Jason Fields

Jason Fields
Fields in 2022
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 11th district
In office January 3, 2017 – January 4, 2021
Preceded by	Mandela Barnes
Succeeded by	Dora Drake
In office January 3, 2005 – January 7, 2013
Preceded by	Johnnie E. Morris-Tatum
Succeeded by	Mandela Barnes
Personal details
Born	(1974-01-29) January 29, 1974 (age 50) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	La Tasha
Residence(s)	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alma mater	Cardinal Stritch University (B.S., 2014)
Profession	Finance
Salary	$52,999[1]
Website	State Assembly website Personal twitter

Jason M. Fields (born January 29, 1974) is an American politician, and a former stockbroker, financial advisor, and banker from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for six terms (2005–2013 & 2017–2021).^[2][3] Fields ran for Milwaukee City Comptroller, the city's top financial job, in the 2020 spring election, but lost narrowly.^[4][5]

Background

Jason Fields was born in Milwaukee on January 29, 1974, to Johnie Fields Jr and Debra Fields. He graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran High School in 1992. He worked as a stockbroker, financial advisor, and banker, and is a certified financial education instructor. He returned to school as an adult, earning his Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Milwaukee's Cardinal Stritch University in 2014. He is a member of the Prince Hall Masons, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks Lodge of Milwaukee #46, and the International Society of Business Leaders.^[6]

Public office

Fields in 2010

Fields, who had served as Fourth Congressional District Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party and held other party office, was first elected to the Assembly in 2004, and was thrice reelected from 2006-2010). His committee assignments included those on financial institutions (which he chaired during the 2009-2011 session); insurance; jobs, economy and small business, education reform; transportation; ways and means, workforce development, economic development; and urban and local affairs.^[7]

2012 Primary Defeat

In 2012, he lost his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary, losing to Mandela Barnes, son of a public school teacher, who had made major issues of Fields's support for the school voucher program, and Fields’s opposition to limiting interest rates charged by payday loan companies whose charges can exceed a 500% annual percentage rate. (Fields's brother Jarett, who was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the nearby 19th District, was also defeated.) Fields was one of two veteran Milwaukee-area Democratic incumbents (the other being Peggy Krusick) to be unseated in that August primary by challengers who argued that the incumbent was too moderate to represent the district properly.^[8][9]

2016 Return

In 2016, Barnes announced he would challenge incumbent Lena Taylor in a Democratic primary for her seat in the Wisconsin State Senate. This left an opening in the 11th Assembly District, and Fields decided to run again for his old seat. He defeated Milwaukee community organizer Darrol D. Gibson in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.^[10][11]

2020 Comptroller election

In 2020, Fields announced he would run for election as Milwaukee City Comptroller. He topped the field in the February primary election, taking 43% of the vote, but was narrowly defeated in the general election by deputy comptroller Aycha Sawa.^[12][13] Fields made an issue of Sawa's handling of an audit of lead piping which was rated as exaggerated and misleading.^[14] The comptroller election was one of several Wisconsin elections significantly impacted by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin.

Leaving office

On May 12, 2020, Fields filed paperwork with the Wisconsin Elections Commission declaring he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2020. He also released a press release confirming the decision, stating, "After much consideration about the future, and conversations with my dear wife, La Tasha Fields, I have decided to not seek re-election to the Wisconsin State Assembly, District 11."^[15]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2004^[16]^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary Election, September 14, 2004
	Democratic	Jason Fields	2,793	45.16%
	Democratic	Leonard Goudy	2,172	35.12%
	Democratic	Jim Malloy	1,173	18.97%
		Scattering	46	0.74%
Total votes			6,184	100.0%
General Election, November 2, 2004
	Democratic	Jason Fields	19,625	99.37%	+0.62%
		Scattering	124	0.63%
Plurality			19,501	98.74%	+1.23%
Total votes			19,749	100.0%	+106.34%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2006^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 7, 2006
	Democratic	Jason Fields (incumbent)	11,626	99.42%	+0.05%
		Scattering	68	0.58%
Plurality			11,558	98.84%	+0.09%
Total votes			11,694	100.0%	-40.79%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2008^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 4, 2008
	Democratic	Jason Fields (incumbent)	21,083	99.24%	−0.18%
		Scattering	162	0.76%
Plurality			20,921	98.47%	-0.36%
Total votes			21,245	100.0%	+81.67%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2010^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Democratic	Jason Fields (incumbent)	14,860	99.10%	−0.14%
		Scattering	135	0.90%
Plurality			14,725	98.20%	-0.28%
Total votes			14,995	100.0%	-29.42%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (2012)

