Eric Genrich

48th Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin

Eric Genrich

48th Mayor of Green Bay

Incumbent

Assumed office
April 15, 2019
Preceded by| Jim Schmitt
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 90th district
In office
January 7, 2013 – January 7, 2019
Preceded by| Karl Van Roy
Succeeded by| Staush Gruszynski
Personal details
Born|  (1979-10-08) October 8, 1979 (age 44)
Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party| Democratic
Spouse| Emily A. Kelley
Children| 2
Education| University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA)
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (MLIS)
Website| Official website

Eric Genrich (/ˈɡɛnrɪk/ GHEN-rik;[1] born October 8, 1979) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, since 2019. Genrich previously represented Green Bay in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2013 until 2019.

## Early life and education[edit]

Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Genrich graduated from Notre Dame Academy in 1998. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he majored in history and sociology, earning his bachelor's degree in 2002.[2] He earned a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2010.

## Career[edit]

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Genrich was employed for six years as a legislative aide to State Senator Dave Hansen. He was subsequently employed as a district representative for Congressman Steve Kagen. After Kagen left office in 2011, Genrich was employed as an IT librarian at the Brown County Library, where he worked until his election to the Assembly in 2012.[3]

### Wisconsin Legislature[edit]

The 2011 Wisconsin gerrymander (2011 Wisc. Act 43) significantly altered the political makeup of the Wisconsin's 90th Assembly district, removing suburban Howard and Suamico, and packing in more of Green Bay's population. In March 2012, 90th district incumbent State Representative Karl Van Roy announced he would not seek re-election in the new district,[4] Genrich announced his candidacy for the seat a month later.[5]

Genrich would defeat Republican activist and businessman David VanderLeest in the 2012 general election, taking 60.2% of the vote.[6] He was subsequently re-elected in 2014, defeating attorney Eric Wimberger, and was unopposed in 2016.[7]

Genrich, as a Democrat, served in the minority during his six years in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was a member of the committees on education, on energy and utilities, on insurance, on regulatory licensing reform, and on science and technology.[2]

### Mayor of Green Bay[edit]

In March 2018, he announced his candidacy for mayor of Green Bay in the 2019 election, in a bid to replace Jim Schmitt, who was not seeking another term as mayor.[8] Genrich and Brown County Supervisor Patrick Buckley advanced from a primary election, and Genrich defeated Buckley with 57.1% of the vote.[9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Genrich was one of several Wisconsin mayors and politicians who sought alternative voting accommodations to comply with COVID-19 lockdown procedures.[10] Genrich and the city of Green Bay filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin about two weeks before the April 7 elections, stating that they did not have the capacity to carry out the election as directed, and asking for an injunction to delay the election until June.[11] The suit was quickly dismissed by the court, which said it lacked jurisdiction to rule on the matter.[12] A subsequent order from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers to postpone the election also fell in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[13] The election went forward as scheduled on April 7, though with less than 10% of their normal election workers. Brown County Clerk Sandy Juno offered to allocate Wisconsin National Guard personnel to manage polling stations, but Green Bay (along with other neighboring municipalities) refused, citing a lack of training.[14] As a result of the personnel shortages, Green Bay could operate only 2 of their 31 in-person polling locations and endured long lines of voters waiting to cast their ballots.[14]

## Personal life[edit]

Genrich and his wife, Emily (née Kelley), live on Green Bay's east side with their two children.[15]

## Electoral history[edit]

### Wisconsin Assembly (2012, 2014, 2016)[edit]

Wisconsin Assembly, 90th District Election, 2012[6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

General Election, November 6, 2012
| Democratic | Eric Genrich  | 11,353  | 60.21%  | +18.69%
| Republican | David VanderLeest  | 7,432  | 39.41%  | -19.00%
|  | Scattering | 71  | 0.38%  |
Plurality | 3,921  | 20.79%  | +3.89%
Total votes  | 18,856  | 100.0%  | +1.59%
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | 37.70%  |
Wisconsin Assembly, 90th District Election, 2014[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

