Chief Clerk History

Legislative bodies have always needed someone to record their activities and handle administrative duties. The profession of chief clerk dates back to 1363 when Robert de Melton was Clerk of the House of Commons. The first clerk in the United States dates back to 1619 when John Twine was Clerk of the House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia. Today, the legislative bodies in every state have a record-keeping and administrative officer referred to either as a "Chief Clerk" or "Secretary".

In Wisconsin, the importance of a chief clerk is recognized in the Wisconsin Constitution which was ratified by a vote of the people in 1848. Article XIII, Section 6 of the Wisconsin Constitution states that "the elective officers of the legislature, other than the presiding officers shall be a chief clerk and a sergeant at arms, to be elected by each house." The first session of the Wisconsin Legislature convened in Madison on June 5, 1848. Daniel N. Johnson was the first Chief Clerk to serve in the Assembly.

Since Wisconsin's admission to the union as the 30th state, 39 men and 1 woman (Joanne M. Duren from 1983-1987) have served as Chief Clerk of the Assembly. C.E. Shaffer had the longest tenure as Chief Clerk, serving from 1907-1933. John A. Scocos is the only person to serve as both of the elected officers named in the Wisconsin Constitution. Mr. Scocos held the position of Assembly Sergeant at Arms from 1995-1997 and Assembly Chief Clerk from January 2001 until he resigned on March 15, 2002.

Many chief clerks also were elected members of the Assembly at one time, either prior to or after their service as chief clerk. However, two Assembly Chief Clerks also served terms as Speaker of the Assembly. Norman C. Anderson, Chief Clerk for the 1959-1960 session of the Assembly, was elected Speaker of the Assembly in January 1972 and served as Speaker until January 1977. Robert G. Marotz was elected Speaker for the 1957-1958 session and later served as Chief Clerk for the 1961-1962 session.

Most notably, one Assembly Chief Clerk was later elected governor. George Wilbur Peck, well-known newspaperman, humorist and author, served as Chief Clerk for the 1874 session. Later, in 1890 he was elected mayor of the city of Milwaukee and, in that same year, was elected governor of the state of Wisconsin. He served two two-year terms as governor form 1891-1895.