New maps move four legislators
By Kevin O’Brien
Four out of the eight lawmakers who represent Marathon County in Madison will potentially lose their current seats in the state legislature this fall after newly redrawn district maps were signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers on Monday.
State Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona) and Assembly Reps. Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield), Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) and James “Jimmy Boy” Edming (R-Glen Fora) will all be living outside of the districts they currently represent after this year ends and a new legislative session starts in 2025.
The lawmakers still have the option to run for reelection to their current seats, but if they win, they must move into the district’s new boundaries within 10 days of taking the oath of office.
Sen. James, who served in the Assembly from 2018-2020 and was elected to the 23rd Senate District in 2022, will now be in the 31st Senate District, currently represented by Democrat Jeff Smith from the town of Brunswick just southwest of Eau Claire. The 23rd will be an open seat.
Rep. Rozar will no longer live within the
See MAPS/ Page 5 Maps
Continued from page 1
boundaries of the 69thAssembly District, nor will any other current member of the Assembly. This leaves the seat open for newcomers to run in the November election. Candidates can come from anywhere in Clark County, or from Medford, Athens or the surrounding townships in southeastern Taylor County and northwestern Marathon County. The Stanley- Boyd area in Chippewa Falls is also included in the new 69th district.
Starting with this election, Rep. Rozar will be located within the 86th Assembly District, along with fellow Republican and Marshfield resident John Spiros, who has been representing the 86th for the past 12 years.
Rozar told the Tribune- Phonograph on Tuesday that she does not plan on leaving her home in Marshfield to pursue a position in the new 69th district.
“There are open seats and there are certainly people who are willing to move into those seats, but Marshfield is my home,” Rozar said. “I’ve lived there since the 80s. I’ve been a Wood County Supervisor for 24 years. I have been committed to that community. I have invested in that community. I have been actively engaged in that community. For me to move to another district just didn’t make any sense to me at all.”
Rep. Edming, who currently represents Athens, Edgar and several rural townships in northwestern Marathon County as the assemblyman for the 87th District, will now reside within the new 68th Assembly District, which is currently represented by Karen Hurd (R-Fall Creek), who will no longer be living in the 68th. However, current Rep. Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer) will be moved into the 68th.
The 87th has been greatly condensed and shifted to the southeast so it now centers around southeast Marathon County and portions of Shawano, Portage and Waupaca counties.
Rep. Snyder, who represents the 85th Assembly District, will be living in the new 87th, but has said he will run for reelection in the same district. If he wins, he will have 10 days to move out of Schofield and into the new 85th.
Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) will see his district, the 29th, significantly compacted into Central Wisconsin, leaving behind Taylor, Sawyer and Rusk counties and moving into Shawano, Waupaca and Portage counties. Marathon County will still make up a bulk of the district, however.
Sen. Mark Feltzkowski (R-Tomahawk) will continue to live within the 12th Senate District, which includes portions of northeastern Marathon County. Likewise, Rep. Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk) will continue to reside in the 35th Assembly, which also encompasses the northeastern portion of the county.
Donna Rozar
