Adam Zemke

Adam Frederick Zemke (born June 4, 1983) is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He represented Michigan's 55th district in Washtenaw County from 2013 to 2018.[1][2]

Adam Zemke
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 55th district
In office
January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2019
Preceded byRick Olson
Succeeded byRebekah Warren
Personal details
Born (1983-06-04) June 4, 1983
Ann Arbor, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materMichigan State University (BS, MS)

Early life, education and family

Zemke was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His parents, Debra Lehto and Frederick Zemke, divorced when he was a toddler. He spent much of his childhood in Michigan, attending Haisley Elementary, Forsythe Middle and Pioneer High schools in the Ann Arbor Public Schools[1] district. He also attended Princeton High school in New Jersey while his then-stepfather, Dr. Trevor Wooley, worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. Adam has one brother, Cameron Wooley, and a sister, Michelle Zemke—both younger.

After high school, Zemke enrolled in and attended Michigan State University, studying Mechanical engineering and obtaining undergraduate and master's degrees in this field.[3] In spring 2005, Zemke served as the commencement speaker for his graduating class of the College of Engineering.

Zemke's family has deep roots in Washtenaw County. His father's family first emigrated to Ann Arbor and settled on Spring street in the early 1890s. They are of German ancestry. While in Ann Arbor, Zemke's great grandfather owned and operated The Orient, a well-known "townie" pool hall and barber shop on the corner of North Main and Ann streets.

The Orient

In 1935, his grandfather Frederick "Fritz" Zemke left the University of Michigan to start a business out of his parents' Spring Street garage, operating vending machines and jukeboxes in local establishments. This business, called Zemke Operated Machines, is run by Zemke's father and has remained in continuous operation to this day.

Zemke Operated Machines

Formula SAE
MSU FSAE Car 41 at the 2006 University of Toronto Shootout

While in college, Zemke was a member of the Formula SAE team,[4] something that he frequently discusses as being impactful to his educational experience. He participated in this program and was involved in the design, build, test and racing of the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 vehicles. He served as project manager for the 2006 and 2008 vehicles, the latter of which placed 4th at the Formula SAE West competition in Fontana, CA.[5]

2007 MSU FSAE Team at Jay Leno's garage

At the 2006 Fontana competition, Zemke made a connection with Jay Leno that led to Mr. Leno inviting the MSU Formula SAE Team to his Big Dog Garage in Burbank, CA for an exposé on the Formula SAE competition.[6] Zemke remains a strong supporter of Formula SAE, serving as Presentation Event Captain and a member of the organizing committee for the competition held annually in Michigan.[7] He also served on the board of trustees for the SAE Foundation,[8] helping to encourage STEAM educational experiences for pre-K through high school students in classrooms all over the country.

MSU FSAE Team preparing Car 51 for Coach Tom Izzo before Midnight Madness

Private sector career

Following the completion of his master's degree, Zemke joined Demmer Corporation as a project lead engineer in their machining division. He worked on projects predominantly in the defense and commercial aerospace industries. A year after joining the company, Zemke was promoted to Program Manager, where he was one of two engineers tasked with helping to grow Demmer Corporation's presence in the private plane and commercial aerospace markets.

During a company trip to Wichita, Kansas, Zemke and his colleague visited a factory where production had slowed significantly during the recession. Upon asking what contributing factors were to the production decline, workers discussed that following the media converge of the automotive hearings in the United States Senate where CEOs who flew on private planes were chastised by senators, many corporations cancelled their private plane orders.[9]

Public service


Michigan House of Representatives

After a failed run for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in 2010, Zemke ran for the 55th district in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2012 — a seat that was held by Republican Rick Olsen — who declined to run due to changes in the district boundaries following the 2011 reapportionment. Zemke faced Pittsfield Charter Township Trustee Andrea Brown-Harrison in the Democratic primary election, where he won with 62% of the vote.[10][11] He then faced Republican former Milan Mayor Owen Diaz in the general election where Zemke won the election with 64% of the vote.[12] He was re-elected in 2014 and 2016, serving until he was term limited..[13][14] Zemke won the election with over 69% of the vote.[15]

2016 Michigan House Democratic Caucus Campaign

In 2015, Michigan Democratic Leader Tim Greimel selected Zemke and Pam Faris to serve as chairpersons for the 2016 House Democratic campaign team[16] and Representative Andy Schor (D-Lansing) as chairperson of the 2016 House Democratic finance team.[16] Representative Faris later resigned from her position. In his role as campaign chairperson, Zemke drove his 1998 SVT Contour approximately 30,000 miles[17] around the state helping Democratic candidates campaign for the Michigan House of Representatives.

2018 Michigan House Democratic Caucus Chairpersonship

At the start of the 99th (2017–18) Michigan legislature, Zemke ran for election to become Chair of the House Democratic Caucus[18] for the two-year term that comprises the 99th session of the Michigan House of Representatives. He won this election on January 12, 2017 and began the position immediately.[19]

Ann Arbor Council of the Commons

In 2021, Zemke was appointed as chair of Ann Arbor's Council of the Commons, an advisory body to the city council tasked with implementing a 2018 change to the city charter to develop the roof of an underground parking structure as a park rather than the previously planned housing development.[20][21] Other initial members included Alan Haber and Jeff Hayner.

References
  1. Stanton, Ryan J. (January 9, 2013). "Driskell and Zemke take oath of office, reiterate pledge to make education a top priority". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. "Legislator Details - Adam Zemke". Library of Michigan. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  3. "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart.
  4. "Michigan State's Formula Racing Team unveils new car for 2006 competition". MSUToday | Michigan State University. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  5. "FSAE West 2008 Results" (PDF). Society of Automotive Engineers. 2008-06-29.
  6. "Michigan State Formula Racing Team Blog". msuformularacingteam.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  7. "Formula SAE Michigan - Formula SAE - SAE Collegiate Design Series - Students - SAE International". students.sae.org. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  8. "SAE Foundation > About Us > Board of Trustees". saefoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  9. "Private jet recovery from recession an uneven ride". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  10. "Zemke wins primary race for 55th District seat in Michigan House". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  11. "Official Election Results Cumulative Report". electionresults.ewashtenaw.org. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  12. "Official Election Results — Cumulative Report". electionresults.ewashtenaw.org. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  13. "Washtenaw County representatives in state House and Senate win re-election". MLive.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  14. "Ann Arbor state Rep. Adam Zemke faces 'thrifty' Republican opponent". MLive.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  15. "Democrats sweep 4 state House races in Washtenaw County". MLive.com. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  16. "House Democrats Announce Campaign Leadership Positions". Tim Greimel. 2015-01-08. Archived from the original on 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  17. "Ann Arbor lawmaker logs nearly 30K miles on road to take back state House". MLive.com. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  18. "House Dems. Elect Moss, Zemke as Caucus Whip, Chair". housedems.com. 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  19. "Ann Arbor rep wants to rebuild Democratic brand as caucus chairman". MLive.com. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  20. Rigg, Sarah (December 5, 2018). "Where does Ann Arbor go next after its contentious Proposal A vote?". Concentrate. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  21. Stanton, Ryan (2021-04-01). "Ann Arbor planning group begins task of envisioning downtown central park". mlive. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
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