Wisconsin Gerrymandering: The Fight for Permanent Fair Maps and Why it Matters

Shortly after the 2010 Wisconsin elections, which put Scott Walker in the governor’s office and saw Republicans gain majorities in the state senate and assembly, the fiercely partisan politics that ensued drew national attention. Former Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader and Health and Social Services Secretary Tim Cullen wrote about Walker’s dismantling of public employees’ rights in his acclaimed first book, Ringside Seat. Now Cullen shifts his focus to the legislature and state and federal courts where, in 2011, partisan gerrymandering-drawing legislative districts that nearly guarantee one party control-gave Wisconsin Republicans a death grip on the senate and assembly. In Wisconsin Gerrymandering, Cullen traces the history of gerrymandering in the state and details the decade-long efforts to end the insidious practice. “It’s not a partisan issue,” Cullen writes. “It’s an abuse of power issue.” Cullen was a leader in the successful-for now-fight to end gerrymandering in Wisconsin and has written a timely, cautionary, important book.