James F. Rooney

James Francis Rooney (born September 29, 1935) is a retired American politician and local administrator. A Democrat, he served 12 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Racine, Wisconsin, (1973–1985) and served in Racine County government for nearly 30 years. After leaving the Assembly, Rooney served another 24 years as chairman of the Wisconsin Waterways Commission (1985–2019) and was one of the key architects of Racine's lakefront revitalization. He still serves on the city of Racine's Harbor Commission.[1]

James F. Rooney
Chairman of the Wisconsin Waterways Commission
In office September 26, 1985 – March 1, 2019
Governor	Tony Earl Tommy Thompson Scott McCallum Jim Doyle Scott Walker Tony Evers
Preceded by	Francis Murphy
Succeeded by	Roger Walsh
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded by	John Plewa
Succeeded by	Tim Carpenter
Constituency	20th district
In office January 1, 1973 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	District established
Succeeded by	Sheehan Donoghue
Constituency	61st district
Chairman of the Racine County Board of Supervisors
In office April 20, 1982 – December 1984
Preceded by	Elwood E. Hoeppner
Succeeded by	Hubert Braun
Member of the Racine County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district
In office April 20, 1998 – April 2000
Preceded by	Patrick Verbeten
Succeeded by	Kenneth Lumpkin
In office April 19, 1966 – December 1984
Preceded by	Raymond Fay
Succeeded by	Herman F. Luedtke
Personal details
Born	September 29, 1935 Racine, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Nancy Lee Schultz
Children	4
Occupation	politician, administrator
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1954–1956
Rank	Private First Class

Early life and career

Rooney was born in Racine, Wisconsin, and graduated from Racine's St. Catherine's High School in 1953.[2] He was drafted into the United States Army in 1954, and served two years stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia.[3][4] He was employed as a surveyor and later business manager for many years for Nielsen & Madsen, an engineering consulting partnership in Racine.[2][5][6]

Public service

In 1966, Rooney made his first attempt at elected office, when he was elected to the Racine County Board of Supervisors with the endorsement of outgoing supervisor, Herman Luedtke.[6][7][8] He was reelected nine times, serving concurrent with his Assembly career. At the start of the 1982 session, he was elected chairman of the County Board. He served as chairman until resigning from the board in December 1984.[9] In 1970, he was also named Racine Harbor Commissioner, a position he continues to hold in 2020.

In 1972, Rooney ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly in the newly drawn 61st State Assembly district. The 61st district, covering northern Racine and the villages of Wind Point and North Bay, was drawn roughly in line with the former 2nd Racine County Assembly district, which had been occupied by Democrat Manny S. Brown since 1965. Brown did not run for election in the new seat, but Rooney did face an opponent in the Democratic primary—former radio news director John Flanagan.[10] Rooney prevailed in the primary, and carried 56% of the general election vote in November over Republican Thomas C. Mortenson.[11] He was subsequently reelected five times, serving 12 years.[2]

In the Assembly, Rooney served for his entire legislative career on the Highways Committee, and served on the committees on Financial Institutions and Insurance, on Consumer and Commercial Credit, and on Insurance, Cooperatives and Risk Management. For the 1983–1984 session, he was elected Democratic caucus chairman.[2] His most consequential legislative act was likely the creation of the Wisconsin Waterways Commission (1977 Wisc. Act 274).[12] The law diverted a small percentage of the state gas tax for highway funding to be utilized for harbor and river improvements, including the harbor and lakefront projects that Rooney championed in Racine County.

In June 1984, Rooney announced he would seek appointment to the county highway commissioner job rather than running for reelection to the Assembly.[13] In December 1984, he received the appointment from county executive Leonard Ziolkowski, received unanimous approval from the County Board, and resigned his seat on the County Board.[9][14] Rooney served as highway commissioner until 1988, when he was appointed county public works commissioner, where he remained until retiring in 1994.[15]

Concurrent with this service, in 1985, Governor Tony Earl appointed Rooney to chair the Wisconsin Waterways Commission, which he had largely been responsible for creating in 1977.[16] Rooney had been critical of previous governors' appointments to the commission, which lacked representation from southeast lakefront communities which failed to prioritize improvements on Lake Michigan; with the support of Governor Earl and State Representative Jeffrey A. Neubauer, Rooney quickly began allocating grant money to Racine lakeshore improvements.[17] Rooney was reappointed by governors Tommy Thompson, Jim Doyle, and Scott Walker and continued to serve as chairman of the commission until March 2019.[18]

In 1998, Rooney returned to politics, narrowly winning another term on the County Board of Supervisors over local newspaper publisher Ken Lumpkin.[19] In this term he served alongside his son, James C. Rooney.[20] Rooney was defeated seeking reelection in 2000, in a rematch of his 1998 election.[21]

A 2015 event on Racine's waterfront celebrated the completion of numerous harbor and lakefront projects and honored Rooney for his decades of service on the lakefront improvements. The event was co-hosted by Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Racine Mayor John Dickert. Delagrave remarked, "Racine's Lakefront, Marina and breakwater area are irreplaceable resources forour city and our county as a whole. I applaud and am thankful for the passion and dedication of all those involved, especially the persistence and vision of Jim Rooney."[1][22]

Rooney continues to serve as chairman of the Racine Harbor Commission, a position he has held since 1970.[23][1][24]

Personal life and family

James Rooney is a fourth generation Racinian—his great grandparents settled on Racine's north side in the 1850s, his grandfather was president of the local painter's union, and his father was President of the Racine City Council.[15]

James Rooney and his wife, Nancy, have four adult children and still reside in Racine.[24] Rooney is an avid sailor and owns two boats, he has been a member of the Racine Yacht Club for nearly 50 years, and is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Racine.[24][2]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, 61st district (1972–1980)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1972[11]	Primary	September 12	James F. Rooney	Democratic	2,333	59.29%	John A. Flanagan	Dem.	1,344	34.16%	3,935	989
							Curtis E. Sahakian	Dem.	258	6.56%
	General	November 7	James F. Rooney	Democratic	9,261	56.39%	Thomas C. Mortenson	Rep.	7,162	43.61%	16,423	2,099
1974[25]	Primary	September 10	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Democratic	2,898	54.89%	Betty S. Rowley	Dem.	2,382	45.11%	5,280	516
	General	November 5	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Democratic	5,881	57.82%	Anita M. Hunt	Rep.	4,291	42.18%	10,172	1,590
1976[26]	General	November 2	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Democratic	12,309	94.72%	Gary Pederson	Amer.	686	5.28%	12,995	11,623
1978[27]	General	November 7	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Democratic	7,911	68.88%	Gary Pederson	Rep.	3,575	31.12%	11,486	4,336
1980[28]	General	November 4	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Democratic	10,724	65.06%	Earl W. Bell	Rep.	5,758	34.94%	16,482	4,966

Wisconsin Assembly, 20th district (1982)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1982[29]	General	November 2	James F. Rooney	Democratic	10,393	73.84%	Hall L. Hardy	Rep.	3,682	26.16%	14,075	6,711

Racine County Board (1998–2000)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1998[19]	General	April 7	James F. Rooney	Democratic	174	50.73%	Kenneth Lumpkin	Dem.	169	49.27%	343	5
2000[21]	General	April 4	Kenneth Lumpkin	Democratic	222	52.36%	James F. Rooney (inc.)	Dem.	202	47.64%	424	20

References

1. "Celebration on the Lakefront Honors Joint City-County Partnership" (PDF). Office of the Racine County Executive & Office of the Mayor of Racine (Press release). August 31, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via The Wheeler Report.
2. "Rooney, James F. 1935". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
3. "22 Inductees Begin Training". Racine Journal Times. September 27, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "John Rooneys Tour Canada". Racine Journal Times. July 15, 1956. p. 18. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Candidates for County Board Announce Their Intentions". Racine Journal Times. January 10, 1972. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "13 Newcomers Join 29-Man County Board April 19". Racine Journal Times. p. 6. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Vote for James F. Rooney". Racine Journal Times. April 4, 1966. p. 14. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Statement of the Board of County Canvassers". Racine Journal Times. April 12, 1966. p. 19. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Hill, Mike (December 6, 1984). "It looks like Rooney". Racine Journal Times. p. 3. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Fall Election Lineup Complete". Racine Journal Times. July 12, 1972. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1973). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 809, 828. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
12. "Tax use plan would swell harbor funds". Racine Journal Times. November 7, 1977. p. 3. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Rooney will quit State Legislature". Racine Journal Times. June 17, 1984. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Hill, Mike (December 12, 1984). "Rooney gets post". Racine Journal Times. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Scolaro, Joseph A. (December 29, 1994). "Public works chief sails into retirement". Racine Journal Times. p. 9. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Rooney heads state commission". Racine Journal Times. August 5, 1985. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Hill, Mike (August 16, 1985). "County officials want more aid from state". Racine Journal Times. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Wisconsin Waterways Commission" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
19. Pfau, Christopher (May 21, 1998). "Rooney takes office; Lumpkin considers appeal of legal ruling". Racine Journal Times. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
20. Pfau, Christopher (April 8, 1998). "Father and son set to serve together on county board". Racine Journal Times. p. 21. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
21. Steinkraus, David (April 5, 2000). "This time, Lumpkin elected to County Board". Racine Journal Times. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
22. "Celebrating Lakefront Progress". Racine Journal Times. September 3, 2015. p. B1. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Boards and Commissions". City of Racine. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
24. Scolaro, Joe (April 28, 1996). "His vision shaped our image". Racine Journal Times. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
25. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1975). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1975 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 809, 830. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
26. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1977). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1977 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 893, 915. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
27. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1979). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 907, 925. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
28. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1981). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1981-1982 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 895, 916. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
29. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Elections" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 889, 910. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

External links

• Downtown Racine
• Reefpoint Marina
• Len Ziolkowski Harbor Park and Reefpoint Marina
• Racine Harbor at Marinas.com