JoAnne Kloppenburg
Encyclopedia
JoAnne Kloppenburg is an Assistant Attorney General of the State of Wisconsin, serving since 1989 under Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Governors
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

. She ran for the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

 in April 2011 against incumbent Justice David Prosser
David Prosser, Jr.
David T. Prosser Jr. is a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A former Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, Prosser was appointed to the court by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998, and was elected to his first 10-year term without opposition in 2001...

.

On April 6, the day after the election, Kloppenburg held an unofficial 204-vote lead over Prosser, and prematurely declared victory. On April 7, the Waukesha County
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Waukesha County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2008, the population was 380,629. Its county seat is Waukesha.-History:The part of Wisconsin that Waukesha County now occupies was a part of Michigan when Milwaukee County was organized in September 1834. On July 4, 1836, the...

 clerk announced she had erroneously failed to include more than 14,000 votes in her reported totals, which gave Prosser a commanding lead of more than 7,000 votes out of 1,500,000 cast statewide. Kloppenburg requested the recount she was entitled to by statute, which would be paid for by the state (at the cost of as much as $500,000) since the margin of the vote was less than one half of one percent. After the recount certified Prosser as the winner by 7,004 votes, Kloppenburg conceded the election.

Education

Kloppenburg was born JoAnne Fishman in Avon, Connecticut
Avon, Connecticut
Avon is a town in the Farmington Valley region of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. , the town had a population of 18,098.Avon is a suburb of Hartford. Avon Old Farms School, a prestigious boarding school, is located there. In 2005, Avon was named the third-safest town in America by...

 to Dr. Elihu Fishman and his wife. She attended high school in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 with a scholarship, a year after it began accepting women for study in 1969. She received her B.A. in Russian studies from there, and went to the Woodrow Wilson School
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...

 at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 afterwards, originally intending to eventually become an ambassador. Instead, she shifted her focus to third world
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...

 development, and received her Master of Public Affairs
Master of Public Affairs
The Master of Public Affairs , one of several public affairs degrees, historically has been a master level professional degree offered in public policy schools that provides training in public policy and the operation of government. Courses required for this degree educate students in public and...

 degree in 1976.

Public service and career

After graduation, Kloppenburg joined the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

 and became a rural development planner in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 from 1976-1979. She intended to be there for two years, but the government of Botswana asked her to stay for another year afterwards to direct rural development for the entire country.

After returning to the United States, Kloppenburg worked on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
WIC
The abbreviation WIC can mean:*Walta Information Center, a news agency based in Ethiopia.*Dutch West India Company, a former trading cooperation that led to the establishment of some Dutch colonies....

 in upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and was also an assistant dean at Wells College
Wells College
Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....

 in Aurora, New York
Aurora, Cayuga County, New York
Aurora is a village and college town in Cayuga County, in the Town of Ledyard, north of Ithaca, New York, United States. The village had a population of 720 at the 2000 census, of which more than 400 were college students....

 at the same time.

Next, she attended law school at the University of Wisconsin, while interning for Chief Justice
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

 Shirley Abrahamson
Shirley Abrahamson
Shirley S. Abrahamson is the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court in 1976 by Governor of Wisconsin Patrick Lucey. Upon her appointment she was the first woman to serve on Wisconsin's high court. She served as the only woman on the court from 1976 until 1993...

 and clerking for U.S. District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

 Judge Barbara Cobb. In 1989, Kloppenburg joined the Wisconsin Department of Justice
Wisconsin Department of Justice
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency with jurisdiction throughout the state of Wisconsin. Its headquarters are in Madison, the state capital, with main offices in the Risser Justice Center in downtown Madison. The Wisconsin Attorney General oversees the agency...

, eventually serving under four different Wisconsin Attorney Generals, two of each party. Since 1991, she has been in the environmental protection unit, enforcing the state's environmental laws. She has also taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...

 since 1990 and is currently is a mentor with the Dane County
Dane County, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 426,526 people, 173,484 households, and 100,794 families residing in the county. The population density was 355 people per square mile . There were 180,398 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile...

 Bar Association, an English as a Second Language
ESL
ESL is a common abbreviation for English as a Second Language, see English language learning and teaching.ESL may also refer to:-Companies:...

 (ESL) tutor, and a member of her neighborhood association board.

Wisconsin Supreme Court election

Kloppenburg faced incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

 Justice David Prosser, Jr.
David Prosser, Jr.
David T. Prosser Jr. is a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A former Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, Prosser was appointed to the court by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998, and was elected to his first 10-year term without opposition in 2001...

 in an election on April 5, 2011. The election received considerable attention due to the 2011 Wisconsin protests
2011 Wisconsin protests
The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protestors opposing the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including tea...

 regarding the budget repair bill, which was considered likely to come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state of Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.-Location:...

, as well as several controversies regarding the incumbent. Both candidates stated their unhappiness regarding the increased partisan aspect of the race. The race was also seen more generally as a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 on the administration of Governor Scott Walker.

Kloppenburg was endorsed by Marla Stephens, one of her opponents in the February primary election.

She described the central themes of her campaign as her independence and impartiality, citing as an example her refusal of special-interest money. She stated, "I have not wavered in my beliefs and will not start if I am elected as a justice. My focus will be on the court without any political bias." This theme was praised by local newspapers, such as the Green Bay Press-Gazette
Green Bay Press-Gazette
The Green Bay Press-Gazette is a newspaper whose primary coverage is of northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. It was founded as the Green Bay Gazette in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1871. The Green Bay Gazette merged with its major competitor, the Green Bay Free...

, which agreed that independence is a quality "critical for justices to rule fairly."

Prosser described her as an 'unbending ideologue' with 'extreme political and social views' which he did not specify, pointing to her past internship with Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson
Shirley Abrahamson
Shirley S. Abrahamson is the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court in 1976 by Governor of Wisconsin Patrick Lucey. Upon her appointment she was the first woman to serve on Wisconsin's high court. She served as the only woman on the court from 1976 until 1993...

, whom he called an 'activist' and 'total bitch.' In response, Kloppenburg replied, "It's ludicrous to say someone will be the clone of someone they interned for many years ago." Prosser later specified his comments by calling Kloppenburg "way out on the fringe", "a very liberal Democrat who has wandered into supporting Green Party candidates." Kloppenburg's husband had previously supported Ben Manski
Ben Manski
Ben Manski is an American attorney, organizer, activist with the Green Party, Executive Director of the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution and editor of the Liberty Tree Journal. As a member of the Wisconsin Green Party, he served as co-chair of the Green Party of the United...

, a former student of his who was a Green Party candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly
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....

. Manski placed second in the election with 31% of the vote, 11% more than the Republican candidate.

Prosser also attacked Kloppenburg's qualifications, stating that she has only prosecuted "DNR regulations of docks … the length of docks. The width of docks. Whether people can have docks." PolitiFact.com
PolitiFact.com
PolitiFact.com is a project that is operated by the St. Petersburg Times, a project in which its reporters and editors "fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups...." They publish original statements and their evaluations on the PolitiFact.com...

, an independent fact-checker, rated this claim as "Pants on Fire" for being 'ridiculous' as well as completely incorrect.

At a candidate forum, Prosser asked Kloppenburg to take down a controversial third-party ad attacking Prosser on his decision not to prosecute a sexual abuse case involving a priest and young boys. Kloppenburg responded by stating that the ad wasn't hers, and "Like it or not, third parties have a First Amendment right to run ads of their own choosing."

On March 28, anonymous Republican sources said that the race was close to even. State officials expected a turnout of around 20%, a typical level of turnout for an April
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and one of four months with a length of 30 days. April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before January and February were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC...

 election.

On March 31, Prosser's campaign co-chairman, former Governor Patrick Lucey resigned from Prosser's campaign and endorsed Kloppenburg, attributing his decision to Prosser's "disturbing distemper and lack of civility", while praising Kloppenburg for showing "promising judicial temperament and good grace, even in the heat of a fierce campaign."

Kloppenburg's opponents ran an advertisement claiming she, "is so extreme she even put an 80-year-old farmer in jail for refusing to plant native vegetation on his farm." This claim has been rated by PolitiFact.com
PolitiFact.com
PolitiFact.com is a project that is operated by the St. Petersburg Times, a project in which its reporters and editors "fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups...." They publish original statements and their evaluations on the PolitiFact.com...

 as "Pants on Fire" for being "ridiculously false." Specifically, the farmer was found in contempt of court three times by two different judges, including Randy Koschnick, a conservative. The farmer was ultimately jailed for five days; the specific reasons for the jailing were that he had repeatedly over 11 years ignored orders by county, state, and court officials to take action to rectify an erosion problem. Kloppenburg herself played a minor part at most in the affair.

