Wisconsin's 49th Assembly district explained

Image Caption:2024 map defined in
2022 map defined in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
2011 map was defined in
Chamber:Assembly
State:Wisconsin
District:49
Representative:Travis Tranel
Residence:Cuba City
Party:Republican
Incumbentsince:January 3, 2011 (years)
Population:59,584
Population Year:2020
Voting Age:47,347
Percent White:93.49
Percent Black:1.87
Percent Hispanic:2.0
Percent Asian:0.97
Percent Native American:1.09
Percent Pacific Islander:0.06
Website:Official website
Notes:Southwest Wisconsin

Wisconsin's 49th Assembly district is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly.[1] Located in southwest Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Crawford County and most of Grant County. It includes the cities of Boscobel, Fennimore, Lancaster, Platteville, and Prairie du Chien, and the villages of Bagley, Bell Center, Bloomington, Cassville, De Soto, Dickeyville, Eastman, Ferryville, Gays Mills, Lynxville, Mount Hope, Mount Sterling, Patch Grove, Potosi, Soldiers Grove, Steuben, Tennyson, Wauzeka, and Woodman. The district also contains the University of Wisconsin–Platteville campus, Wyalusing State Park, and Nelson Dewey Memorial State Park, and historic landmarks such as the Potosi Brewery and the Grant County Courthouse.[2] The district has been represented by Travis Tranel, a Republican, since January 2011.[3]

The 49th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 17th Senate district, along with the 50th and 51st Assembly districts.[4]

History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties.[5] Under the pre-1972 districting scheme, Grant County was a single-district county. The 49th district was drawn mostly in line with the former Grant County district, but with several municipalities in the northwest portion of the state removed. The last representative of the Grant County district, James N. Azim Jr., was elected in 1972 as the first representative of the 49th Assembly district.[6]

With the exception of the 1982 court-ordered redistricting plan, which scrambled all State Assembly districts,[7] the 49th district has remained based in Grant County since 1972. The boundaries have varied somewhat, utilizing different combinations of neighboring municipalities in Richland, Iowa, and Lafayette counties.

List of past representatives

List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 49th district!Member!Party!Residence!Counties Represented!Term Start!Term End!Ref.
District created
James N. Azim Jr.Rep.MuscodaGrantJanuary 1, 1973 June 14, 1976
VacantJune 14, 1976January 3, 1977
Robert S. Travis Jr.Rep.PlattevilleJanuary 3, 1977January 3, 1983
Robert JauchDem.PoplarBayfield, DouglasJanuary 3, 1983January 7, 1985
Robert S. Travis Jr.Rep.PlattevilleGrant, RichlandJanuary 7, 1985 January 5, 1987
Rep.Mount IdaJanuary 5, 1987January 1, 2001
Grant, Iowa
Gabe LoeffelholzRep.PlattevilleGrant, Lafayette, RichlandJanuary 1, 2001
Phil GarthwaiteDem.DickeyvilleJanuary 3, 2011
Travis TranelRep.Cuba CityJanuary 3, 2011Current

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Assembly District 49 . . February 2, 2021 .
  2. Web site: Wisconsin Legislative Districts - Assembly District 49 Boundaries . . February 2, 2021 .
  3. Web site: Representative Travis Tranel . . February 2, 2021.
  4. An Act ... relating to: legislative redistricting . Act . 94 . 2023 . . February 23, 2024 .
  5. The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book . 1973 . State of Wisconsin . Theobald . H. Rupert . Robbins . Patricia V. . . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1973/reference/wi.wibluebk1973.i0011.pdf . Legislature . 227–230 . February 24, 2021 .
  6. The state of Wisconsin 1975 Blue Book . State of Wisconsin . 1975 . Theobald . H. Rupert . Robbins . Patricia V. . Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau . https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1975/reference/wi.wibluebk1975.i0007.pdf . Biographies . 54–55 . February 25, 2021 .
  7. https://cite.case.law/f-supp/543/630/ . Wisconsin State AFL-CIO v. Elections Board . . June 9, 1982 . 543 . F. Supp. . 630 . February 7, 2021 . .