Melissa Agard

Melissa Kristen Agard (born March 28, 1969) is an American small business owner and politician from Madison, Wisconsin. A Democrat, she is a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and minority caucus vice-chair. She previously served four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, when she was primarily known as Melissa Sargent.

Melissa Agard
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 16th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2021
Preceded by	Mark F. Miller
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 48th district
In office January 7, 2013 – January 4, 2021
Preceded by	Chris Taylor
Succeeded by	Samba Baldeh
Member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors from the 18th district
In office April 2010 – April 2014
Preceded by	Dorothy Wheeler
Succeeded by	Michele Ritt
Personal details
Born	Melissa Kristen Agard March 28, 1969 Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Justin S. Sargent ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2019)​
Children	4
Residence	Madison, Wisconsin
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Profession	artist, small business owner, politician

Early life and career

Agard was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and graduated from Madison East High School.[1][2] She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1991.[3]

She went to work as a business manager for Hyperion Studio in Madison, then co-founded Opacolor LLC with her father, Steven. Opacolor is a digital photography and print studio which Agard continues to own and operate. They specialize in original giclée prints.[4]

In 2010, Agard's neighbors on the north side of Madison urged her to seek a newly-vacant seat on the Dane County Board of Supervisors.[5] Agard later described her situation: "At that point, I owned my own business, I had three kids, and I just found out I was pregnant with my fourth. And I was 40 years old and feeling like one more thing on my plate would cause me to topple over." She then explained that her children came home from school that day complaining about having to do a community service project. She told them to tough it out, then decided she should do the same.[5] Agard won election to the county board and was part of the liberal majority on that body for four years, chairing the Health and Human Needs Committee.[6]

2011 Wisconsin protests

For fifty consecutive days during the 2011 Wisconsin protests against Governor Scott Walker's controversial "Budget Repair" legislation (2011 Wisconsin Act 10) which abolished collective bargaining for most Wisconsin public employees, Agard says that she, often accompanied by one or more of her four children, joined in the mass demonstrations, whether in the Wisconsin State Capitol or (after officials locked the Capitol), outside in the Wisconsin cold. On March 27, 2011, when the State Capitol Police ordered her three older boys to take down their protest sign proclaiming "Solidarity Forever" which was being displayed outside of the "Designated Demonstration Area" they refused, and Agard was issued a ticket (later dismissed).[5][7][8]

Political career

Following the drastic Republican redistricting in 2011, which scrambled the Madison-area assembly districts, Agard was able to run for Wisconsin State Assembly in the newly drawn 48th assembly district without an opponent from either major political party.[9][10] She defeated independent Libertarian candidate Terry Gray with 83% of the general election vote.[11] She was reelected without any opposition in 2014, 2016, and 2018.

In 2020, longtime state senator Mark F. Miller announced he would not seek reelection to a fifth term. The Madison-based senate seat attracted many interested potential candidates, but ultimately Agard had only one opponent in the Democratic primary—Monona Grove School Board president Andrew McKinney.[12][13] During the primary, she renewed her commitment to pursue full decriminalization of marijuana in the state, as well as increasing the minimum wage, protecting labor rights, and providing more affordable housing.[14] Agard prevailed in the primary, taking more than 76% of the vote.[15] She went on win a similarly substantial 73% majority over Republican Scott Barker in the 2020 general election.[16]

Personal life

Agard married Justin S. Sargent in 1997. Justin Sargent was then a legislative aide to Democratic state senator Charles Chvala and now works as chief of staff to state senator Chris Larson.[17] They had four sons before divorcing in 2019.[18]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2018)

Wisconsin Assembly, 48th District Election, 2012[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 6, 2012
	Democratic	Melissa Agard Sargent	24,375	83.20%	-10.30%
	Libertarian	Terry R. Gray	4,849	16.55%
	Independent	Jonathan W. Rygiewicz (write-in)	13	0.04%
		Scattering	59	0.20%
Plurality			19,526	66.65%	-20.35%
Total votes			29,296	100.0%	+402.33%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (2020)

Wisconsin Senate, 16th District Election, 2020[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, August 11, 2020
	Democratic	Melissa Agard Sargent	27,734	76.83%
	Democratic	Andrew McKinney	8,328	23.07%
		Scattering	34	0.09%
Plurality			19,406	53.76%
Total votes			36,096	100.0%
General Election, November 3, 2020
	Democratic	Melissa Agard Sargent	83,526	73.43%	-24.96%
	Republican	Scott Barker	30,121	26.48%
		Scattering	108	0.09%
Plurality			53,405	46.95%	-49.83%
Total votes			113,755	100.0%	+45.26%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Sargent, Melissa (October 25, 2012). "Melissa Sargent, Democratic candidate in Assembly District 48". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
2. "About Melissa". Melissa Sargent for Senate. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
3. "About Me". Melissa Sargent - State Representative. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
4. "History". Opacolor LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
5. Hall, Dee J. (December 27, 2012). "From protesting to legislating: Two who marched at Capitol set to take office". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
6. "Melissa Agard Sargent". Dane County Board of Supervisors. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
7. Tarr, Joe (March 29, 2011). "New round of Wisconsin Capitol protests target sign and location rules". Isthmus. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
8. SSWIDTMS (March 28, 2011). "The Sargent Boys stand up for the First Amendment". Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
9. "Melissa Sargent offers promise of renewed Wisconsin". The Capital Times. July 6, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
10. Tarr, Joe (March 29, 2011). "Redistricting sets up Democratic battles in Wisconsin Assembly primaries". Isthmus. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
11. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 26, 2012. pp. 19–20. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
12. Reilly, Briana (March 2, 2020). "Several Madison Democrats jockeying to succeed Rep. Melissa Sargent in state Assembly". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
13. Schmidt, Mitchell (March 12, 2020). "Another Madison City Council member announces run for state Assembly seat". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
14. Hamer, Emily (August 11, 2020). "Rep. Melissa Sargent wins primary for Senate District 16 race". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
15. Canvass Results for 2020 Partisan Primary - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 7. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
16. Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
17. "Agard-Sargent". The Capital Times. April 20, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Dane County Case Number 2019FA000029 In RE the marriage of Justin Scott Sargent and Melissa Kristen Sargent". Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Retrieved January 5, 2021.

External links

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Melissa Sargent at Ballotpedia
• Assembly website (Archived - 11/8/2020)
• Campaign website
• Opacolor LLC
• Melissa Agard on Linkedin