Josh Zepnick (born March 21, 1968) is a former

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

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. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

, representing the 9th Assembly District from 2003 until 2019.

Biography

Born in

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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Zepnick received a bachelor's degree 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. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...

and a Masters in Public Policy from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He has worked for the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative, the Milwaukee Community Service Corps, the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin, and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, and has been an aide to Wisconsin State Senator Bob Jauch and Congressman David R. Obey.

Legislative career

Zepnick has served in the

since 2003. He has been the minority caucus

sergeant at arms Sergeant (abbreviation, abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a Military rank, rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is use ...

since 2011. He currently serves on the Committee on Energy and Utilities, the Committee on Financial Institutions, the Committee on Interstate Affairs, and the Committee on Ways and Means. Zepnick previously served on committees on State and Federal Relations and State and Local Finance. He has served on Legislative Council Study Task Forces, the Governor's Council on Workforce Investment, and the Speaker's Task Force on Mental Health. In 2009, Zepnick proposed a bill to require sobriety of bartenders and limit "all-you-can-drink" specials. In 2015, Zepnick admitted to

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is ...

after he was arrested for a traffic violation in

Greenfield, Wisconsin Greenfield is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee County, Greenfield is one of many bedroom communities in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 37,803 as of the 2020 Census. History On March 8, 1839, th ...

Allegations of misconduct

In 2017, two women accused Zepnick of kissing them against their will at political events. Zepnick apologized and says the episodes should not prevent him from serving in the Assembly. He was eventually removed from legislative committee assignments. Zepnick ran for re-election in 2018 but was defeated in the Democratic primary by

Marisabel Cabrera Marisabel Cabrera (born December 12, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Wisconsin. She serves in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the south side of Milwaukee. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Biography ...

County board race

In April 2022, Zepnick was a candidate for the

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

board of supervisors. He lost his race by 17 votes to union organizer Juan Miguel Martinez. A challenge to the election results would have cost about $5,000, and Zepnick (who said he'd been sober now for about six and a half years) instead conceded, and wished Martinez well.

References

External links

Official government website
* * ''Follow the Money'' - Josh Zepnick
200620042002
campaign contributions
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zepnick, Josh 1968 births Living people Politicians from Milwaukee Humphrey School of Public Affairs alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly