Jump to full article: Milwaukee (WI) Daily Reporter, 2009-06-26
Author: Matt Pommer
Intro: The idea solicited guffaws from older members when it was introduced by a new member in the state Senate in 1963. . . .
Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, wanted to ban tobacco sales to people under age 16. The idea that year got only one vote -- his -- in a committee test. . . .
First elected to the Assembly in 1956, Risser won a special election to the state Senate in 1962. He is completing 52 years of continuous legislative service. His service is the longest of any current legislator in the country. He is the fourth generation of his family to serve in the Wisconsin Legislature.
Risser, 82, has learned during his tenure that compromise can be the best solution. Tavern owners fought for years for an exemption to the smoking ban, but local communities eventually began enacting their own bans against smoking in workplaces, restaurants and taverns.
An immediate statewide ban would have been better, but Risser said no bill is perfect.
“The compromise can start saving lives and saving money for our taxpayers,” he said.
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