Tony Earl

Earl was born in St. Ignace, Michigan, the son of Ethlynne Julia (Scully) and Russell K. Earl.[2] He graduated from Michigan State University in 1958 and earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago.[3] After four years in the U.S. Navy, including two years as a legal officer, Earl made his way to Wisconsin in 1965.[3] He was the district attorney of Marathon County, Wisconsin from 1965 to 1966, and the city attorney of Wausau, Wisconsin from 1966 to 1969.[3] That year, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, filling the seat vacated by David Obey, who was elected a member of the United States House of Representatives.[3]

In 1974, Earl left the Assembly to run for Wisconsin Attorney General, but was defeated in the primary by Bronson La Follette. Upon his defeat, then-Gov. Patrick Lucey named Earl secretary of the Department of Administration. Later, Earl became Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) where his list of accomplishments include addressing the State's surface water pollution.[4]

In 1982, Earl ran for governor when Lee S. Dreyfus unexpectedly declined to run for re-election, and soon the Wisconsin Democratic Party's hopes of reclaiming the governor's mansion became very real. As head of the state Department of Natural Resources, Earl was well-received as a staunch defender of the environment and a problem-solver. Earl used that reputation to defeat former Acting Governor Martin J. Schreiber (1977–79) in the Democratic primary for governor. Earl went on to defeat the Republican candidate, Terry Jodok Kohler, in a landslide victory.[3]

However, Earl's tenure as governor was a challenge from the start. By the time he took office, Wisconsin was marred by a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion and a 12% unemployment rate.[3] Earl signed legislation making the 5% sales tax permanent and also added a 10% surtax on state income tax which was later reduced. Once the state was fiscally sound, Earl passed initiatives improving the environment, education, and equal opportunity.[3] Earl appointed Doris Hanson, the State's first female to hold the office of secretary of the Department of Administration and Howard Fuller, the first African-American appointed to a cabinet position heading the Department of Employee Relations. Due to disagreements over healthcare reform, prison staffing, wage freezes, and other matters, Earl's relations with state labor Unions soured and made his tenure as governor all the more complicated.

After restoring the state following one of the worst economic predicaments in state history, Governor Earl was ousted after one term. State Assembly Minority Leader Tommy Thompson, a Republican, staunchly opposed Earl's policies and was elected in 1986 to the first of four consecutive terms.[3] Earl Bricker wrote an essay, "goodbye to Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl" bemoaning that Tommy Thompson had defeated Earl in the 1986 election, and that is "pro-family" stance may have given him wider demographic appeal than Earl's defense of gay and lesbian rights.

Earl served on the governing board of "Common Cause Wisconsin" from 1995 until 2005.[5] a non-partisan, non-profit citizen's lobby affiliated with national Common Cause. In 1990, Earl was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board and served until 1996. CC/WI promotes campaign finance reform, ethics and lobby reform, open meetings laws, voting rights, non-partisan redistricting, and other issues concerning the promotion and maintenance of accountable government. Earl also served on the board of the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation for many years until 2013.[6]

In July 2004, Earl was recognized at the 12th Annual Outreach Awards for his acknowledgment of the needs of the gay and lesbian community during his term in office; he received the organization's Political Courage Award. He served on the board of directors of the American Transmission Company which assumed ownership, operation, planning, maintenance, and monitoring of all the electrical transmission assets formerly owned by a number of Wisconsin utility companies, cooperatives, and municipal utilities. He was a past partner in one of the largest law firms (more than 400 lawyers) in Wisconsin, Quarles and Brady.[7] The Peshtigo River State Forest in Marinette and Oconto counties has been renamed Governor Earl Peshtigo State Forest according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. September 25, 2019, as reported in the Appleton Post-Crescent on September 26, 2019.

Tony Earl married Sheila Rose Coyle of Chicago, in the summer of 1962. They met while he was a student at the University of Chicago Law School.[8] They had four daughters together, and were married for more than 30 years before separating in 1995. Their divorce was finalized in 2003.[9] In 2011, Earl married Jane Nemke.[10]

Earl had a stroke on February 19, 2023, and died four days later, on February 23, at the UW Health University Hospital, 48 days short of his 87th birthday.[4]

• Biography from the National Governors Association