Robert Thompson (Wisconsin Politician)
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Robert M. Thompson (November 25, 1927 – June 1, 1999) was a 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
.


Biography

Thompson was born in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. He graduated from Poynette High School in
Poynette, Wisconsin Poynette is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Poynette was named after Pierre Paquette (1796–1836), an early ...
. Later, he joined the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...
. As a U.S. marshal, Thompson was in charge of law enforcement at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin in 1980, when it was used as an
internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
for Cuban refugees admitted as part of the Mariel boatlift. Thompson was married with one child. He died on June 1, 1999 after suffering a heart attack while watching a softball game.


Political career

Thompson was first elected to the Assembly in 1970 as a Democrat. After serving as Sergeant at Arms of 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 1975 to 1978, Thompson was again elected to the Assembly in 1982. Additionally, he became Chairman of Dekorra, Wisconsin in 1981 and a member of the
Columbia County, Wisconsin Columbia County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,490. Its county seat and largest city is Portage, Wisconsin, Portage. The county ...
Board in 1982. In 1990, Thompson ran for
Secretary of State of Wisconsin A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
as a Republican, losing to incumbent Doug La Follette.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Robert Law enforcement officials from Wisconsin Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Politicians from Columbia County, Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Republicans Wisconsin Democrats United States Marshals 1927 births 1999 deaths 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature