Bill Kramer Elected As Assembly Majority Leader

Assembly Republicans have elected Waukesha state Rep. Bill Kramer as their new Majority Leader.

For Kramer, the majority leader position is a step up from the Speaker Pro Tem job he held for the past two sessions. It places him firmly on the Assembly GOP’s leadership team, which is run by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

Kramer says he thinks Vos has done a good job. “I’m looking forward to working very closely with Speaker Vos. And I believe that that is now my job and that will be what happens.”

Kramer is not timid. As a freshman lawmaker in 2007, he alone interrupted Governor Jim Doyle’s State of the State address to applaud a line in Doyle’s speech talking about record profits by oil companies. As Speaker Pro Tem, Kramer has occasionally cleared the Assembly gallery when protesters violate the chamber’s rules.

Kramer also likes to crack jokes, sometimes to the delight of his colleagues, sometimes to their dismay. He was asked whether he might have to scale that back in his new job. “That is my goal. I think that was a major concern when I first ran for Speaker Pro Tem, and I think I handled that well, so I don’t see any reason to think I can’t do the same as Majority Leader.”

Kramer defeated Hudson state Rep. Dean Knudson for the Majority Leader job.

Replacing Kramer as Speaker Pro Tem will be Tyler August of Lake Geneva. The 30-year-old lawmaker got his start in the Assembly as a legislative aide. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2010.