Wisconsin's 16th Assembly district

The 16th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly.^[1] Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within the boundaries of the city of Milwaukee in central Milwaukee County. It comprises much of downtown Milwaukee, including the campus of Marquette University, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Marquette Interchange.^[2] The district is represented by Democrat Kalan Haywood, since January 2019.^[3]

Wisconsin's 16th State Assembly district
From 2024 to 2031 From 2022 to 2023 From 2012 to 2021 2024 map defined in 2023 Wisc. Act 94 2022 map defined in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission 2011 map was defined in 2011 Wisc. Act 43
Assemblymember	Kalan Haywood D–Milwaukee since January 7, 2019 (5 years)
Demographics	32.03% White 54.13% Black 7.08% Hispanic 6.25% Asian 1.66% Native American 0.16% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Population (2020)  • Voting age	59,714 45,615
Website	Official website
Notes	Downtown Milwaukee

The 16th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 6th Senate district, along with the 17th and 18th Assembly districts.^[4]

• 
  Johnson Hall, Marquette University
• 
  Fiserv Forum
• 
  Marquette Interchange
• 
  Pabst Mansion

History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties.^[5] The 16th district was drawn somewhat in line with the previous Milwaukee County 2nd district, with some of the southwest wards exchanged for more in the southeast and northeast.^[6]

With the exception of the 1982 court-ordered redistricting plan, which moved the district to cover West Allis,^[7] in the western part of the county, the district has otherwise remained in north-central Milwaukee County within the boundaries of the city of Milwaukee. The current 16th Assembly district is only slightly south of the original boundaries of the district, and contains several of the same neighborhoods.

The 16th district has been represented by two of the youngest members of the Assembly in Wisconsin history, Michael Elconin, who entered office in 1973 at age 19, and current representative Kalan Haywood, who was also only 19 when sworn in in 2019.

List of past representatives

List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 16th district

Member	Party	Residence	Counties represented	Term start	Term end	Ref.
District created
Michael Elconin	Dem.	Milwaukee	Milwaukee	January 1, 1973	November 14, 1977	[6][8]: 136
--Vacant--				November 14, 1977	January 24, 1978	[9]
William B. Broydrick	Dem.	Milwaukee		January 24, 1978	November 1, 1981	[10][8]: 126
--Vacant--				November 1, 1981	January 15, 1982
Thomas W. Meaux	Dem.	Milwaukee		January 15, 1982	January 3, 1983
Jeannette Bell	Dem.	West Allis		January 3, 1983	January 7, 1985	[11][8]: 122
G. Spencer Coggs	Dem.	Milwaukee		January 7, 1985	January 4, 1993	[12][8]: 130
Leon Young	Dem.			January 4, 1993	January 7, 2019	[13]
Kalan Haywood	Dem.			January 7, 2019	Current	[3]

References

1. "Assembly District 16". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
2. "Wisconsin Legislative Districts - Assembly District 16 Boundaries". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
3. "Representative Kalan Haywood". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
4. An Act ... relating to: legislative redistricting (Act 94). Wisconsin Legislature. 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
5. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1973). "Legislature" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 227–230. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
6. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1977). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1977 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 32–33. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
7. Wisconsin State AFL-CIO v. Elections Board, 543 F. Supp. 630 (E.D. Wis. June 9, 1982).
8. Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2007). "Feature Article: Those Who Served: Wisconsin Legislators 1848 – 2007" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 122, 126, 130, 136. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
9. "Tuesday, January 24, 1978" (PDF). State of Wisconsin Assembly Journal (Eighty-Third Regular Session). Wisconsin Legislature. January 24, 1978. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
10. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1981). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1981-1982 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 32–33. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
11. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 36–37. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
12. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1991). "Biographies" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert (eds.). State of Wisconsin 1991-1992 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 32–33. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
13. "Representative Leon Young". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 11, 2021.