Luther S. Olsen (born February 26, 1951) is an

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politician and former member of the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

. A Republican, he served 16 years in the

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(2005–2021) and ten years in the

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(1994–2005). Olsen was one of several Wisconsin state senators to survive the

2011 Wisconsin Senate recall elections The 2011 Wisconsin Senate recall elections were a series of recall elections for nine Wisconsin Wisconsin Senate, state senators held on July 19, 2011, August 9, 2011, and August 16, 2011. Nine of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate were up for ...

.Barbour, Clay and Mary Spicuzza
Republicans hold off Dems in recalls, win enough seats to keep majority in Senate

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, August 10, 2011.

Early life, education, and early political career

Olsen was born on February 26, 1951, in

Berlin, Wisconsin Berlin (/ˈbɜːrlɪn/ BUR-lin) is a city in Green Lake and Waushara counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,571 at the 2020 census. Of this, 5,435 were in Green Lake County, and only 89 were in Waushara County. The city ...

. In 1969, he graduated from Berlin High School. In 1973, he earned a B.S. from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. In 1976, he was elected to the Berlin School District Board, and was named President of the School Board in 1986. He left the board in 1997.

Wisconsin Legislature

Elections

;Before 2011 In Luther's political career prior to 2011, he had never faced a Democratic party opponent. In 1994, he was elected to the

. He won re-election in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002. In 2004, he was elected the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

and re-election 2008. His current Senate district is much more conservative than the state as a whole. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat

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narrowly won with 52%, while he won statewide with 57%. In the

2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election The 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of Wisconsin, governor and Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. The primary elections on September 14 determined whi ...

, Republican Scott Walker won with 57%, while he won statewide with 53%. In the 2011 Wisconsin judicial election, Republican David Prosser won the district with 55%, while winning statewide with just 50%. ;2011 recall election Olsen was the target of an active recall effort as part of the

2011 Wisconsin protests The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February and involving as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the ''"Wisconsin Budge ...

. On March 2, 2011, the "Committee to Recall Olsen" officially registered with the

Wisconsin Government Accountability Board The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.) was a regulatory agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin which administered and enforced Wisconsin law pertaining to campaign finance, elections, ethics, and lobbying. The board was composed of ...

. On April 18, 2011, organizers filed petitions containing roughly 24,000 signatures to recall Olsen. If more than 14,733 of those signatures are found valid, a recall election will ensue. On April 21, 2011, State Representative

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American movie and television character actor, often playing in authoritative roles. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended S ...

(D - Baraboo) announced his candidacy against Olsen in a possible recall election. In late May 2011, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board verified petitions against Olsen, overruling his challenges. The recall election was held on August 9, 2011. Olsen emphasized his pro-education record during his 17-year political career. He defended the $1 billion cut to public education in the 2011 budget as necessary "cuts that needed to be done." Olsen defeated State Rep. Fred Clark with 52% of the vote.

Tenure

During the

regarding Governor Walker's budget repair bill, Olsen described the bill as "pretty radical" and mentioned that he had reservations regarding voting for

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

repeal. Olsen ultimately voted for the bill. In 2011, One Wisconsin Now filed an ethics complaint against Olsen with the Government Accountability Board. The complaint alleged that Olsen inserted language into a bill in order to financially help his wife. Olsen's wife, Joan Wade, responded to the complaint by calling it 'ridiculous.'

Committee assignments

Olsen was chairman of the Education Committee. He was also a member of the Finance, Insurance and Housing, and Finance committees.

References

External links

Senator Luther S. Olsen
at the

Wisconsin State Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

constituency site
*
14th Senate District, Senator Olsen
in the

Wisconsin Blue Book The ''Wisconsin Blue Book'' is a biennial publication of the Wisconsin's Legislative Reference Bureau. The ''Blue Book'' is an almanac containing information on the government, economics, demographics, geography and history of the state of Wisc ...

(2005–2006) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Luther S. Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly School board members in Wisconsin 1951 births Living people People from Berlin, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Businesspeople from Wisconsin 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature