Melissa Agard
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 3, 2023 – December 1, 2023
Preceded byJanet Bewley
Succeeded byDianne Hesselbein
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 16th district
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byMark F. Miller
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 48th district
In office
January 7, 2013 – January 4, 2021
Preceded byChris Taylor
Succeeded bySamba Baldeh
Personal details
Born
Melissa Kristen Agard

(1969-03-28) March 28, 1969
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Justin Sargent
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2019)​
Children4
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison (BS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Melissa Kristen Agard (born March 28, 1969) is an American small business owner and Democratic politician from Madison, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 16th Senate district since 2021. She also served as minority leader in the Senate for most of 2023.[1] She previously served four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, when she was primarily known as Melissa Sargent.

Early life and career

Agard was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and graduated from Madison East High School.[2][3] She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1991.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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 the "Designated Demonstration Area" they refused, and Agard was issued a ticket (later dismissed).[6][8][9]

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.[10][11] She defeated independent Libertarian candidate Terry Gray with 83% of the general election vote.[12] 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.[13][14] 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.[15] Agard prevailed in the primary, taking more than 76% of the vote.[16] She went on to win a similarly substantial 73% majority over Republican Scott Barker in the 2020 general election.[17]

On November 16, 2022, she was voted the Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate, succeeding Senator Janet Bewley who chose not to run for reelection.[18]

In November 2023, Agard announced that she would run for Dane County executive in a special election to be held in 2024, following the early resignation of Joe Parisi.[19]

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.[20] They had four sons before divorcing in 2019.[21]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012–2018)

Wisconsin Assembly, 48th District Election, 2012[12]
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[16][17]
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. ↑ https://legis.wisconsin.gov/
  2. ↑ Sargent, Melissa (October 25, 2012). "Melissa Sargent, Democratic candidate in Assembly District 48". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  3. ↑ "About Melissa". Melissa Sargent for Senate. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ↑ "About Me". Melissa Sargent - State Representative. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. ↑ "History". Opacolor LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 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.
  7. ↑ "Melissa Agard Sargent". Dane County Board of Supervisors. Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  8. ↑ Tarr, Joe (March 29, 2011). "New round of Wisconsin Capitol protests target sign and location rules". Isthmus. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  9. ↑ SSWIDTMS (March 28, 2011). "The Sargent Boys stand up for the First Amendment". Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Melissa Sargent offers promise of renewed Wisconsin". The Capital Times. July 6, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  11. ↑ Tarr, Joe (March 29, 2011). "Redistricting sets up Democratic battles in Wisconsin Assembly primaries". Isthmus. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  12. 1 2 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.
  13. ↑ Reilly, Briana (March 2, 2020). "Several Madison Democrats jockeying to succeed Rep. Melissa Sargent in state Assembly". The Capital Times. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  14. ↑ Schmidt, Mitchell (March 12, 2020). "Another Madison City Council member announces run for state Assembly seat". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  15. ↑ Hamer, Emily (August 11, 2020). "Rep. Melissa Sargent wins primary for Senate District 16 race". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  16. 1 2 Canvass Results for 2020 Partisan Primary - 8/11/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2020. p. 7. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  17. 1 2 Canvass Results for 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 18, 2020. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  18. ↑ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Agard-elected-Wisconsin-Senate-Democratic-leader-17588862.php
  19. ↑ Garfield, Allison; Bahl, Andrew (November 30, 2023). "State Sen. Melissa Agard announces run for Dane County executive". The Capital Times. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Agard-Sargent". The Capital Times. April 20, 1996. Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "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.
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