Lee Alyson Snodgrass (born February 9, 1969) is an
American politician, communications consultant, and campaign organizer. She represents the 57th district 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 ...
, based in
Menasha
Menasha () is a city in Calumet and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,268 at the 2020 census. Of this, 15,144 were in Winnebago County, and 2,209 were in Calumet County. The city is located mostly in Winne ...
and central
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh)
is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the co ...
. She is also second vice chair of the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler.
Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educ ...
and chair of the Democratic Party of
Outagamie County
Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton.
Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
.
Early life and career
Snodgrass was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the daughter of a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
engineer and a
registered nurse.
Her father's work with
James River Paper brought her family to
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea l ...
, where she graduated from
Preble High School in 1987. She went on to study at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
, and earned her
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 English in 1991.
Following her college graduation, she moved to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
. While living there, she became engaged to John Ptacek, another University of Wisconsin graduate. In 1995, they returned to Wisconsin to reside at
Appleton
Appleton may refer to:
People
*Appleton (surname)
Places Australia
* Appleton Dock
Canada
* Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Appleton, Ontario
United Kingdom
* Appleton, a deserted medieval village site in the parish of Flitcham w ...
, where Snodgrass was employed at the Fox River Paper Company as a marketing and communications assistant.
She worked as a project manager for the Allen James Design communications agency from 2006 until 2012, and then moved into her current job, as director of communications & customer care for the
Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes.
Political career
Snodgrass got involved in politics long before running for office and continued through her career. As a college student, in 1992, she volunteered on
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin St ...
's first campaign for
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 ...
and
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U.S. ...
's first campaign for
United States 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 ...
. She worked as a volunteer on the presidential campaigns of
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
,
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...
, and worked on 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 ...
campaigns of Appleton assemblymembers
Penny Bernard Schaber and
Amanda Stuck.
2018 Senate campaign
Following the end of the 2016 campaign, she was elected chair of the Democratic Party of
Outagamie County
Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton.
Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
. A little over a year later she made her first attempt at elected office herself. In April 2018, she announced she would challenge incumbent
Wisconsin 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 ...
President
Roger Roth
Roger J. Roth Jr. (born February 5, 1978) is an American politician from Wisconsin. A Republican, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2007 to 2011, and a member of the Wisconsin State Senate since 2015. He was the Republican nom ...
in the
19th senate district. The 19th senate district comprises the cities of
Neenah and Menasha, and most of Appleton, as well as the northern half of
Winnebago County and several towns in southern
Outagamie County
Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton.
Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
. The
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the U.S. Democratic Party organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures. The committee was formed after the 1992 elections by a group of Democratic state legislators and th ...
targeted her race for funding from the national party organization.
Another Appleton Democrat, Outagamie County Supervisor Dan Grady, also sought to challenge Roth in 2018, setting up a
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
. Snodgrass was endorsed before the primary by
EMILY's List
EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...
and built a 10-to-1 cash advantage over Grady. Snodgrass prevailed in the August primary with 64% of the vote, and went on to face Roth in the November general election.
The general election race touched on a number of recent state topics. Snodgrass criticized the Republican legislature and
Scott Walker administration for the management of the
Foxconn in Wisconsin
Foxconn in Wisconsin is a project in which Foxconn originally committed to investing $10 billion in a display panel manufacturing plant in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin per an agreement with the state of Wisconsin. The initial announcement claimed ...
project—which was expected to build a massive production facility and logistics depot in the district of Republican
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos
Robin J. Vos (born July 5, 1968) is an American businessman and Republican politician and the 79th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving in that role since 2013. He has been a member of the Assembly since 2005, representing most of ...
. She questioned the $3,000,000,000 in tax credits promised to the company, which, she said, had a "history of broken contracts and human rights violations," and pointed out that the company,
Foxconn
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New T ...
, had already downgraded their commitment to job creation that would come with the project.
