Gerrymandering. It’s a big word for a big mess when it comes to how legislative district maps are drawn in Wisconsin. Though the “abuse of power” practice—of redistricting for potential political gain one political party controls the legislature and governorship—has been much in the news of late, it is not new.
“Republicans did it in Wisconsin; Democrats did it in Illinois; it’s not a partisan issue, it’s an abuse of power issue,” says Former Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Tim Cullen, author of “Wisconsin Gerrymandering: The Fight for Permanent Fair Maps and Why It Matters”. Cullen will share how and why gerrymandering wound its way into national and Wisconsin politics and what might be done to plot a straighter map to Wisconsin’s future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Former Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader (1982-1987), Janesville, Wisconsin native Tim Cullen graduated from UW–Whitewater. He was elected to the state senate as a Democrat at the age of thirty. He later became Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services under Governor Tommy Thompson and worked post-legislature at Blue Cross for 20 years while serving on the Janesville School Board. In 2010, he was reelected to his old Senate seat and served until 2015. Today, Cullen still lives in Janesville and spends his time working with the three foundations he started.
This event is co-sponsored with the Spring Green Community Library and Arcadia Books.
