Shelia Stubbs
Shelia R. Stubbs (born February 22, 1971) is an American politician, pastor, and former probation and parole agent. She is a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, elected in 2018, representing the south and west parts of Madison, Wisconsin. She is also a member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors since 2006 and she is Dane County's first African American representative in the Wisconsin Legislature. From 2006 to 2020, Stubbs was the only African American to serve on the Board of Supervisors, however African American representation on the Board is increasing. Beginning in 2020, the Dane County Board of Supervisors installed four other African American supervisors in Anthony Gray (District 14, elected 2020), Teran Peterson (District 19, elected 2020), April Kigeya (District 15, elected 2022), and Dana Pellebon (District 33, elected 2022).[2][3][4]
Shelia Stubbs | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 77th district | |
| Assumed office January 7, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Terese Berceau |
| Member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors from the 23rd district | |
| In office April 2006 – April 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Don Eggert |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 22, 1971 Camden, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Godfrey Stubbs |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Madison, Wisconsin |
| Alma mater | Tougaloo College (BA) Mount Senario College (BS) Cardinal Stritch University (MSM) |
| Profession | probation officer |
| Salary | $52,999[1] |
| Website | State Assembly website Official twitter |
Background
Stubbs was born in Camden, Arkansas, but moved to Beloit, Wisconsin, as a child (Walter Knight, her uncle, served on Beloit's city council and its police and fire commission). She graduated from Beloit Memorial High School and attended Tougaloo College, earning a baccalaureate degree in political science. She went on to study at Mount Senario College, earning a second baccalaureate, in criminal justice management, and then earned a master's in management at Milwaukee's Cardinal Stritch University. She had worked for eight years as a probation and parole agent with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections before first being elected to the Dane County Board in 2006.[5] She and her husband, Godfrey Stubbs, have one daughter. The Stubbs' are co-founders of End Time Ministries International Church in Madison. Her mother, Linda Hoskins, is a former president of the Madison chapter of the NAACP.
2018 race
Democratic incumbent Terese Berceau announced on February 2, 2018, that she would not be running for re-election from the 77th Assembly district, and Stubbs announced her own candidacy the same day. With the Democratic nomination tantamount to winning in this heavily-Democratic district, she acquired three opponents (and Berceau's endorsement). In the primary election, she achieved a plurality of fractionally under 50% of the votes, with 7,758 to Shabnam Lotfi's 5,611 (36%), John Imes' 1,222 (8%) and Mark Garthwaite's 968 (6%).[6][7] Unopposed in the general election for the 2019–2020 Assembly term, Stubbs became the first African-American woman to represent a Dane County district in the legislature, and was the only African-American woman in the Assembly.[8]
Police call
Stubbs's campaign attracted national news coverage when during her canvassing in a predominantly-white neighborhood, a call was made to the Madison Police Department reporting her and her family (she was with her daughter and mother) as "They are waiting for drugs at the local drug house — would like them moved along." (She did not announce the incident until after the primary.)[9][10] An anonymous letter purporting to be from the person who made the call, and emphasizing "but I never called the police on you, on a woman of color in the neighborhood... I called on a car, not you" has been received by a local television station.[11]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Primary Election, August 18, 2018 | |||||
| Democratic | Shelia Stubbs | 7,760 | 49.82% | ||
| Democratic | Shabnam Lotfi | 5,612 | 36.03% | ||
| Democratic | John Imes | 1,222 | 7.84% | ||
| Democratic | Mark Garthwaite | 968 | 6.21% | ||
| Scattering | 15 | 0.10% | |||
| Total votes | 15,577 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 6, 2018 | |||||
| Democratic | Shelia Stubbs | 29,347 | 98.68% | -0.23% | |
| Scattering | 394 | 1.32% | |||
| Plurality | 28,953 | 97.35% | -0.45% | ||
| Total votes | 29,741 | 100.0% | +1.19% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
- Salaries of Wisconsin State Elected Officials (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 2019. p. 2. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- https://www.forwardlookout.com/2020/04/meet-your-new-dane-county-board/31794
- "Election Result".
- "Election Result".
- Van Egeren, Jessica (April 20, 2014). "Q&A: Shelia Stubbs is done talking about racial inequality in Dane County". The Capital Times. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 31, 2018. p. 93. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Conde, Ximena (August 15, 2018). "After Historic Primary Win, Dane County's Shelia Stubbs Looks At Work Ahead In State Legislature". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Brogan, Dylan (June 28, 2018). "Madison Assembly race turns competitive: Heir apparent Shelia Stubbs faces three opponents in Aug. 14 Democratic primary". Isthmus. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Gomez, Melissa (September 21, 2018). "Black Candidate Wants to Know Who Called 911 as She Talked to Voters". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- "Shelia Stubbs's Campaigning-While-Black Incident & Minorities Report". The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Comedy Central. September 20, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Plutchak, Dan (September 24, 2018). "Person who called police on Dane County candidate: 'So, so very sorry'". WKOW-TV. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.