For sixteen years, Mike Huebsch had the distinct honor and privilege of representing the people of the 94th Assembly District in the state Legislature. Today, he brings his considerable state government and budgeting experience to the executive branch as the Secretary of the Department of Administration.
Secretary Huebsch has always approached policymaking with the knowledge that when Wisconsin leads, much of the nation follows. He was an author of the groundbreaking Wisconsin Works welfare replacement legislation that shaped federal reform. Sixteen years later, he continues to believe that answers to many of the challenges facing Wisconsin and other states around the country will continue to be found here at home.
The core issues Secretary Huebsch champions today are the same ones that drew him to public service more than 20 years ago: lowering Wisconsin’s tax burden, making government more efficient and accountable and creating jobs. He has led on these issues throughout his career, including a four-year-stint on the legislature’s powerful budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, two years as the Assembly Majority Leader and two years as the Assembly Speaker. During his tenure as Speaker, Secretary Huebsch led Republicans in negotiations on Wisconsin’s $60 billion biennial budget and he set the policy agenda for the state Assembly. He also managed the budget and personnel policies of the 99 member state Assembly and its more than 200 staff members.
Before his election to the Legislature, Secretary Huebsch served on the La Crosse County Board and as the national sales director for a Western Wisconsin printing company. Today, he serves on the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Board and the Wisconsin Center District Board.
Secretary Huebsch was born in Milwaukee and has been a resident of La Crosse County for the last 40 years. He graduated from Onalaska High School and attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He currently lives in West Salem with his wife, Valerie, and their two children, Ryan and Brett.