General Election, November 4, 2014
| Democratic | Eric Genrich (incumbent)  | 7,953  | 54.94%  | -5.27%
| Republican | Eric Wimberger | 5,342  | 36.90%  | -2.51%
| Independent | Shae Sortwell | 1,164  | 8.04%  |
|  | Scattering | 18  | 0.12%  |
Plurality | 2,611  | 18.04%  | -2.76%
Total votes  | 14,477  | 100.0%  | -23.22%
| Democratic hold

### Green Bay Mayor (2019, 2023)[edit]

Green Bay, Wisconsin, Mayoral Election, 2019 Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

Nonpartisan Primary, February 19, 2019 (top-two)[16]
| Nonpartisan | Eric Genrich  | 4,505  | 43.61%  |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick Buckley  | 1,871  | 18.11%  |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick M. Evans  | 1,799  | 17.41%  |
| Nonpartisan | Guy Zima  | 853  | 8.26%  |
| Nonpartisan | Joe Moore  | 525  | 5.08%  |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Steuer  | 507  | 4.91%  |
| Nonpartisan | Nick Mortensen  | 166  | 1.61%  |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Boucher  | 68  | 0.66%  |
|  | Scattering | 37  | 0.36%  |
Total votes  | 10,331  | 100.0%  |
General Election, April 2, 2019[17]
| Nonpartisan | Eric Genrich  | 11,421  | 57.61%  |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick Buckley  | 8,296  | 41.85%  |
|  | Scattering | 108  | 0.54%  |
Plurality | 3,125  | 15.76%  | +10.17%
Total votes  | 19,825  | 100.0%  | +22.16%

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Community Update 3/23/20". Retrieved 2 June 2020.
2. ^ a b "Representative Eric Genrich". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
3. ^ "Eric Genrich" (PDF). Wisconsin Public Utility Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2021 - via Wayback Machine.
4. ^ Schneider, Doug (March 6, 2012). "Van Roy to retire from state Assembly". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ Schneider, Doug (April 12, 2012). "Genrich to seek 90th Assembly District seat". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ a b Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. p. 30. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
7. ^ a b Canvass Results for 2014 General Election - 11/4/2014 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. November 26, 2014. p. 29. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
8. ^ Anderson, Jonathan (March 12, 2018). "Rep. Eric Genrich announces candidacy for mayor of Green Bay". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
9. ^ BeMiller, Haley (April 2, 2019). "Eric Genrich defeats Patrick Buckley to become Green Bay's first new mayor in 16 years". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
10. ^ White, Laurel (March 20, 2020). "Some Wisconsin Mayors Urge Postponing April 7 Election". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
11. ^ White, Laurel (March 25, 2020). "Green Bay Files Federal Lawsuit To Delay Wisconsin's April 7 Election". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
12. ^ Krumholz, Ben (March 28, 2020). "With lawsuit dismissed, Green Bay preparing for April 7 election". WLUK-TV. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
13. ^ Beck, Molly; Marley, Patrick (April 6, 2020). "Wisconsin justices block Tony Evers' order to shut down election, U.S. Supreme Court restricts absentee voting". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
14. ^ a b Krumholz, Ben (April 7, 2020). "A foggy election night with long lines in Green Bay". WLUK-TV. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
15. ^ "About the Mayor". Green Bay, Wisconsin. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
16. ^ Brown County, Wisconsin, 2019 Spring Primary Final Unofficial Results (PDF) (Report). Office of the Clerk of Brown County, Wisconsin. February 20, 2019. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
17. ^ Brown County, Wisconsin, 2019 Nonpartisan Office Official Results (PDF) (Report). Office of the Clerk of Brown County, Wisconsin. April 8, 2019. p. 8. Retrieved May 15, 2021.

## External links[edit]

* Campaign website
* Profile at Vote Smart
* Eric Genrich at Ballotpedia
* About the Mayor at Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Representative Eric Genrich at Wisconsin Legislature
* State Representative Eric Genrich (Archived October 31, 2018)

Wisconsin State Assembly

Preceded by

Karl Van Roy

|  Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 90th district
2013 - 2019  | Succeeded by

Staush Gruszynski

Political offices
Preceded by

Jim Schmitt

|  Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin
2019 - present  | Incumbent

* v
* t
* e

Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Wisconsin

1. Cavalier Johnson (D)
(Milwaukee)
2. Satya Rhodes-Conway (D)
(Madison)
3. Eric Genrich (D)
(Green Bay)

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