finish in the nonpartisan primary, Gartzke advanced to an April general election against Howard H. Boyle, a Dodge County court commissioner who had previously run for state supreme court and United States Senate. In the election, Boyle stressed ideology and strictly interpreting the statutes and constitution. Gartzke, on the other hand, made a non-ideological argument for his candidacy, focused on the importance of competent legal experience and prioritizing the establishment of the good functioning of the new appeals court system. In the end, Gartzke prevailed with a slim majority. Gartzke would be re-elected without opposition in 1984 and 1990. Shortly after his election, the Wisconsin Supreme Court selected Gartzke as presiding judge for District IV, a position he held through his entire judicial career. He retired in 1996, but continued to serve for several years as a reserve judge. Seraphim suspension Early in his judicial career, in 1979, Judge Gartzke was selected by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review allegations of misconduct by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Christ T. Seraphim. Judge Seraphim had long been a controversial figure in Milwaukee county and charges of misconduct had accumulated over his 20-year judicial career; the investigation was one of the first tests of new judicial conduct review procedures. Ultimately, the panel recommended Seraphim should be removed or suspended for several violations of the code of judicial ethics, including sexual harassment and the appearance of accepting a bribe. The Supreme Court agreed with the panel's recommendation and suspended Seraphim from judicial service for three years. Judge McDonald appeal In 1985, Lafayette County Circuit Judge Daniel McDonald was convicted in the murder of Darlington attorney James Klein. Judge McDonald was in the process of appealing his conviction when, in 1986, he committed suicide by drug overdose. McDonald's lawyers, however, continued to pursue the appeal asking for the conviction to be vacated. The case was before Judge Gartzke, who decided to dismiss the appeal and let the conviction stand. Despite similarities to a previous appeal where the appellant died of a heart attack, Judge Gartzke ruled that by choosing to commit suicide, Judge McDonald chose to forfeit his appeal and thus was not entitled to a posthumous review of his conviction. Personal life and family Judge Gartzke married Waltraud Emilie Dorothea "Emy" Denker in August 1952. At the time of their wedding, Emy, a German student, was working at the Ray-O-Vac Corporation for a chemistry