David M. "Dave" Travis (born September 21, 1948) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

communications consultant and Democratic politician. He served 30 years 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

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 ...

, and was majority leader of the Assembly from 1991 to 1995.

Biography

Travis was born September 21, 1948. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

and went on to earn his master's from the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at 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 ...

. He also attended

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College, or simply Madison College or MATC, is a public technical college in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It serves students in south-central Wisconsin and is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System. The co ...

and Bindl Flight School, in

Waunakee, Wisconsin Waunakee () is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison, it is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Waunakee bills itse ...

, where he earned a private

pilot's license Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issui ...

. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Travis went to work as an administrative assistant for the Wisconsin Senate Democratic Caucus. By 1974, he had risen to become staff director for the caucus. In 1978, incumbent assemblymember

Peter D. Bear Peter D. Bear is a former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Bear was born on September 18, 1952, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from The Bronx High School of Science in New York City Ne ...

announced he would run for

Wisconsin State 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 o ...

, creating a vacancy in Wisconsin's 37th Assembly district. Travis decided to run in the Democratic primary, and prevailed in a field of five candidates that included future Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader

Charles Chvala Charles Joseph "Chuck" Chvala (born December 5, 1954) is an American real estate dealer, lawyer, and former politician. He served 20 years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Dane County, and was the Democratic caucus leader from 1995 thr ...

. Over the next five years, Wisconsin would go through two significant redistrictings. In 1982, after the Legislature and Governor failed to agree on a map reflecting the

1980 United States census The 1980 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4% over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was the first ce ...

, a federal court ordered the implementation of their own map, which was designed to punish incumbent legislators. Travis' district shifted from a mostly urban district on Madison's north side to the new 93rd Assembly district, which was composed of most of northwestern Dane County. He survived a competitive general election and returned to office in 1983, where the new Legislature set about creating a new redistricting plan to override the court-ordered plan. Under the new map, Travis resided in the new 81st Assembly district, which would be his constituency for the remainder of his career. He was re-elected twelve more times in the 81st district. Travis announced in May 2007 that he would not run for a 16th term in the Assembly.

References

External links

Official website
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 ...

(Archived November 10, 2006) * ''Follow the Money'' - David Travis
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campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, David 1948 births Living people Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni People from Waunakee, Wisconsin Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature