Mark D. Lewis

Mark D. Lewis
President of the City Council of Eau Claire, Wisconsin
In office
April 21, 1993 – April 14, 1997
Preceded byAllan Hofland
Succeeded byWilliam D. Nielsen Jr.
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 7, 1985 – January 2, 1989
Preceded byDavid Travis
Succeeded byJacquelyn J. Lahn
Constituency93rd district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded byDelmar DeLong
Succeeded byWayne W. Wood
Constituency44th district
Personal details
Born (1949-07-24) July 24, 1949 (age 75)
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseConnie
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota (B.S.)

Mark D. Lewis (born July 24, 1949) is a retired American businessman and Democratic politician. He served six years in the Wisconsin State Assembly (1983–1989), representing Eau Claire County and was later President of the Eau Claire City Council (1993–1997).

Biography

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, he graduated from Duluth East High School in 1967.[1] He attended the University of Colorado for two years but did not graduate, he later returned to school at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1977.[1] While at Minnesota, Lewis became employed in the communications and advertising firm Kaufman Spicer & Co., and, after earning his bachelor's degree, he was assigned to the new Eau Claire, Wisconsin, office of the firm as vice president and general manager.[2][3]

In the summer of 1978, he became involved in local politics, working as a spokesman for local property owners in a successful effort to remove parking meters from downtown Eau Claire.[4] That fall, he announced a run for Eau Claire City Council for one of the at-large seats.[3] In April 1979, he was elected to the City Council.[5] While serving on the city council, Lewis became president of his own communications firm, Lewis Advertising and Communications, and was selected as president of the Eau Claire Area Convention and Tourism Bureau.[6]

The court-ordered 1982 legislative redistricting plan divided the city of Eau Claire into two districts. Incumbent Joseph Looby, who had represented Eau Claire under the previous map, was now located in the 56th Assembly district, which contained the northern half of the city. The newly drawn 44th Assembly district, which contained the rest of the city, was an open seat. Lewis entered the race for Wisconsin State Assembly in the new 44th district.[6] He defeated Richard Schlieve in the Democratic primary and went on to face Republican Marie Evans in the general election. The race was extremely close, and, following a recount, Lewis was declared the winner by 76 votes.[7]

In 1983, the Legislature passed a new redistricting plan to supersede the court-ordered plan. The boundaries of Lewis's district were left largely intact, but the district was renumbered to the 93rd district. Lewis won election to two more terms in this district, but was defeated seeking reelection in 1988.[8]

In 1993, he returned to the Eau Claire City Council when he was elected council president.[9] He served four years and resigned in April 1997.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1987). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1987-1988 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 82–83. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Minneapolis agency purchases local firm". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. May 7, 1977. p. 5. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Most incumbent council, board members candidates". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. December 14, 1978. p. 5. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Airport sale, special tax district approved". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. August 9, 1978. p. 3. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Two newcomers on council". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. April 4, 1979. p. 1. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Lewis to run for Assembly". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. July 15, 1982. p. 5. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 890, 911. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1989). "Elections" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1989-1990 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 912, 927. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "City Council poised for 'new beginning'". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. April 8, 1993. p. 10. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Colaizy, Tawny (April 19, 1997). "Lewis talks about City Council's achievements, issues for future". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. p. 1. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 44th district
January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 93rd district
January 7, 1985 – January 2, 1989 		Succeeded by