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Margaret Farrow

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Margaret Farrow
Member of the UW System Board of Regents
In office
June 18, 2013 - December 7, 2017
GovernorScott Walker
Preceded byJudith Crane
42nd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
In office
May 9, 2001 – January 6, 2003
GovernorScott McCallum
Preceded byScott McCallum
Succeeded byBarbara Lawton
Member of the Wisconsin State Senate from the 33rd District
In office
January 2, 1989 – May 9, 2001
Preceded bySusan Engeleiter
Succeeded byTed Kanavas
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 99th District
In office
January 6, 1986 – January 2, 1989
Preceded byJohn M. Young
Succeeded byFrank Urban
Personal details
Born(1934-11-28)November 28, 1934
Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedMarch 8, 2022(2022-03-08) (aged 87)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJohn Farrow
RelationsPaul Farrow (son)
ProfessionTeacher, realtor

Margaret A. Farrow (née Nemitz) (November 28, 1934 – March 8, 2022) was an American Republican politician who was the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (the first woman to hold the office) and also served in both houses of the state legislature.

Early life

Farrow was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin after her family moved there from Chicago. She was the daughter of William C. Nemitz, who was vice president of manufacturing at Snap-On Tool Corporation, and Margaret (née Horan) who was a corporate executive assistant. Her grandparents were immigrants, maternal from Ireland and paternal from Germany.[1] She attended St. Catherine's High School in Racine, as it was the only Catholic High School in the area at that time.[2] She then attended Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, for one year before receiving her B.A. from Marquette University.[3][4] While attending Marquette, she met her husband, John Farrow. He was an engineer in the Navy, and the couple moved several times before settling in Elm Grove in 1967.[1] Together, they raised 5 sons, which included a set of twins.[1]

Career

Elected office (1971–2003)

Farrow served on the Elm Grove, Wisconsin Board of Appeals from 1971–1974 and the Village Board from 1976–1987, spending the last five years of her tenure as president. After her time with the Village Board, Farrow was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, and later the Wisconsin State Senate, from a district comprising most of Waukesha County, Wisconsin.[5][6] The first female lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, Farrow was appointed to the position after then-Lieutenant Governor Scott McCallum was elevated to the office of governor upon the departure of Gov. Tommy Thompson to join the administration of George W. Bush in January 2001.[7]

As Lieutenant Governor, she served as chair of the Governor's Work-Based Learning Board, co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on Invasive Species, and chair of the Wisconsin's Women's Council. Farrow authored and served as vice chair of the SAVE Commission and was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to serve on the Governor's Blue-Ribbon Commission on State-Local Partnerships for the 21st Century.[8] Farrow also served on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Passenger Rail.[9]

McCallum and Farrow ran for a full four-year term in 2002, but their Republican ticket lost the race to Democrat Jim Doyle.[10][11]

Post-Lieutenant Governor

Farrow was publicly touted by Mark Neumann as the best candidate to take on Democrat Russ Feingold in 2004. Without putting her name forward for consideration, she won a straw poll at the 2003 Republican State Convention.[12] During the 2008 campaign, she was a member of the "Palin Truth Squad" for the McCain Campaign.[13]

She was chairman of the board of directors of WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network, Inc., which produces the Wisconsin equivalent of C-SPAN.[14] In 2010, WCAN (Waukesha County Action Network), the advocacy organization Farrow had created, combined with the Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce to create the Waukesha County Business Alliance, a county-wide chamber of commerce representing over 1,100 member businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. Farrow also served on the Board of Directors as well as the Policy Board of the Waukesha County Business Alliance.[15]

Farrow later resided in Pewaukee, Wisconsin with her husband. Her son Paul Farrow was elected Waukesha County Executive in 2015[16] and previously served in both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature.[17] In 2013, she was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to serve on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.[18] On December 7, 2017, she announced her immediate retirement from the UW System Board of Regents, stepping down before her term expired in 2020.[19]

Margaret Farrow’s public and community work includes:

League of Women Voters, Wisconsin Women’s Council, University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Sojourner Truth House, Junior Achievement, Elmbrook Memorial Hospital, Aerospace States Association, Glass Ceiling Commission, co-founder of Waukesha County Action Network (WCAN), chair of the Archdiocesan Priest Review Board and chair of the WisconsinEye Board.[1]

Farrow died on March 8, 2022, at the age of 87.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Krause, Marilyn (March 9, 2022). "Frontlines: An unwavering trailblazer". Diggings. Fall 2019 – via Badger Institute.
  2. ^ Spencer, Samantha (March 9, 2022). "Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Margaret Farrow passes away". Blasting News. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Margaret A. Farrow – University Honors – Marquette University". www.marquette.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Farrow, Margaret A. 1934". Wisconsinhistory.org. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  5. ^ "The State: The state of Wisconsin 1987–1988 blue book: Biographies and pictures". digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "Margaret Farrow". Wisconsin Public Radio. August 27, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "Margaret Farrow". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "UW-Platteville welcomes UW System Board of Regents member Farrow". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "CNN.com – Doyle wins Wisconsin governor's race – Nov. 6, 2002". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  11. ^ "James Doyle (Wisconsin) – Ballotpedia". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  12. ^ Ruth Conniff. "July 4, 2003: The Patriot". The Isthmus, October 13, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015.
  13. ^ Associated Press: Madison / Farrow named to 'Palin Truth Squad'. September 10, 2008.
  14. ^ "Board of Directors". wiseye.org. WisconsinEye. July 5, 2017. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  15. ^ "Waukesha County Business Alliance Board of Directors | 2010-2011 Board of Directors". waukesha.org. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Behm, Dan (April 7, 2015). "Election 2015: Farrow elected Waukesha County exec; incumbent judge ousted". Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. www.jsonline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  17. ^ Jesse Garza (November 2, 2010). "Farrow wins in 98th Assembly District". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  18. ^ Wendy Strong. "Farrow among Walker appointments to UW Board of Regents". Milwaukee Business Journal, June 11, 2013.
  19. ^ Herzog, Karen (December 7, 2017). "Former Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow, 83, retiring from UW System Board of Regents". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  20. ^ "First Female Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Has Died". U.S. News and World Report. Associated Press. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
2001 – 2003 		Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Wisconsin State Senator – 33rd District
1989 – 2001 		Succeeded by
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Wisconsin State Representative – 99th District
1986 – 1989 		Succeeded by
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