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2012^[21]^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary Election, August 14, 2012
	Democratic	Mandela Barnes	2,596	68.14%
	Democratic	Jason Fields (incumbent)	1,206	31.65%
		Scattering	8	0.21%
Total votes			3,810	100.0%
General Election, November 6, 2012
	Democratic	Mandela Barnes	16,403	98.79%	−0.31%
		Scattering	201	1.21%
Plurality			16,202	97.58%	-0.62%
Total votes			16,604	100.0%	+10.73%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (2016, 2018)

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2016^[11]^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary Election, August 9, 2016
	Democratic	Jason Fields	2,933	58.47%
	Democratic	Darrol D. Gibson	2,063	41.13%
		Scattering	20	0.40%
Total votes			5,016	100.0%
General Election, November 8, 2016
	Democratic	Jason Fields	18,418	98.76%	−0.07%
		Scattering	232	1.24%
Plurality			18,186	97.51%	-0.14%
Total votes			18,650	100.0%	+6.36%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, 11th District Election, 2018^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 6, 2018
	Democratic	Jason Fields (incumbent)	17,162	98.75%
		Scattering	218	1.25%
Plurality			16,944	97.49%	-0.02%
Total votes			17,380	100.0%	-6.81%
	Democratic hold

Milwaukee Comptroller (2020)

Milwaukee City Comptroller Election, 2020^[25]^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, February 18, 2020
	Nonpartisan	Jason Fields	25,305	42.98%
	Nonpartisan	Aycha Sawa	17,913	30.42%
	Nonpartisan	Alex Brower	15,248	25.90%
		Scattering	412	0.70%
Total votes			58,878	100.0%
General Election, April 7, 2020
	Nonpartisan	Aycha Sawa	41,297	50.40%
	Nonpartisan	Jason Fields	40,299	49.18%
		Scattering	347	0.42%
Plurality			998	1.22%
Total votes			81,943	100.0%

References

1. Salaries of Wisconsin State Elected Officials (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 2019. p. 2. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
2. Keith, Theo (June 19, 2016). ""I'm not perfect:" Former Assemblyman running again, and his announcement raised eyebrows". WITI. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
3. "Wisconsin District 11 State Assembly Results: Jason Fields Wins". The New York Times. December 13, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
4. Milwaukee County Spring Election April 7, 2020 - Unofficial Results (Report). Milwaukee County Elections Commission. April 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
5. Incumbents Who Have Filed a Notifications of Noncandidacy (EL-163) for the November 3, 2020 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
6. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2019). "Elected officials: Legislature". Wisconsin Blue Book 2019-2020 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-7333817-0-3. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
7. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Blue Book. Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, 2011, p. 27.
8. Marley, Patrick and Alison Bauter. "Longtime state legislators Fields, Krusick lose in primaries" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel August 14, 2012.
9. "WisPolitics Election Blog: Progressives pull off series of wins in Milwaukee primaries". Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
10. Rumage, Jeff (July 27, 2016). "Former legislator competing against political organizer for his old Assembly seat". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
11. Canvass Results for 2016 Partisan Primary - 8/9/2016 5:00:00 AM (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. September 30, 2016. p. 22. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
12. Carson, Sophie (March 30, 2020). "Milwaukee comptroller race centers on lead pipes and the role of city's chief financial officer". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
13. "Wisconsin Election Results — 2020 Spring General Election And Presidential Primary". WUWM. April 13, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
14. Litke, Eric (April 3, 2020). "Attack ads in Milwaukee comptroller race exaggerate, mislead". PolitiFact. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
15. "Rep. Fields: Not seeking re-election to State Legislature in 2020" (Press release). Wispolitics.com. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
16. Results of Fall Primary Election - 09/14/2004 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 10, 2004. p. 25. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
17. Results of Fall General Election - 11/02/2004 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 1, 2004. p. 15. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
18. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 5, 2006. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
19. Results of Fall General Election - 11/04/2008 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 25, 2008. p. 13. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
20. 2010 Fall General Election Results Summary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 1, 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
21. Canvass Results for 2012 Partisan Primary - 8/14/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 28, 2012. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
22. Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election - 11/6/2012 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 26, 2012. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
23. Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
24. Canvass Results for 2018 General Election - 11/6/2018 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 22, 2019. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
25. Milwaukee County Spring Primary February 18, 2020 (Report). Milwaukee County Elections Commission. February 18, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.

External links

• Representative Jason Fields at Wisconsin Legislature (Official page)
• Fields for Milwaukee (Campaign site) (Archived version)
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Jason Fields at Ballotpedia
• Follow the Money - Jason M Fields
  • 2008 2006 2004 campaign contributions
• Campaign 2008 campaign contributions at Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Johnnie E. Morris-Tatum	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 11th district 2005 – 2013	Succeeded by Mandela Barnes
Preceded by Mandela Barnes	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 11th district 2017 – 2021	Succeeded by Dora Drake