Politifact also weighed in on a number of Kloppenburg's statements involving Prosser. Kloppenburg had previously said that Prosser was likely to prejudge matters before the court. This was ruled "Barely True", meaning that it was factually correct but had important omissions, as according to Politifact, Kloppenberg's examples were not specific enough. Kloppenburg was given a "Pants On Fire" for claiming her previous statement about Prosser prejudging was considered true by Politifact.

National groups spent heavily on the race, with about $1.4 million spent by pro-union/Democratic groups and $2.1 million spent by conservative groups.

Newspaper endorsements

In the primary, JoAnne Kloppenburg was endorsed by the Wausau Daily Herald
Wausau Daily Herald
The Wausau Daily Herald is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is the primary newspaper in Wausau and is distributed throughout Marathon and Lincoln counties. The Daily Herald is owned by the Gannett Company, which owns ten other newspapers in Wisconsin.-External links:**...

(which endorsed both Kloppenburg and Prosser). She has been endorsed in the general election by the Appleton Post-Crescent, the Wausau Daily Herald
Wausau Daily Herald
The Wausau Daily Herald is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is the primary newspaper in Wausau and is distributed throughout Marathon and Lincoln counties. The Daily Herald is owned by the Gannett Company, which owns ten other newspapers in Wisconsin.-External links:**...

, The Badger Herald
The Badger Herald
The Badger Herald is a newspaper serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. Founded in 1969, it is one of America's first independent daily student newspapers. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year...

, the Green Bay Press Gazette, the Marshfield
Marshfield, Wisconsin
Marshfield is a city in Marathon and Wood counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the largest city in Wood County. The small portion of the city that extends into Marathon County is part of the Wausau Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,800 at the 2000 census. Marshfield is...

 News Herald, the Stevens Point
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the central part of the state, it is the largest city in the county, with a population of 24,551 at the 2000 census...

 Journal, the Shepherd Express
Shepherd Express
The Shepherd Express is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.-History:The paper originated in May, 1982 as the Crazy Shepherd, its name derived from a line in Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Footnotes to Howl”...

, the Oshkosh Northwestern
Oshkosh Northwestern
The Oshkosh Northwestern is a daily newspaper based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the Gannett chain of newspapers.The Northwestern is primarily distributed in Winnebago, Waushara, and Green Lake counties.-Building:...

, the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
The Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune traces its history to a Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin newspaper started in the early 1900s by William F. Huffman, Sr...

, the Sheboygan Press, and The Capital Times.

Results

On April 6, after a preliminary count was released stating Kloppenburg held a 204-vote lead over Justice David Prosser
David Prosser, Jr.
David T. Prosser Jr. is a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A former Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, Prosser was appointed to the court by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998, and was elected to his first 10-year term without opposition in 2001...

, she issued a statement declaring victory and thanking Justice Prosser for his decades of public service. A recount of the votes was described by the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

as "inevitable."

On April 7, re-canvassing began to verify to election results, and errors were found in counties favoring both candidates; Prosser gained votes from Winnebago and Waukesha, while Kloppenburg regained ground from a scattering of other counties including Grant, Portage, Door, Iowa, Rusk, Vernon, and Shawano.

An April 7 news conference by the Waukesha County Clerk anounced that an estimated 14,000 votes were not counted in Brookfield, Wisconsin
Brookfield, Wisconsin
Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the second largest city in Waukesha County, and the leading commercial suburb of Milwaukee. The City of Brookfield was formed in 1954 from the Town of...

 because she had made an error while saving data on her personal computer. The addition of the missing votes gave Prosser a commanding lead of more than 7,000 votes.

On April 15, the canvass was completed, showing that Prosser had a lead of 7,316 votes, a margin of 0.488%. Because the margin of victory was less than 0.5%, Kloppenburg was legally entitled to a recount, which would be paid for by state taxpayers. Following the recount, the Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections, certified Prosser as the winner by a margin of 7,004. On May 31, 2011 Kloppenburg conceded the election.

Electoral history

Personal life

JoAnne Kloppenburg is married to Jack Kloppenburg, a fellow graduate of Yale and Princeton, as well as Northwestern University. They joined the Peace Corps together after their marriage. Jack is now a professor at the University of Wisconsin.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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