Election Recap: The Businesswoman Who Braved the Fight

The Challenger

by Will Philipps

 

Democrat Mary Burke was not a household name in Wisconsin unlike her opponent Governor Walker. The Democratic candidate in the 2014 Wisconsin governor’s race beat state representative Brett Hulsey to run against Walker in the general election.

Burke is a 55-year-old resident of Madison who was relatively unknown to many at the beginning of her campaign. She grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Hartland to a family with deep roots in Wisconsin. Burke herself is a fourth-generation Wisconsinite. When she was 17, her father Richard Burke started Trek Bicycle Corporation, which she later became an executive for. Currently the Waterloo-based company is headed by Burke’s brother. 

As a teen Mary Burke was interested in volunteering since she helped teach tennis to Milwaukee-area kids in inner-city playgrounds. Her passion for helping others has continued into her adulthood: Burke donated money to the charter school Madison Prep and to an agency that helps the homeless in Dane County. She also has a noted interest in the Boys & Girls Club, helping the organization grow. 

Mary Burke also has no shortage of educational points of interest. She got a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in business administration with emphasis in finance and a master’s of business administration from Harvard Business School. 

After graduating in 1985, Burke got a job with McKinsey & Company consulting firm, which took her away to Washington D.C. and New York. Later she would come back to Wisconsin to be the Director of European Operations at Trek Bicycle, her family business. But, in 2005, Burke began her appearance in politics by being appointed by Governor Jim Doyle to the position of Wisconsin Commerce Department Secretary. She left the job in 2007. After a two year break, Burke came back to Trek as the head of strategic planning. In the meantime, she pursued other projects that lead to her spending a large sum of her own money to campaign and win a race for the Madison School Board.

All politics aside, Mary Burke is a true Wisconsinite, and leading up to November she put up a fight for the coveted title of governor. And, there’s something to be said for name recognition when it’s been on the ballot of such an intense election.

Saafia Masoom contributed to this article.