"Sen. Risser relates his life story with candor, humor and an eye for the people and events that shaped Wisconsin's history over the past century. After naval service in Panama and law school in Oregon, he returned to Wisconsin and immediately assumed a leading role in the 1950s "Joe Must Go" effort to oust U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy. Fast forward 60 years, and he was the senior senator among the 14 Wisconsin Democrats who famously left the state for Illinois in an effort to derail Gov. Scott Walker's Act 10legislation. In between, he authored more than 240 bills that became Wisconsin law, many dealing with health issues like restricting smoking and promoting women's reproductive rights. He served as Wisconsin Senate president on several occasions and spenthalf a century on the State Building Commission. Always he was guided by a buoyant optimism and belief in government's ability to make people's lives better"-- Provided by publisher.
When Fred Risser retired from the Wisconsin Senate in 2021, his sixty-four years in state government made him the longest serving legislator in US history. Now, in this candid and illuminating autobiography, Risser shares his singular perspective on events that transformed the state and the nation over the course of his remarkable career. From his role in the Joe Must Go drive to recall US Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s to his position as the senior senator among the Fab Fourteen Wisconsin Democrats who opposed Governor Scott Walkers Act 10 legislation against collective bargaining in 2011, Risser was a leader in state politics for decades, always maintaining an unwavering belief that political action can change peoples lives for the better.
Forward for the People provides a unique peek behind the political curtain from the viewpoint of someone who saw it all. Risser worked with thirteen governors and authored more than 240 bills that became law, championing public health and safety, environmental protection, womens and reproductive rights, organized labor, civil rights, and social justice, among many other causes. Risser also recounts interactions with prominent national politicians, including Robert La Follette Jr., Hubert Humphrey, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. More than forty photographs from Rissers personal collection and the Wisconsin Senate paint a vivid picture of his six-decade journey through Wisconsin politics.
Forward for the People details Rissers experiences out of state, from a stint in the Panama Canal Zone as a navy hospital corpsman to his undergraduate debate-team days at Minnesotas Carleton College to his years studying law at the University of Oregon and his travels to all seven continents. The book also depicts the quirky habits that made Risser a memorable and beloved politician: biking his age in miles every birthday and never taking the elevator in his sixty-four years at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Enhanced with details sourced from correspondence, personal notes, newspaper accounts, and recollections from friends and former colleagues, Risser and coauthor Doug Moe have crafted an engaging account of an extraordinary life in public service.
