Staush Gruszynski (born February 13, 1985) is an American nonprofit executive and former Democratic politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He served one term in 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

Wisconsin's 90th Assembly district The 90th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in northeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises the east side of the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in central Brown County, Wisconsin, Bro ...

during the 2019–2020 term. He also served six years on the board of supervisors of Brown County, Wisconsin, from 2014 to 2020. His uncle, Stan Gruszynski, also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life

Staush Gruszynski was born in

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephe ...

, in February 1985. He was raised and educated there, graduating from Marinette High School in 2003. During his early childhood, his uncle, Stan Gruszynski, was a member of the

, representing the

Plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...

area. Gruszynski volunteered on his uncle's campaigns, and later said that it sparked his interest in politics. After high school, he attended the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UWO) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to around 13,0 ...

, and earned his bachelor's degree in political science and public administration in 2008. After college, Gruszynski settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was employed by the Wisconsin

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...

, eventually becoming political director of the organization. He was also active in other conservation efforts and was president of Green Bay's chapter of conservation group

Trout Unlimited Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. ...

Political career

Gruszynski won his first public office in 2014, when he was elected without opposition to the board of supervisors of

Brown County, Wisconsin Brown 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 268,740, making it the fourth-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Green Bay ...

. He served six years on the board. In 2017, Green Bay's state representative

Eric Genrich Eric Genrich ( ; born October 8, 1979) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, since 2019. Genrich previously represented Green Bay in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2013 until 2019. Early life and educa ...

was elected mayor of Green Bay, and announced he would not run for re-election to the Assembly. Gruszynski entered the race to succeed him, and faced no opposition in the primary or general election. He was sworn in as representative of the 90th Assembly district in January 2019. In December 2019, the Wisconsin Legislative Human Resources Office substantiated a complaint that Gruszynski sexually harassed a legislative staffer at a bar. Democratic party leaders called on Gruszynski to resign, stripped him of his committee assignments, and prohibited him from caucusing with Democrats. Gruszynksi acknowledged that, on the night of the incident, he "was black out drunk ndmade inappropriate comments" but also "apologized o the stafferand was remorseful." Gruszynski attempted to run for re-election in 2020, but was defeated in a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent i ...

Green Bay Area Public School District Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) is the fourth largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2020–21 school year, GBAPS served more than 21,000 students in 36 schools and had 3,641 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. A ...

board member Kristina Shelton.

Personal life

Staush Gruszynski married Colleen Adams; they have one child.

References

External links

* *
Representative Staush Gruszynski (2019)
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruszynski, Staush 1985 births Living people People from Marinette, Wisconsin Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly County supervisors in Wisconsin 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature