Dale P. Kooyenga
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Dale Kooyenga (born February 12, 1979) is an American C.P.A. and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician from
Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha C ...
. He was a member of the
Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...
from 2019 through 2022, representing the 5th Senate district. He previously served eight years in the State Assembly (2011–2018), representing the 14th Assembly district.


Early life and education

Born in
Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It shares borders with the city in two areas but is surrounded mostly by ...
, Kooyenga grew up as the oldest of four siblings in the southwest Chicago suburb of
Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, the population was 19,943. History As early as 1828, a German farming family had settled in the area of what is now Evergreen Park. In the succeeding decades, other Ge ...
. He attended
Chicago Christian High School Chicago Christian High School or CCHS is a private Christian school in Palos Heights, Illinois Palos Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,068 ...
and went on to attend
Moraine Valley Community College Moraine Valley Community College is a public community college in Palos Hills, Illinois. Founded in 1967, it is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserves. The college also operates satellite centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park, Illin ...
. Kooyenga played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
at Moraine Valley and was subsequently recruited by Lakeland College in
Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
, where he played NCAA Division III basketball and graduated with honors. Kooyenga earned a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 2000 and
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...
in 2007. Kooyenga has also completed the Young American Leaders Program in Civic Engagement through the Harvard Business School as well as the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
Special Warfare Center and School's Civil Affairs course. He is an
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
veteran. He continues to serve in the Army Reserve as a major in Civil Affairs Corps. He is married and a father of four children.


Career

Kooyenga moved to
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
in 2001, passed the Certified Public Accounting exam, and began working for accounting firm KPMG. He worked at KPMG as a
senior manager Senior management, executive management, upper management, or a management is generally individuals at the highest level of management of an organization who have the day-to-day tasks of managing that organization—sometimes a company or a corpo ...
until 2011, performing work for some of Wisconsin's largest healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, government and not-for-profit entities. Kooyenga then served as chief financial officer for Milwaukee-based IT Services and IT Consulting firm Mpirik starting in January 2015, a role he served in until May 2017. In May 2017, Kooyenga became chief financial officer for Stonehouse Water Technologies, LLC, a Milwaukee firm that engineers and manufactures water purification systems for residential homes, commercial buildings and farms. From June 2019 until the present day, Kooyenga has served as a board member and consultant for Alligator Holdings, an early stage investor group that focuses on bringing innovative products to market through strategic investments and advanced engineering and manufacturing processes.


U.S. Army

In 2005, Kooyenga and his two brothers joined the United States Army, a decision they made as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He attended the United States Army's basic training, Officer Candidate School and the Military Intelligence Officer Course. After completing the year-long Army training Kooyenga returned to his career in public accounting. Kooyenga was deployed to active duty in Iraq from January 2008 to November 2008. Although trained as a Military Intelligence Officer, Kooyenga was assigned as the 4th Infantry Division's Officer in Charge of Economic Development in Baghdad. Kooyenga was awarded the
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
for his service. His experience in Iraq overseeing the construction of roads and bridges, as well as the death of a friend at the hands of a suicide bomber, inspired his interest in politics. Kooyenga still serves in the U.S. Army Reserve and in June 2022 was selected for the rank of lieutenant colonel.


Politics

In Fall 2010, Kooyenga was elected to represent the 14th District for 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. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...
. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. Kooyenga endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. During his time in the Assembly, Kooyenga emerged as a conservative star as part of the "CPA Caucus," a group of four certified public accountants in the Assembly who specialized in analyzing state finances. The group's work led to the discovery of a previously unreported $650 million surplus within the books of UW System institutions. That discovery led to an 8-year tuition freeze, which was lifted in 2021 with Kooyenga's support. Kooyenga said as a result of the tuition freeze, the UW System "has dramatically increased their transparency." Kooyenga later praised the UW System for voluntarily freezing tuition for another year. In May 2017, Kooyenga removed a protester's sign, which had a valid permit, from a public area of the Wisconsin State Capitol which was critical of President Donald Trump and Republicans. Kooyenga removed the sign because he thought it was inappropriate. The owner filed a lawsuit against Kooyenga and the State of Wisconsin for violating his
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
rights, which led to the State paying him $30,000 to settle the lawsuit in April 2018. Kooyenga repaid the $30,000 to the state in July 2018. Kooyenga announced his campaign for Wisconsin State Senate's 5th District in September 2017, seeking to fill the seat left vacant by Leah Vukmir, who was running for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
. He won the November 2018 election with 51.15% of the vote against Democratic opponent Julie Henszey. During his time in the Senate, Kooyenga worked on a range of issues related to education, tax cuts and budgeting, professional licensure, and healthcare. In August 2019, he and Rep.
Amy Loudenbeck Amy Lynn Loudenbeck (born September 29, 1969) is an American politician and legislator. Originally from the Detroit and Chicago area, Loudenbeck graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1991. She was elected to the Wisconsin State ...
introduced telehealth legislation that was signed into law months before the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
pandemic began. As a member of the Joint Committee on Finance, Kooyenga also assisted in writing the 2021-23 state budget and argued for conservative tax policy including tax cuts. In 2021 he introduced bipartisan legislation in the Wisconsin legislature to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV). He argued that RCV would reduce polarization and extremism by removing incentives for legislators to cater to extremist elements within their parties. He also introduced an amendment to the state constitution to return oversight of federal funding to the state legislature as well as legislation to clean up industrial pollutants from the Milwaukee Estuary. In April 2022 Kooyenga announced he would not seek re-election to the State Senate, citing his commitments to the U.S. Army, private sector career, and his four children as reasons for stepping down from public service.


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kooyenga, Dale P. 1979 births Living people Lakeland College (Wisconsin) alumni Marquette University alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators 21st-century American politicians