About
Meet Steve
Steve has been a La Crosse County resident his entire life, a product of our local schools and UW-La Crosse. He learned the value of hard work and financial responsibility at a young age from his parents, Pat and Elaine, who worked several jobs (including owning their own business, –Doyle T.V.) to raise their six children.
Steve’s first introduction to government was through an internship with Congressman Al Baldus in Washington, D.C. in 1980. This lead to an opportunity for Steve to become a full-time member of the Congressman’s staff. In 1981, Steve returned to Wisconsin to attend law school at UW-Madison while working full-time in the State Legislature.
In the late 1980's Steve entered the world of academia, teaching State and Local Government and American Legal System for the UW-La Crosse Political Science Department. He notes that this experience confirmed for him that education is a critical investment in our future. He is thankful for having had the chance to participate in the expansion of many students' minds. It has allowed him to foster numerous relationships with young professionals around the state. Rarely a week goes by that he doesn’t encounter one of the hundreds of his former students.
During his time as a public servant, Steve has come to the realization that government can be either a tool for economic progress or an obstacle to it. That is why Steve wholeheartedly believes that the key to achieving goals is through cooperation, collaboration, and innovation. His tenure as County Board Chair focused on this approach -- whether it was La Crosse County working with another county, or with one of our municipalities or with the private sector. La Crosse County has proven that collaboration can save tax dollars, create private sector jobs, and make our community a better place to live.
As well as serving on the County Board, Steve is also an experienced small business owner, educator, and published author. He and his wife Gloria partnered in 1988 to create a successful law firm in La Crosse while at the same time starting a family. Since then, Gloria was elected Judge, and Steve became a partner at Johns, Flaherty & Collins, SC. One area of law in which Steve has focused greatly on has been mediation. As a trained mediator, Steve works to help people find common ground and mutually beneficial resolutions to their disputes, a skill that serves him well in the State Legislature.