She criticized the Republican legislature for raiding state highway funds to build the desired infrastructure around the Foxconn project, and noted that these policies would lead to rising costs and degraded infrastructure for the rest of the state. She also pointed to the environmental impacts of the Foxconn project, and the violation of the
Great Lakes Compact
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact is a legally binding interstate compact among the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The compact details h ...
between the great lakes states.
She also called for a repeal of the highly controversial
2011 Wisconsin Act 10 The 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, is legislation proposed by Republican Governor Scott Walker and passed by the Wisconsin Legislature to address a projected $3.6 billion budget deficit. The legislation prim ...
law, which had removed
collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...
rights from
public sector unions and, she claimed, led to a teacher shortage in the state.
Snodgrass also frequently stated that the number one issue for voters she spoke to was health care, with concerns about losing coverage for
pre-existing condition
In the context of healthcare in the United States, a pre-existing condition is a medical condition that started before a person's health insurance went into effect. Before 2014, some insurance policies would not cover expenses due to pre-existi ...
s, unaffordable
prescription drug
A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...
s, and expensive insurance plans. She pledged that, if elected, she would push the state to accept federal funds for
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and ...
expansion as provided for under the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
.
On other issues, Snodgrass supported increased state funding for public education, infrastructure projects, and financial aide for students of the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
and
Wisconsin Technical Colleges
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 ...
.
Snodgrass also endorsed immediate legalization of
medical marijuana
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictio ...
with a plan to put full
legalization of cannabis
The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...
to a public
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
in the future.
She also criticized Roth over a bill he had authored and then pulled from consideration in the last legislative session. The bill would have closed a
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...
loophole in the state which allowed businesses to significantly decrease their tax assessment. She alleged that he pulled the bill as a bow to lobbying from
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, a major conservative
political action committee in the state. She pledged to close the loophole if elected.
Snodgrass fell 5,000 votes short in the general election, taking roughly 47% of the vote.
Despite the electoral defeat, she won support from within the Democratic Party and, a few months later, she joined
Ben Wikler's
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
of candidates seeking to take leadership of the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler.
Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educ ...
. At the state party convention in June, Wikler's slate won the approval of the party, and Snodgrass became 2nd vice chair of the party for a two-year term. Following their election, Snodgrass pledged, "We are going to organize across this state 24/7, 365."
2020 Assembly campaign
Also in 2019, Snodgrass was approached by incumbent Appleton state representative
Amanda Stuck to discuss her plans for 2020. Stuck intended to leave her Assembly seat to run for
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
against incumbent Republican
Mike Gallagher, and courted Snodgrass as her successor in the Assembly. Stuck later said she wanted to be sure that her Assembly seat fell to someone, "who's going to still be here for
er constituentsfighting at the state level." So, in July 2019, Stuck announced her campaign for
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
, and Snodgrass, only a month after being elected to the state party leadership team, announced she would run for
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 ...
in the 57th assembly district.
Snodgrass did not face an opponent in the Democratic primary, and went on to face Appleton business owner Eric J. Beach in the general election. Snodgrass prevailed in November with 56% of the vote.
Personal life and family
Snodgrass was married in October 1993 to John H. Ptacek of
Fontana, Wisconsin
Fontana-on-Geneva Lake (locally known as "Fontana") is a village located on Geneva Lake in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,672 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Fontana-on-Geneva Lake is located at (42.544288, -88. ...
, whom she met at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
. They had two children together—one daughter and one son—before separating.
Snodgrass now resides in Appleton, Wisconsin. Her young adult children are currently attending college in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Electoral history
Wisconsin Senate (2018)
, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, August 14, 2018
, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 2018
Wisconsin Assembly (2020)
, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 2020
References
External links
*
Campaign websiteCampaign twitterDemocratic Party of Wisconsin57th Assembly District (2011–2021)Lee S.on
LinkedIn
LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job s ...
Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snodgrass, Lee A.
Living people
Date of birth uncertain
Politicians from Philadelphia
Politicians from Appleton, Wisconsin
Women state legislators in Wisconsin
Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Year of birth uncertain
1969 births