Frank Joseph "Joe" Sensenbrenner Jr. (born 1948) is a retired American attorney, management consultant, and Democratic politician. He was the 53rd Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, serving from 1983 to 1989, and held high-ranking offices in the state government, serving as executive secretary and legal advisor to Governor Patrick J. Lucey, and as Deputy Attorney General of Wisconsin under Bronson La Follette. He is currently President of the Board of Rooted, a non-profit organization which works to encourage healthy and sustainable neighborhoods in Madison. Early life and education Born into a well-off family in Appleton, Wisconsin, Sensenbrenner graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit boarding school in North Bethesda, Maryland. He received his bachelor's degree in classics and political economy from Williams College in 1970, and went on to earn his J.D. from University of Pennsylvania in 1973. Career Before his third year in law school, in the summer of 1972, Sensenbrenner went to work in the Wisconsin state government as an intern for the Health Policy and Planning Task Force. After being admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin, Sensenbrenner was employed as a pardon and extradition counsel to Governor Patrick J. Lucey, and was soon promoted to legal advisor to the Governor. He briefly left the Governor's office to accept a role as an Assistant Attorney General in the Wisconsin Department of Justice, but returned to Lucey's office in December 1975 when he was appointed executive secretary and chief of staff. He served with Lucey until his resignation, and then returned to the Wisconsin Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General for local government issues. He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Attorney General in 1981 by Attorney General Bronson La Follette. He remained in the job until his election as Mayor of Madison in April 1983. In December 1982, incumbent Madison Mayor Joel Skornicka announced he would not run for a third term. Two weeks later, Sensenbrenner announced his candidacy. Sensenbrenner quickly earned the endorsement of the outgoing Mayor and inherited many of his campaign supporters and staff. Sensenbrenner's campaign emphasized his experience in state government and management skills, and, in the crowded 8-person nonpartisan primary, he came in a close second to former alderman and past mayoral candidate Robert Reynolds. Reynolds and Sensenbrenner faced off in the April election, with both running on a liberal Democratic platform. Sensenbrenner continued to emphasize his managerial acumen, while Reynolds focused