Fitzgerald elected to fifth term in office

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 12:51 PM CST

Despite winning his fifth term in office, state Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, was disappointed this morning with the outcome of the state assembly election races.

Fitzgerald, who received 15,971 votes, defeated Aaron Onsrud of Beaver Dam who received 10,605 vote. Fitzgerald outdistanced the challenger in all municipalities except the city of Beaver Dam. Onsrud is an alderman in the city of Beaver Dam.

“I will no longer be the majority leader,” Fitzgerald said from his office in Madison. The control of the state Assembly will shift from the Republicans to the Democrats when it reconvenes next year. Republicans have controlled the chamber since 1994. They went into Election Day with a 51-47 advantage, but lost the majority in the election. Democratic control of the Assembly could reshape Wisconsin politics. Democrats hold a three-seat advantage in the state Senate and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle will serve until 2010.

“We knew it would be a tough go since we saw Barack Obama's numbers,” Fitzgerald said. “We thought we had better candidates and I think we did,” he said. “It is tough when federal elections fall all the way down to the state level.”

Fitzgerald hopes to still be a voice as a fiscal conservative. “We need to cut spending instead of cutting into people's pockets,” he said.

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“The Assembly will play a different role, it will be a different experience and we will have to see how things play out,” the legislator said.

“I am happy with my election and I think people took a look at the struggling economy and responded to my message that we shouldn't be increasing taxes in Madison,” Fitzgerald said. “It is not that we tax too little, but we spend too much. I felt really good about my message and the people of the 39th district responded.”

One of Fitzgerald's main goals is to have a tax burden in line with people's ability to pay. Another one of his goals is the economy and efforts to keep students who graduate at state universities to remain in the state after graduation.

Fitzgerald, 42, is a 1984 graduate of Hustisford High School. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a bachelor of science degree in journalism in 1989.

He spent eight years in Chicago on the Mercantile Exchange before returning to Wisconsin.

He was elected to the Beaver Dam City Council in 2000 and served on the finance committee until his resignation in July 2003. He was elected to the State Assembly in 2000.

In his fourth term, he was elected majority leader by his Assembly Republican colleagues. His committee assignments include Assembly Committee on Rules, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Organization, Joint Committee on Employment Relations, Joint Committee on Legislation Organization and Joint Legislative Council.

He is a member of the Dodge County Republican Party, Pheasants Forever Club, Fox Lake Correctional Institution Community Relations Board and American Legislative Exchange Council.

He and his wife Andrea have a son, Jack, and daughter, Lauren.

The district includes the northern portion of Dodge County and a small part of Columbia County.