Jon Richards

Jonathan David Richards (born September 5, 1963) is an American attorney, judge, and Democratic politician. He currently serves as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, since his appointment on September 22, 2020, by Governor Tony Evers. He previously represented Milwaukee for 16 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly and was a candidate for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 2014.[1]

The Honorable
Jon Richards
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 30
Assumed office
September 22, 2020
Appointed byTony Evers
Preceded byJeffrey A. Conen
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 19th district
In office
January 5, 1999 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byBarbara Notestein
Succeeded byJonathan Brostoff
Personal details
Born (1963-09-05) September 5, 1963
Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAndrea Rowe Richards
Residence(s)Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alma materLawrence University,
University of Wisconsin–Madison
ProfessionAttorney

Early life and education

Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Richards graduated from Waukesha North High School. He received his bachelor's degree from Lawrence University and went on to earn his J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School.[2] He also attended Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. Richards taught English in Japan and volunteered with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India.[3][4]

Career

Richards has been an attorney for more than 25 years. In 1998 he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 19th District for eight terms. He served as Assistant Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007.[4] He also served on the Joint Finance Committee and chaired the Public Health Committee.

In October 2013, Richards announced he would run for Attorney General of Wisconsin rather than running for a ninth term in the Assembly.[5] He came in second in the Democratic primary election of August 2014, with 90,101 votes (33%) to 144,369 (52%) for Susan Happ, who went on to lose the general election in November.[6][7]

Following the end of his term in the Assembly, Richards joined the Milwaukee law firm Ziino, Germanotta, Knoll & Christensen. He also worked as a volunteer attorney with the Eviction Defense Project as well as for victims of human trafficking through Lotus Legal Clinic, and was director of the Take Back My Meds coalition—which encourages the safe disposal of unused medicines to prevent drug abuse and lake contamination.[8]

On September 22, 2020, Governor Tony Evers announced he had appointed Richards to the Wisconsin Circuit Court seat recently vacated by the resignation of Judge Jeffrey Conen.[9] Judge Richards announced he will seek election to a full term on the court in the 2021 spring election.[10]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1998–2012)
Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality
1998[11] Primary September 8 Jon Richards Democratic 1,921 65.18% Jim Carpenter Dem. 534 18.12% 2,947 1,387
Al Campos Dem. 492 16.69%
General November 3 Jon Richards Democratic 10,672 69.94% Curtis Lamon Rep. 3,852 25.25% 15,258 6,820
Stephen Latin-Kasper Ind. 734 4.81%
2000[12] General November 7 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 18,722 97.83% 19,137 18,307
2002[13] General November 5 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 12,419 97.90% 12,685 12,153
2004[14] General November 5 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 24,344 98.31% 24,762 23,926
2006[15] General November 7 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 18,638 98.38% 18,945 18,331
2008[16] General November 4 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 25,281 98.52% 25,660 24,902
2010[17] General November 2 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 15,123 68.54% Krista Burns Rep. 15,123 68.54% 22,064 8,231
2012[18] General November 6 Jon Richards (inc.) Democratic 24,856 97.65% 25,453 24,259

Wisconsin Attorney General (2014)
Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 2014[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, August 12, 2014
Democratic Susan V. Happ 144,727 52.04%
Democratic Jon Richards 90,215 32.44%
Democratic Ismael Ozanne 42,627 15.33%
Scattering 564 0.20%
Plurality 54,512 19.60%
Total votes 278,133 100.0%

Wisconsin Circuit Court (2021)
Wisconsin Circuit Court, Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 30 Election, 2021[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 6, 2021
Nonpartisan Jon Richards 62,942 99.11%
Scattering 567 0.89%
Total votes 63,509 100.0%

References
  1. Richmond, Todd. "Democratic Rep. Jon Richards announces candidacy for Wisconsin attorney general". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013 – via Wayback Machine.
  2. "Atty. Jonathan David Richards". Martindale-Hubbell. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  3. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Biographies" (PDF). In Pohlman, Julie; Lemanski, Lynn (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2013-2014 Blue Book (Report). p. 33. ISBN 978-0-9752820-6-9. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  4. "Representative Jon Richards - Assembly District 19". Wisconsin Legislature. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  5. Stein, Jason. "Rep. Jon Richards enters race for Wisconsin attorney general". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  6. Bauer, Scott; Richmond, Todd (August 13, 2014). "Susan Happ wins Democratic attorney general primary". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  7. Hall, Dee J. (November 5, 2014). "Republican Brad Schimel wins race for Wisconsin attorney general". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  8. "About Judge Richards". John Richards Milwaukee County Judge. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  9. Vielmetti, Bruce (September 22, 2020). "Evers appoints a former legislator and a public defender as judges in Milwaukee County". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. Conley, Alanna (November 25, 2020). "Judge Jon Richards campaign announcesendorsement of 30 additional judges" (PDF). Richards for Judge (Press release). Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Wispolitics.com.
  11. Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E., eds. (1999). "Elections" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 1999-2000 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 879, 882. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  12. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2000 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. May 10, 2001. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  13. Results of Fall General Election - 11/05/2002 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 2, 2002. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  14. Results of Fall General Election - 11/02/2004 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 1, 2004. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  15. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  16. Results of Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. November 25, 2008. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  17. 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary.pdf (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  18. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  19. "Canvass Results for 2014 Fall Partisan Primary - 8/12/2014" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 29, 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  20. "Canvass Results for 2021 Spring Election - 4/6/2021" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. April 22, 2021. p. 11. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
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