Tony Evers

DemocratGovernor of Wisconsin

Age	74 (b. 1951-11-05)
Gender	Male
In office since	2019-01-01 (~7 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	White
Education	BA, MA, and PhD in Educational Administration/Leadership from University of Wisconsin–Madison (1973, 1976, 1986); graduated Plymouth High School
Prior occupation	Science teacher; school principal; district superintendent; Wisconsin Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction (2001–2009); Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2009–2019)
Military service	No
Birthplace	Plymouth, Wisconsin
Languages	English
Marital status	married — Kathy Noordyk Evers
Children	3
Residence	Madison, Wisconsin (Executive Residence)

Wikipedia

Pending research: religion · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2009
Previous offices	Wisconsin Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction (2001–2009) · Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2009–2019)
Committees	NGA Education, Workforce and Community Investment Task Force (Co-Chair)
Caucuses	Democratic Governors Association
Leadership	NGA Education, Workforce and Community Investment Task Force Co-Chair · Great Lakes Governors & Premiers Board Member
Ideology	Center-left Democrat; supports abortion rights, Medicaid expansion, LGBTQ+ rights, gun control, public education funding, and legalization of marijuana; DW-NOMINATE not applicable (executive officeholder)
Signature legislation	2023 Wisconsin Act 12 — historic shared revenue increases for local governments, boosting state funding for municipalities by 20%+ and $1B for public schools (signed June 20, 2023) · 2023 line-item veto extending per-pupil school funding increase ($325/pupil) through year 2425 (upheld by Wisconsin Supreme Court, April 2025) · Milwaukee Brewers stadium deal — signed Assembly Bills 438 and 439 (Dec. 5, 2023), providing $500M+ in public funds ensuring team remains in Milwaukee through 2050 · 2024 Wisconsin legislative redistricting — signed new non-gerrymandered legislative maps into law (Feb. 19, 2024)

Financial

Net worth: disclosed + (2023) · estimate

No holdings recorded yet (from official Financial Disclosure filings).

Top donors: Democratic Party of Wisconsin ($11,300,000 (2022 cycle)) · Service Employees International Union (SEIU) PAC ($86,000 (H2 2021)) · National Education Association PAC ($40,000 (H2 2021)) · Fred Eychaner (Chicago, IL, individual donor) ($20,000 (2022 cycle, maximum contribution))

Top industries: Labor unions (education, SEIU, carpenters, public sector) · Education sector (NEA PAC) · Democratic Party organizations · Out-of-state individual donors (progressive donors)

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — Fine for Using Government Email and Work Hours for Campaign Fundraising (2009)

ethics-violation · 2009 · Wisconsin state authorities (Elections Board / Ethics oversight, specific body not confirmed in available sources) · Paid $250 fine; no further sanctions

While serving as Wisconsin's Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Evers solicited campaign donations during regular work hours and used a government email account to contact another education official in an effort to arrange a campaign fundraiser event. He and at least one other government employee were each fined $250 by Wisconsin state authorities for violating the prohibition on soliciting campaign donations from state employees during work hours. The fine was paid and the matter was resolved.

Sources: Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) · Wikipedia — Tony Evers · MoneyInc

resolved — Settled Open Records Lawsuit Filed by Rep. John Nygren; State Paid $40,000 in Attorney Fees

ethics-violation · 2019-08-01 · In August 2019, Republican state Rep. John Nygren, co-chair of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, requested records from Governor Evers' office related to a farmer mental health assistance program. The governor's office denied the request as "overly broad," even though an identical request to the state agriculture department was fulfilled. Nygren sued in November 2019. The matter was settled in May 2020, with the Department of Justice releasing more than 10,000 pages of records to Nygren and the state paying his private attorneys $40,000 in fees for what amounted to a small number of court filings and a single telephone conference. · State agreed to release over 10,000 pages of records and paid the legislator's attorneys $40,000 to settle the lawsuit.

Governor Evers' office settled an open records lawsuit brought by a Republican state legislator after denying his records request, agreeing to release thousands of pages of documents and pay $40,000 in the legislator's attorney fees.

Sources: Channel3000/WISC-TV · WisPolitics · Star Tribune

resolved — Dane County Judge Ruled Governor's Office Violated Open Records Law (FOX6 Emails Case)

ethics-violation · 2019-09-01 · In September 2019, Milwaukee TV station FOX6 requested roughly four weeks of emails to and from Governor Tony Evers and his chief of staff, Maggie Gau. The governor's assistant legal counsel denied the request and subsequent narrowed requests, including one for a single day of the governor's emails, asserting that requests had to contain specific search terms. After FOX6 sued in November 2020, the governor's office released one day of the governor's emails within minutes but continued withholding the chief of staff's records and the rest of the request. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Ehlke ruled in FOX6's favor, finding the governor's office had applied an "incorrect interpretation" of Wisconsin's open records law, and ordered the remaining records released and the office to pay FOX6's attorney fees. · Court ordered the governor's office to release the withheld records and pay the requester's attorney fees; exact fee amount not confirmed in available reporting.

A Dane County judge ruled that Governor Evers' office misapplied Wisconsin's open records law in denying a TV station's request for gubernatorial emails, ordering release of the records and payment of the requester's attorney fees.

Sources: FOX6 Milwaukee · WisPolitics