Michael D. "Mike" Huebsch (born July 19, 1964) is an American Republican politician from La Crosse County, Wisconsin. He was the 76th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving a total of 16 years in the Assembly (1995–2011). He later served as the 15th secretary of the

Wisconsin Department of Administration The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government which provides a range of services and programs, from operations, technology, and logistical support for the state, to assistance programs for low-inc ...

in the cabinet of Governor Scott Walker.

Biography

Born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Huebsch graduated from Onalaska High School and attended

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

. He served 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 ...

from 1995 through 2011. From 2007 to 2009, he served as Speaker of the Assembly. Huebsch, his wife, and family live in

West Salem, Wisconsin West Salem is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,277 as of the 2020 census. History West Salem w ...

. While in the State Assembly, he and fellow Republican representative and future governor Scott Walker were involved in the Jamyi Witch hiring controversy in 2001–02, in which they attempted to terminate the employment of state employee Jamyi Witch because of her beliefs as a

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

n."Wiccan prison chaplain sparks controversy in Wisconsin," ''Americans United Bulletin'', February 2002
Toosi, Nahal. "Wiccan Rev. Witch raises some brows at Wisconsin prison." ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', reprinted December 9, 2001 in ''Seattle Times''
/ref> Huebsch said that "Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to accept this hocus-pocus," proposing to delete the state appropriation which funded Witch's position.
/ref> Huebsch and Walker were ultimately unsuccessful in terminating Witch's employment. Huebsch resigned from the Assembly after Walker, having been elected governor in 2010, appointed Huebsch as Secretary of the

on December 30, 2010. In early 2015, Huebsch was appointed to the

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating public utilities in the energy, telecommunications, gas, and water companies located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2021, the agency ...

. He served until his resignation in February 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huebsch, Michael Politicians from Milwaukee People from West Salem, Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly State cabinet secretaries of Wisconsin 1964 births Living people Oral Roberts University alumni 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature