Executive Resume

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk is the chief elected official for Dane County in south central Wisconsin. The County Executive is elected on a countywide basis and charged with leading and managing Dane County government.

Dane County has a population of over 475,000 and is the second largest county in Wisconsin by population and the third largest by geography; it has 60 different local governments including towns, villages, and cities. Its county seat is Madison and it is the home of both Wisconsin’s state capitol as well as the world famous University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison and Dane County are consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the USA!

The annual budget for Dane County is approximately $460 million, funding programs across 30 different departments. Dane County provides a wide range of services for citizens, including, but not limited to:

• Human services such as assistance to the elderly, children, and persons with disabilities, and W-2 welfare to work
• Environmental protection, land conservation, planning and zoning
• Highways and the airport
• Parks, the zoo, and landfill management
• Sheriff’s department and jail operation
• District Attorney, courts and court services, and
• Veterans’ assistance, and 911 emergency management services

County Executive Falk’s top three policy goals target good land use, kids and families, and management efficiency.

Ms. Falk’s record reflects her commitment to sustaining the excellent quality of life in Dane County. When she proposed setting up a Conservation Fund to preserve precious land and streams forever, an overwhelming 75% of county voters agreed with her in a countywide referendum, dedicating $30 million over 10 years for preserving special places in the county. In 2002, she received a Community Open Space Partnership Green Ribbon Award for this initiative that “enhances economic vitality, sustains natural systems, connects people to the natural world, and increases individual and community wellbeing.”

Ms. Falk is dedicated to providing quality programs that improve the lives of families, youth, the disabled and the elderly. She has created new Youth Resources Centers, expanded elderly nutrition programs, provided care and innovative programs for developmentally disabled children and adults, started a home visitation program for families with infants, and invested in programs that help families overcome drug and alcohol problems.

Ms. Falk’s strong fiscal management policies have repeatedly earned Dane County the coveted Triple A bond rating—one of only two counties in the state to have a AAA rating. Her self-imposed, long-standing commitment to limit levy increases to no more than the combined rate of population and inflation keeps a lid on tax increases. And she has met that goal, in part, by making county government more efficient throughout agency consolidations and cost efficient innovations.

Prior to her election in April, 1997, and re-election in 2001 and 2005, Ms. Falk served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Wisconsin Department of Justice from 1983-1997. For most of those years (1983-1995), Ms. Falk was also Wisconsin’s Public Intervenor. She was statutorily authorized to take a full range of legal actions to protect the public’s rights in natural resources.

From 1977 to 1983, Ms. Falk was the Co-Director and General Counsel of Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, a statewide nonprofit citizens’ environmental protection organization. In this capacity, Ms. Falk won nationally significant litigation to protect citizens’ rights in utility rate cases.

Ms. Falk has received many awards for her effective advocacy for citizens. She received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in 1976 and a B.A. degree in Philosophy from Stanford University in 1973. Born in the City of Milwaukee, she grew up in Waukesha County and has lived in Madison since 1973. In 2002, Ms. Falk was a candidate for Governor in the Democratic primary, the first major party woman candidate for Governor in Wisconsin history. Ms. Falk is married to Peter Bock, and is the proud mother of a 27-year old son, Eric.