James F. Rooney

James Francis Rooney (September 29, 1935 – May 3, 2025) was an American public administrator and Democratic politician from Racine, Wisconsin. He represented Racine for 12 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 1973 to 1985, and served in Racine County government for nearly 30 years. After leaving the Assembly, Rooney served another 24 years as chairman of the Wisconsin Waterways Commission (1985–2019) and was one of the key architects of Racine's lakefront revitalization. He served as chairman of the Racine Harbor Commission from 1970 to 2013, and remained on the commission until his retirement in 2019.

Early life and career Rooney was born in Racine, Wisconsin, and graduated from Racine's St. Catherine's High School in 1953. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1954, and served two years stationed at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He was employed as a surveyor and later business manager for many years for Nielsen & Madsen, an engineering consulting partnership in Racine.

Public service In 1966, Rooney made his first attempt at elected office, when he was elected to the Racine County Board of Supervisors with the endorsement of outgoing supervisor, Herman Luedtke. He was reelected nine times, serving concurrent with his Assembly career. At the start of the 1982 session, he was elected chairman of the County Board. He served as chairman until resigning from the board in December 1984. In 1970, he was also named Racine Harbor Commissioner, a position he held until 2019.

In 1972, Rooney ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly in the newly drawn 61st State Assembly district. The 61st district, covering northern Racine and the villages of Wind Point and North Bay, was drawn roughly in line with the former 2nd Racine County Assembly district, which had been occupied by Democrat Manny S. Brown since 1965. Brown did not run for election in the new seat, but Rooney did face an opponent in the Democratic primary—former radio news director John Flanagan. Rooney prevailed in the primary, and carried 56% of the general election vote in November over Republican Thomas C. Mortenson. He was subsequently reelected five times, serving 12 years. The law diverted a small percentage of the state gas tax for highway funding to be utilized for harbor and river improvements, including the harbor and lakefront projects that Rooney championed in Racine County.

In June 1984, Rooney announced he would seek appointment to the county highway commissioner job rather than running for reelection to the Assembly. In December 1984, he received the appointment from county executive Leonard Ziolkowski, received unanimous approval from the County Board, and resigned his seat on the County Board. Rooney served as highway commissioner until 1988, when he was appointed county public works commissioner, where he remained until retiring in 1994.

Concurrent with this service, in 1985, Governor Tony Earl appointed Rooney to chair the Wisconsin Waterways Commission, which he had largely been responsible for creating in 1977. Rooney had been critical of previous governors' appointments to the commission, which lacked representation from southeast lakefront communities which failed to prioritize improvements on Lake Michigan; with the support of Governor Earl and State Representative Jeffrey A. Neubauer, Rooney quickly began allocating grant money to Racine lakeshore improvements. Rooney was reappointed by governors Tommy Thompson, Jim Doyle, and Scott Walker and continued to serve as chairman of the commission until March 2019.

In 1998, Rooney returned to politics, narrowly winning another term on the County Board of Supervisors over local newspaper publisher Ken Lumpkin. In this term he served alongside his son, James C. Rooney. Rooney was defeated seeking reelection in 2000, in a rematch of his 1998 election.

A 2015 event on Racine's waterfront celebrated the completion of numerous harbor and lakefront projects and honored Rooney for his decades of service on the lakefront improvements. The event was co-hosted by Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Racine Mayor John Dickert. Delagrave remarked, "Racine's Lakefront, Marina and breakwater area are irreplaceable resources forour city and our county as a whole. I applaud and am thankful for the passion and dedication of all those involved, especially the persistence and vision of Jim Rooney."

Rooney served as chairman of the Racine Harbor Commission until 2013, a position he held since 1970. He ultimately retired from the commission in 2019.

Personal life and death James Rooney was a fourth generation Racinian—his great grandparents settled on Racine's north side in the 1850s, his grandfather was president of the local painter's union, and his father was President of the Racine City Council.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, 61st district (1972–1980) Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1972 Primary Democratic 2,898 54.89% Dem. 2,382 45.11% 5,280 516 General Democratic 5,881 57.82% Rep. 4,291 42.18% 10,172 1,590 1976 General Democratic 12,309 94.72% Amer. 686 5.28% 12,995 11,623 1978 General Democratic 7,911 68.88% Rep. 3,575 31.12% 11,486 4,336 1980 General Democratic 10,724 65.06% Rep. 5,758 34.94% 16,482 4,966

Wisconsin Assembly, 20th district (1982) Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1982 General Democratic 10,393 73.84% Rep. 3,682 26.16% 14,075 6,711

Racine County Board (1998–2000) Year Election Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality 1998 General Democratic 174 50.73% Dem. 169 49.27% 343 5 2000 General Democratic 222 52.36% Dem. 202 47.64% 424 20