Everett Bidwell

Everett Bidwell
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 27th district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byWalter E. Terry
Succeeded byRussell Feingold
Personal details
Born(1899-10-22)October 22, 1899
Houston, Minnesota
DiedJanuary 7, 1991(1991-01-07) (aged 91)
Portage, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican

Everett V. "Cy" Bidwell (October 22, 1899 – January 7, 1991) was a Wisconsin politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin Senate, serving the 27th District of Wisconsin.[1]

Early life

Born in a log cabin in Houston, Minnesota, on October 22, 1899, Bidwell was the eldest of seven children.[2] He was raised on a small farm, and at the age of sixteen was left with his father to raise the family when his mother died. Bidwell attended the University of Minnesota and served on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors for ten years. He was a farmer and an ice cream manufacturer.

Career

A member of the Republican Party, Bidwell was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1953 to 1967 and served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1971 to 1983.

During his years in the Wisconsin State Legislature, Bidwell earned the reputation as an "Irishman with a short fuse and an inability to carry a grudge for very long."[2]

While serving in the State Senate, Bidwell was the oldest serving legislator in the state.[3] As a Wisconsin state senator, Bidwell served as the chairman of the Committee on industry, labor, taxation, and banking and the Senate Committee on Commerce during the 1970s.[4]

Bidwell was defeated for reelection by future United States Senator Russell Feingold.[5] On the November 2, 1982 Senate Election day against Russ Feingold, Bidwell was declared the winner by a 19 vote margin.[5] The recount started the day after the election and continued for three weeks. Two days after the election, Sauk County, Wisconsin, uncovered 64 votes for Feingold that had not been counted on election night.[6] Over forty additional votes for Feingold were also found on a broken voting machine in a North Madison school. The lead see-sawed back and forth until the very end. When all the votes had been recounted, in what was considered a major Republican Party of Wisconsin upset, Feingold defeated Bidwell by just 31 votes.[5][6]

Death

Bidwell died at Divine Savior Hospital in Portage, Wisconsin, on January 7, 1991, from unspecified causes.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Bidwell, Everett V." Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society.
  2. ^ a b Hannah, Steve (November 22, 1981). "Bidwell outlasts opponents". Milwaukee Journal. p. 18.
  3. ^ Friederich, Charles E. (August 11, 1981). "Blue Book may not tell whole truth". Milwaukee Journal. p. 5. [...] the oldest sitting legislator, Sen. Everett Bidwell (R-Portage).[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Everett V. Bidwell". The state of Wisconsin 1975 blue book. 1975. p. 74.
  5. ^ a b c Frommer, Frederic J. (October 27, 2004). "Uphill battles help define Feingold's career". Chippewa Herald. Associated Press.
  6. ^ a b "WI Senate 27". Our Campaigns web site.
  7. ^ "Everett V. Bidwell Former state senator". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 7, 1991. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate
for the 27th district
1971–1983 		Succeeded by