The 8th Assembly district of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

is one of 99 districts 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 ...

. Located in southeast

, the district is entirely contained within

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 ...

. It comprises part of the city of

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 ...

's near-south side, including the Walker's Point Historic District, the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood, and most of Lincoln Village. The district also contains St. Adalbert's Church, the

Basilica of St. Josaphat The Basilica of St. Josaphat is a Catholic minor basilica in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was built in 1901 in the Polish cathedral style by Milwaukee's Polish immigrant community. The basilica ...

, and St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, the historic epicenter of Milwaukee's Polish American community. The district is represented by Democrat

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez Sylvia Ortiz-Velez is an American real estate broker and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 8th Assembly district since 2021. She previously served on the M ...

, since January 2021. The 8th Assembly district is located within

Wisconsin's 3rd Senate district The 3rd Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Milwaukee County. It comprises much of the south side of the city of Milwauke ...

, along with the 7th and 9th 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 8th district was drawn in a new configuration crossing four of the former

Assembly districts, with about half of the new district's territory coming from the former Milwaukee 11th district. Although the configuration of the district has changed over the decades, it has always been located on the south side of the city of Milwaukee—with the exception of the 1983 session, under the federal maps which temporarily scrambled the Wisconsin Assembly districts. The district has been anchored with Walker's Point as its northeast boundary since the 1992 redistricting. Notable former representatives of this district include John Norquist, the 43rd mayor of Milwaukee, Walter Kunicki, the 71st speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, and

Pedro Colón Pedro A. Colón (born April 7, 1968) is an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based 2nd district since November 2023. He previously serv ...

, the first Latino member of the Wisconsin Legislature and the first Latino judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

List of past representatives

References

{{Wisconsin state legislature districts Wisconsin State Assembly districts Milwaukee County, Wisconsin