Tosa’s legislative districts to shift under Evers’ map

Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill Monday enacting redrawn legislative maps that roll back the state’s partisan gerrymandering. That presumably would give Democrats in some districts a better chance of challenging Republicans, who have controlled the state Legislature for over a decade.

The boundaries of Assembly and Senate districts representing Wauwatosa are poised to shift under the new maps, though the amount of change varies widely depending on where in the city you live.

Under the former maps, which took effect in 2022, most of the City of Wauwatosa has been within the boundaries of the 14th Assembly District, a seat that is currently held by Wauwatosa resident Robyn Vining, a Democrat. Much smaller parts of Wauwatosa also are included in the 12th District (a small fragment of the city’s northern limits), the 13th District (a notch bordering North Avenue west of I-41) and the 18th District (the city’s southeast corner).

In the Senate, most of the city is within the 5th District, represented by Sen. Rob Hutton, a Republican from Brookfield. Small parts of Wauwatosa are in the 4th and 6th.

In the new maps, taking effect in time for the November 2024 election, the Tosa portions of the 12th and 18th Assembly districts remain the same, but much of the 14th Assembly District becomes the 13th and then expands west to encompass Elm Grove and Brookfield, according to interactive maps produced by Marquette University Law School research fellow John Johnson. The maps create a newly drawn 14th District that mostly represents West Allis, as well as a small area of southwest Tosa near the Milwaukee County Zoo.

The 5th Senate District would continue to encompass most of Wauwatosa, though under the new maps, the non-Tosa portion of the 5th would change dramatically, losing New Berlin while gaining Pewaukee and some of Milwaukee’s west side — that part that sticks into Wauwatosa like a thumb.

Above maps comparing 2022 to 2024 were adapted from an interactive analysis produced by Marquette University Law School research fellow John Johnson.

The legislation signed by Evers ratified district boundaries that his administration had proposed in an earlier round of legal wrangling with Republican leaders over the state’s partisan gerrymanding. The state’s previous maps, put in place by Republicans under Evers’ predecessor, former Gov. Scott Walker, have been credited with helping to give the party a supermajority or nearly a supermajority in both houses, despite a much closer partisan split in the statewide vote.

Those Republican maps, however, were tossed out by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s new liberal majority in December, prompting what ultimately amounted to compromise legislation. It was a sharp reversal for Republican leaders, whose sudden support for the legislative boundaries drawn up by Evers’ administration came as Democrats and progressives were pushing for maps deemed even more disadvantageous to Republicans.

“When I promised I wanted fair maps—not maps that are better for one party or another—I damn well meant it,” Evers said in his remarks at the signing. “Wisconsin is not a red state or a blue state—we’re a purple state, and I believe our maps should reflect that basic fact.”

— David Paulsen is an East Tosa-based journalist and can be reached by email here.