Risser, who even as a nonagenarian says he has never ridden a Capitol elevator — preferring instead to take the stairs — was a rock for many amid the shifting sands of Wisconsin politics.
Master tactician
“This is a generational shift,” said Stuart Levitan, a local historian, author and former Dane County Board supervisor who ran against Risser in 1996. “This is the longest-serving legislator in American history stepping down. That’s a big deal.”
It’s now been almost a quarter-century since Levitan ran against Risser with a “pass the torch” slogan. And just as he was doing then, Risser around his birthday continues to bike a mile for every year he’s lived.
Levitan said Risser carries a legacy of being a strong supporter of abortion rights, a “fierce foe” of smoking and the state lottery, and a successful minority leader and master of parliamentary tactics who “could tie the Republican majority up in knots.”
Still, Levitan said Risser’s record-setting time in the Legislature had its downsides, denying people from one of the most politically engaged Senate districts in the state a chance to take up the mantle.
“There has been a full generation, maybe two, that have aged out,” Levitan said.
A life’s calling
Risser said he chose to remain a state senator for so long simply out of enjoyment.
“I’ve always enjoyed representing people,” Risser said. “I always knew from the time that I was born that I would be involved in some type of political service. I was honored that the people of this district allowed me to serve that long.”
Risser’s family, too, has had an influential role in the politics of the state. Risser is the fourth generation in his family to represent the Madison area in the Wisconsin Legislature. His father, Fred E. Risser, was the last Progressive member of the state Senate, his grandfather was a Progressive Republican and served in the Assembly, and his great-grandfather, elected as a Unionist, served in both the state Senate and Assembly.
Risser never ran for elected office outside the Legislature, except for a brief time when he considered running for Congress if Bob Kastenmeier, a Democrat who represented Wisconsin’s 2nd District from 1959 to 1991, had stepped down earlier.