Current:Home > NewsGov. Evers appoints longtime state Sen. Lena Taylor to be Milwaukee judge -BeyondWealth Learning
Gov. Evers appoints longtime state Sen. Lena Taylor to be Milwaukee judge
View
Date:2025-04-18 08:02:32
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appointed longtime Democratic state Sen. Lena Taylor, who has mounted numerous unsuccessful campaigns for local office, to be a Milwaukee County judge Friday.
Taylor, 57, was first elected to the Assembly in 2003 and has been in the Senate since 2005. She resigned Friday and will take over as a Milwaukee County circuit judge Tuesday. Her departure leaves Republicans with a 22-10 majority in the Senate.
Evers appointed Taylor to succeed Audrey Skwierawski, who resigned last month after being named by the new liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court as state court administrator. Taylor will complete the remainder of her term, which ends July 31, 2025, and would have to run in the 2025 spring election to serve a full term.
Taylor ran to be a Milwaukee municipal judge last year and lost. She also was defeated in races for Milwaukee mayor in 2020 and 2022, lieutenant governor in 2022 and Milwaukee County executive in 2008.
“Sen. Taylor is a committed public servant who has dedicated her life to pursuing justice for her community and the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said in a statement announcing the appointment.
During her time in the Legislature, most of which she was the only Black member of the Senate, Taylor has been a vocal advocate for justice reform and Milwaukee. She previously served as co-chair of the Legislature’s powerful budget-writing Joint Finance Committee.
She has also faced controversies, most notably in 2018 when she was cited for disorderly conduct. The police report quoted multiple witnesses saying they heard Taylor call a Black bank teller a racial slur. Taylor defended her use of the term, saying she thought she could speak that way because both she and the teller are Black and conversations within Black culture are different than other conversations.
veryGood! (2854)
Related
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- District attorney drops at least 30 cases that involved officers charged in death of Tyre Nichols
- Out-of-control wildfires in Yellowknife, Canada, force 20,000 residents to flee
- 3 dead from rare bacterial infection in New York area. What to know about Vibrio vulnificus.
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Campfire bans implemented in Western states as wildfire fears grow
- Calling all shoppers: Vote for the best grocery stores and butcher shops in the US
- Lithuania closes 2 checkpoints with Belarus over Wagner Group border concerns
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- North Carolina Republicans finalize legislation curbing appointment powers held by governor
Ranking
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Investment scams are everywhere on social media. Here’s how to spot one
- Nicaraguan government seizes highly regarded university from Jesuits
- Minneapolis advances measure for minimum wage to Uber and Lyft drivers
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Pilots made errors before crash near Lake Tahoe that killed all 6 on board, investigators say
- This summer's crazy weather just can't stop, won't stop Americans from having fun
- Ex-Anaheim mayor to plead guilty in federal corruption case over Angel Stadium sale
Recommendation
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Campfire bans implemented in Western states as wildfire fears grow
Study finds ‘rare but real risk’ of tsunami threat to parts of Alaska’s largest city
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy to End Michael Oher Conservatorship Amid Lawsuit
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Colts star Jonathan Taylor 'excused' from training camp due to 'personal matter'
Just two of 15 wild geese found trapped in Los Angeles tar pits have survived
Musician Camela Leierth-Segura, Who Co-Wrote Katy Perry Song, Missing for Nearly 2 Months: Authorities