Monroe Swan (born June 2, 1937) is a retired American government administrator and Democratic politician from

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 ...

. He was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

member of the

Wisconsin 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 ...

, representing

Wisconsin's 6th Senate district The 6th Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Milwaukee County. It includes parts of north, west, and downtown Milwaukee, ...

from 1973 to 1980. His political career ended when he was convicted of fraud for using federal program money to pay campaign workers.

Background

Born in

Belzoni, Mississippi Belzoni ( ) is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,235 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County. It was named for the 19th-century ...

, Swan was a graduate of Springfield Technical High School of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. After he graduated from it, he served as an employment counselor and community activist. In 1964, he received his associate degree from

Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical and community college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. MATC offers day, evening, weekend and online classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, O ...

and then his bachelor's degree 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 ...

in 1967.

Senate service

In 1972, Swan was elected to the

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 ...

from

after unseating incumbent Mark Lipscomb Jr. in a racially charged 6th District Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

. Lipscomb (who was running unsuccessfully for Milwaukee city attorney) had actively lobbied to make sure that the revised 6th District was one which reflected the increased number of

African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

in Milwaukee County. In the wake of the decennial legislative

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, the district had a very different composition. Lipscomb (who had said the 60%-black district deserved a black senator "but not yet, because I'm running") lost the Democratic nomination to Swan, who mustered a plurality in a three-way race, with 3256 votes for Swan, 2729 for Lipscomb, and 987 for Roger Hansen. Lipscomb unsuccessfully challenged the primary results, alleging fraud, including assertions that Hansen (a white

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

employee) was a fraudulent candidate recruited and supported by the Swan campaign to dilute the white vote in the race in return for money or a job. In the subsequent

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, Swan had no trouble winning. Swan served from 1973 until his removal from office because of his felony conviction of illegally using federally funded

CETA The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA; French: ''accord économique et commercial global'', AECG; German: ''Umfassendes Wirtschafts- und Handelsabkommen'') is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its m ...

money for his campaign for the nomination for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

.Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
Wisconsin Legislators Charged with Crimes and Violations of Ethics and Campaign Finance Laws, 1939-2010
''Informational Memorandum 09-2'', December 2010, p. 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Monroe 1937 births Living people African-American state legislators in Wisconsin People from Belzoni, Mississippi Politicians from Milwaukee Milwaukee Area Technical College alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature