Jessie Rodriguez
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 21st district
Assumed office
December 4, 2013
Preceded byMark Honadel
Personal details
Born (1977-07-05) July 5, 1977
Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAaron
Children1
ResidenceOak Creek, Wisconsin
Alma materMarquette University (BA)
Occupationpolitician
WebsiteOfficial website

Jessie Rodriguez (born July 5, 1977) is a Salvadoran American immigrant and Republican politician. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 21st Assembly district–southeastern Milwaukee County. Currently, she represents the cities of Oak Creek, Franklin, and South Milwaukee. She is the first Hispanic immigrant elected to the Wisconsin Legislature.

Early life and education

Born in El Salvador, Rodriguez moved to the United States in 1984 with her family, eventually settling in Milwaukee.[1] She graduated from Milwaukee's Alexander Hamilton High School in 1996 and went on to attend Milwaukee's Marquette University where she earned her bachelor's degree in communications.[2] After graduating college in 2002, Jessie worked as an analyst for a large supermarket chain, but eventually landed a job as a communications outreach coordinator for Hispanics for School Choice.[3]

Political career

On November 19, 2013, Rodriguez became the first Latin American immigrant to be elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature. She was sworn into the Wisconsin State Assembly on December 4, 2013, as a Republican.[4][5][6] In 2021, Rodriguez was appointed to the Joint Finance Committee, a powerful 16-member budgeting committee overseeing all of the state's appropriations and revenues.

Personal life and family

Rodriguez lives in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, with her husband and son.[1]

Electoral history

Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
2013 Primary[7] October 22 Jessie Rodriguez Republican 1,513 47.82% Chris Kujawa Rep. 866 27.37% 3,164 647
Ken Gehl Rep. 536 16.94%
Larry Gamble Rep. 170 5.37%
Jason Red Arnold Rep. 73 2.31%
Special[8] November 19 Jessie Rodriguez Republican 4,557 56.40% Elizabeth Coppola Dem. 3,523 43.60% 8,080 1,034
2014 General[9] November 4 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 16,051 96.54% 16,626 15,476
2016 General[10] November 8 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 16,589 59.30% Jack Redmond Dem. 11,338 40.53% 27,975 5,251
2018 General[11] November 6 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 14,280 54.66% Gabriel A. Gomez Dem. 11,806 45.19% 26,123 2,474
2020 General[12] November 3 Jessie Rodriguez (inc.) Republican 17,729 54.61% Erik Brooks Dem. 14,708 45.3% 32,466 3,021

References

  1. 1 2 "Biography". State Representative Jessie Rodriguez. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Meet Jessie". Jessie for Assembly. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-20 – via Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Hispanics for School Choice". Hispanics for School Choice. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Craver, Jack (September 12, 2013). "Jessie Rodriguez could become Wisconsin Legislature's first Hispanic Republican". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  5. ↑ Garza, Jesse (November 19, 2013). "Republican Jessie Rodriguez elected to Assembly for 21st District". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Jessie for Assembly". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  7. ↑ Canvass Results for 2013 Special Primary Assembly 21 - 10/22/2013 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. October 29, 2013. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ 2013 Special Election Assembly 21 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2013. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.