He later resumed his education at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where he earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1995.

Political career

After graduating from college, Carpenter worked briefly at a number of jobs, at Rustlers Steak House and as a courier for Federal Express. He had become involved with the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...

at an early age and became a member of the state party's administrative committee. In 1984, at age 24, while still a student at the La Follette School, he entered into the race for

in the open 20th Assembly district seat. The 20th Assembly district was heavily Democratic, based in southern

Milwaukee 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 ...

—Carpenter faced five opponents in the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

. He prevailed in the six-way race with just 27% of the vote, and faced no opponent in the 1984 general election. Carpenter was elected to the

in 1984 and served nine terms representing the 9th Assembly District until 2002, holding the post of Speaker ''Pro Tempore'' in 1993. He was first elected to represent Wisconsin's 3rd Senate District in 2002. During the 2007–08 biennium, he served as President ''Pro Tempore'' of the Wisconsin State Senate. During the 2007-08 biennium, he was the chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues, Long Term Care, and Job Creation. Carpenter is currently a member of the Senate Committee on Health; the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government; the Senate Committee on Labor, Regulatory Reform, Veterans and Military Affairs; the Senate Committee on Licensing, Constitution and Federalism; and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. He was also previously the Chair of the Legislative Council Study Committee on addressing recidivism in High-Risk Juvenile Offenders.

2011 Wisconsin protests

During the protests in Wisconsin, Carpenter, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, left the state to deny the State Senate a quorum on Governor Scott Walker's controversial "Budget Repair" legislation. Based on the revelations from a prank phone call on Gov. Walker, detailing plans to pass his bill, Carpenter called upon Gov. Walker to resign.

2020 protests

On June 23, 2020, Carpenter was recording a protest near the Wisconsin state capitol when he was assaulted by BLM (Black Lives Matter) protesters. A short time later he collapsed and was taken to the hospital for a suspected concussion.

2004 U.S. House campaign

In 2004, Carpenter unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the 4th congressional district, losing the primary election to fellow state senator Gwen Moore.

Milwaukee City Treasurer

In February 2012, Carpenter was one of two State Senators (the other being fellow Democrat Spencer Coggs) to win a place on the ballot for Milwaukee City

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

in the Spring 2012 election, defeating former State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass and

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Rick Kissell in the non-partisan primary. Coggs polled 13,559 votes; Carpenter 12,880; Sass 5,089 and Kissell 2,241. In the general election, Coggs won 35,096 votes to Carpenter's 34,293.

Milwaukee Common Council

In 2015, Carpenter ran in a special election for the Milwaukee Common Council on August 18, 2015. A primary took place on July 21, 2015. Carpenter advanced in the primary along with Mark Borkowski, who ended up winning with 50.7% of the vote.

Personal life

Carpenter is gay, and is one of three openly

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

members of 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 ...

. He is a member of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

, Jackson Park Neighborhood Association, Story Hill Neighborhood Association, and the Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home Advisory Council.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, 20th district (1984–1990)

Wisconsin Assembly, 9th district (1992–2000)

Wisconsin Senate (2002–present)

References

External links

Profile
at the

Senator Tim Carpenter
(archive) at the Wisconsin State Legislature
constituency site
(archive)
Tim Carpenter
official campaign site *
3rd Senate District, Senator Carpenter
in the Wisconsin Blue Book (2005–2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Tim 1960 births City and town treasurers in the United States American gay politicians LGBTQ state legislators in Wisconsin LGBTQ people from Wisconsin Living people Politicians from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature