Jim Doyle

For Doyle's father, the United States federal judge, see James Edward Doyle.

For other people named James Doyle, see James Doyle (disambiguation).

Jim Doyle
Doyle in 2009
44th Governor of Wisconsin
In office January 6, 2003 – January 3, 2011
Lieutenant	Barbara Lawton
Preceded by	Scott McCallum
Succeeded by	Scott Walker
41st Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office January 7, 1991 – January 6, 2003
Governor	Tommy Thompson Scott McCallum
Preceded by	Don Hanaway
Succeeded by	Peg Lautenschlager
District Attorney of Dane County
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1982
Preceded by	Humphrey Lynch
Succeeded by	Harold Harlowe
Personal details
Born	James Edward Doyle, Jr. (1945-11-23) November 23, 1945 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jessica Laird
Relations	James Edward Doyle (father) Ruth Bachhuber Doyle (mother)
Children	2
Education	University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Signature

James Edward Doyle Jr. (born November 23, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Scott McCallum. Although in 2002 Democrats increased their number of governorships, Doyle was the only one of them to unseat a Republican.

Prior to the governorship, Doyle served as Wisconsin Attorney General from 1991 to 2003. He is currently an attorney 'of counsel' in the Madison, Wisconsin office of the law firm of Foley & Lardner and serves on the corporate board of Epic Systems and Exact Sciences.

Early life and education

Jim Doyle was born on November 23, 1945, in Washington, D.C., the son of Ruth Bachhuber Doyle and James Edward Doyle, who were influential leaders of the post-1946 Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Doyle Sr. ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1954 and was appointed as a federal judge in 1965. Ruth Bachhuber Doyle was the first woman from Dane County to be elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1948.

Doyle, who graduated from Madison West High School in 1963, attended Stanford University for three years, then returned home to Madison to finish his senior year at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After graduating from college and inspired by John F. Kennedy's call to public service, Doyle worked as a teacher with his wife, Jessica Doyle in Tunisia as part of the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969.

In 1972, Doyle earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He then moved to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Arizona, where he worked as an attorney in a federal legal services office.

Early political career

In 1975, Doyle returned to Madison, Wisconsin, and served three terms as Dane County District Attorney, from 1977 to 1982. After leaving that office, he spent eight years in private practice. Doyle was elected Wisconsin Attorney General in 1990, and reelected in 1994 and 1998. Between 1997 and 1998, he served as the president of the National Association of Attorneys General. During his twelve years as attorney general, Doyle was considered tough on crime, but not unsympathetic to its causes. He also gained recognition as a result of several successful lawsuits against tobacco companies in the state.

Campaigns for governor

2002 gubernatorial election

Doyle ran against Republican Scott McCallum, the former lieutenant governor who had assumed the office of governor in 2001 after Tommy Thompson left to become Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration.

The 2002 governor's race is considered by some to have been the most negative campaign in the state's history. In response, Libertarian Ed Thompson (brother of Tommy), publicly critical of the negative campaigning of both major party candidates, who became a more viable option for some voters, garnered 10% of the vote.

Doyle giving a speech in 2005

On election day, Doyle defeated McCallum by over four percent of the vote, becoming the first Democratic governor in the state since Anthony Earl was defeated in 1986. Doyle was sworn in on January 6, 2003 at the State Capitol in Madison.

2006 gubernatorial election

Main articles: 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial election and Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Doyle defeated Republican Congressman Mark Green in 2006. Doyle topped Green 53% to 45% in a year in which no incumbent Democratic governor, senator, or congressman lost their reelection bid.

During the campaign, Doyle was dogged by charges that Georgia Thompson, a state employee, had steered a travel agency contract to a firm whose principals had donated $20,000 to his campaign. Thompson was convicted in federal court in late 2006 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The conviction was reversed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2007, with one judge calling the U.S. Attorney's case "beyond thin".

Retirement

Main article: 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

Doyle announcing his decision not to seek reelection

Doyle raised about $500,000 for a campaign fund in the first half of 2007, leading political analysts to think he would have been financially ready to run for a third term as governor. In a speech to the state Democratic Party convention on July 6, 2007, he said, "And at the end of these four years of working together, who knows, maybe we'll need four more." He had changed his campaign website to JimDoyle2010.com, which had been seen a further indication of a re-election run. However, on August 17, 2009, Doyle announced that he would not seek a third term.

Governor of Wisconsin

Doyle on board a UH-60 Blackhawk viewing 2008 flood damage.

Doyle (right) with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2009

Upon Doyle's taking office, Wisconsin faced a $3.2 billion deficit. The state ended the year 2003 with a deficit of $2.15 billion. Proposals for new programs were constrained by continued budget-cutting and his decision to honor a campaign pledge to not raise taxes. Facing political pressure, he signed a property tax freeze that has resulted in an anticipated decrease in average statewide property taxes in 2003. Doyle's stated priorities were investing in public schools, including the University of Wisconsin System; lowering property taxes; regional economic development; transportation reform; and funding of stem cell research.

Doyle speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

On January 2, 2009, Doyle joined the governors of four states in urging the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 state governments to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggled with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

On May 19, 2009, Doyle proposed a 75-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, an "assessment" against oil companies to help pay for road improvements, imposition of sales tax on music downloads and cell phone ringtones, and a 1 percent hike in the state income tax for individuals earning above $300,000 a year (approximately 1 percent of the state's population).

Doyle served as chair of the Midwestern Governors Association in 2007.

In October 2007, the Republican-led Assembly, Democratic-controlled Senate, and Governor Doyle passed a balanced budget that approved transferring $200 million from a medical malpractice fund to the Medical assistance trust fund. In July 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the transfer was illegal and that the state must restore the money to the malpractice fund.

Personal life and family

Jim Doyle is a fifth generation state officeholder in Wisconsin. His mother, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, represented Dane County in the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1940s; his maternal grandfather, Frank E. Bachhuber, represented Marathon County in the Assembly in the 1930s; his great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, Andrew Bachhuber and Max Bachhuber, represented Dodge County in the Assembly in the 19th century.

Doyle is married to Jessica Laird Doyle, niece of former Congressman Melvin Laird, and great-granddaughter of William D. Connor, who was lieutenant governor of Wisconsin from 1907–1909, and great-great-granddaughter of Wisconsin State Representative Robert Connor. They have two adopted sons, Gus and Gabe, a daughter-in-law, Carrie, a grandson, Asiah, and granddaughters Lily and Lucy.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Attorney General (1990, 1994, 1998)

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1990

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 11, 1990
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	106,050	56.29%
	Democratic	William Te Winkle	82,337	43.71%
Total votes			188,387	100.0%
General Election, November 6, 1990
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	687,283	50.87%	+4.93%
	Republican	Don Hanaway (incumbent)	635,835	47.06%	−4.89%
	Labor–Farm	Patricia K. Hammel	27,948	2.07%
Plurality			51,448	3.81%	-2.21%
Total votes			1,351,066	100.0%	-6.56%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 8, 1994
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (incumbent)	805,334	52.52%	+1.65%
	Republican	Jeff Wagner	709,927	46.30%	−0.76%
	Libertarian	Steven S. Deibert	18,089	1.18%
Plurality			1,533,350	100.0%	+13.49%
Total votes			1,533,350	100.0%	+13.49%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General election, November 3, 1998
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (incumbent)	1,111,773	64.90%	+12.38%
	Republican	Linda Van de Water	565,073	32.99%	−13.31%
	Constitution	James Chinavare	18,881	1.10%
	Libertarian	Ronald T. Emery	17,306	1.01%	−0.17%
Plurality			546,700	31.91%	+25.69%
Total votes			1,713,033	100.0%	+11.72%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Governor (2002, 2006)

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 10, 2002
	Democratic	Jim Doyle	212,066	26.39%
	Democratic	Tom Barrett	190,605	23.72%
	Democratic	Kathleen Falk	150,161	18.69%
		Scattering	802	0.14%
Total votes			553,634	100.0%	+152.90%
General Election, November 5, 2002
	Democratic	Jim Doyle / Barbara Lawton	800,515	45.09%	+6.39%
	Republican	Scott McCallum (incumbent) / M. A. Farrow (incumbent)	734,779	41.39%	−18.28%
	Libertarian	Ed Thompson / M. Reynolds	185,455	10.45%	+9.82%
	Green	Jim Young / Jeff Peterson	44,111	2.48%	+2.48%
	Reform	Alan D. Eisenberg	2,847	0.16%
	Independent	Ty A. Bollerud	2,637	0.15%
	Independent	Mike Managan	1,710	0.10%
	Independent	Aneb Jah Rasta	929	0.05%
		Scattering	2,366	0.13%
Plurality			65,736	3.71%	-17.27%
Turnout			1,775,349	45.43%	+1.10%
	Democratic gain from Republican

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 7, 2006
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (incumbent) / Barbara Lawton (incumbent)	1,139,115	52.70%	+7.39%
	Republican	Mark Green / Jean Hundertmark	979,427	45.31%	+3.92%
	Green	Nelson Eisman / Leon Todd	40,709	1.88%	−0.60%
		Scattering	2,449	0.11%
Plurality			159,688	3.71%	+3.68%
Turnout			2,161,700	53.19%	+7.76%
	Democratic hold

Sources

• Laird, Helen L., 'A Mind of Her Own Helen Connor Laird and Her Family 1888–1982' The University of Wisconsin Press, 2006.

External links

• James Doyle Archived 2008-08-24 at the Wayback Machine in the Dictionary of Wisconsin History, Wisconsin Historical Society
• Peace Corps biography of Jim Doyle
• Appearances on C-SPAN