Shelia Stubbs
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Shelia Renee Stubbs ( Hoskins; born February 22, 1971) is an American pastor, former probation and parole agent, and Democratic politician from
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. She is a member of the
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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
, representing the south side of the city of Madison since 2019. She is the first African American to represent
Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...
in 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 ...
. She also previously served 16 years as a member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors (2006–2022), and was the only African American member from 2006 to 2020.


Early life and career

Shelia Stubbs was born Shelia Renee Hoskins in
Camden, Arkansas Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County, Arkansas, Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state portals, U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlo ...
, in February 1971. As a child, she moved with her family to
Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...
, where she was raised and educated; her uncle, Walter Knight, served on Beloit's city council and its police and fire commission. She graduated from Beloit Memorial High School and attended
Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
, earning a baccalaureate degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. She went on to study at
Mount Senario College Mount Senario College (MSC or Mt. Senario) was a private non-profit college located in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of Superior. History Early history The College began in 1930, when summer extension courses were conducted in Ladysmi ...
, earning a second baccalaureate, in
criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
management, and then earned a master's in management at
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
's
Cardinal Stritch University Cardinal Stritch University was a private Catholic university with its primary campus in Fox Point and Glendale, Wisconsin, United States. Its enrollment as of fall 2021 was 1,365. The university closed in May 2023 due to financial challenges a ...
. She has been a member of
Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...
sorority since April 2003. She worked for eight years as a probation and parole agent with the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) is an administrative department in the executive branch of the state of Wisconsin responsible for corrections in Wisconsin, including state prisons and community supervision. The secretary is a cab ...
before first being elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 2006.


Political career

Democratic incumbent Terese Berceau announced on February 2, 2018, that she would not be running for re-election from the 77th Assembly district, and Stubbs announced her own candidacy the same day. With the Democratic nomination tantamount to winning in this heavily-Democratic district, she acquired three opponents (and Berceau's endorsement). In the
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
, she achieved a plurality of fractionally under 50% of the votes, with 7,758 to Shabnam Lotfi's 5,611 (36%), John Imes' 1,222 (8%) and Mark Garthwaite's 968 (6%). Unopposed in the general election for the 2019–2020 Assembly term, Stubbs became the first African-American woman to represent a Dane County district in the legislature, and was the only African-American woman in the Assembly.


Police call

Stubbs's campaign attracted national news coverage when during her
canvassing Canvassing, also known as door knocking or phone banking, is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns. Canvassing can be done for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroot ...
in a predominantly-white neighborhood, a call was made to the Madison Police Department reporting her and her family (she was with her daughter and mother) as "They are waiting for drugs at the local drug house — would like them moved along." (She did not announce the incident until after the primary.) An anonymous letter purporting to be from the person who made the call, and emphasizing "but I never called the police on you, on a woman of color in the neighborhood... I called on a car, not you" has been received by a local television station.


Personal life and family

Shelia Stubbs is the daughter of Linda Hoskins, a former president of the Madison chapter of the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
. Shelia Hoskins took the last name Stubbs when she married bishop Godfrey Stubbs. The Stubbs' are co-founders of End Time Ministries International Church in Madison; they have one school-age daughter.


Electoral history


Wisconsin Assembly, 77th district (2018–2022)


Wisconsin Assembly, 78th district (2024–present)


References


External links


Representative Shelia Stubbs
at
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 ...

Campaign website

Former campaign website (Archived Nov. 5, 2018)

End Time Ministries International
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, Shelia 1971 births Living people Probation and parole officers People from Camden, Arkansas Politicians from Beloit, Wisconsin Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Cardinal Stritch University alumni Tougaloo College alumni Mount Senario College alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly African-American state legislators in Wisconsin Women state legislators in Wisconsin 2020 United States presidential electors 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 21st-century African-American politicians