Mary Panzer

Mary E. Panzer (September 19, 1951) is an American banker and politician. A Republican, she served 25 years in the Wisconsin Legislature, including 11 years in the Wisconsin State Senate (1993–2005) and 14 years in the State Assembly (1980–1993). Her father, Frank E. Panzer, was also a member of the Wisconsin State Senate.

Mary E. Panzer
Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
In office January 6, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Russ Decker (acting co-leader) Fred Risser (acting co-leader)
Succeeded by	Dale Schultz
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate
In office January 25, 2000 – January 6, 2003
Preceded by	Michael Ellis
Succeeded by	Jon Erpenbach
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 20th district
In office September 30, 1993 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Donald K. Stitt
Succeeded by	Glenn Grothman
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 4, 1993 – September 30, 1993
Preceded by	Michael A. Lehman
Succeeded by	Glenn Grothman
Constituency	59th district
In office January 7, 1985 – January 4, 1993
Preceded by	Cletus J. Vanderperren
Succeeded by	Carol Owens
Constituency	53rd district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded by	Patricia A. Goodrich
Succeeded by	Marlin Schneider
Constituency	72nd district
In office February 6, 1980 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	James R. Lewis
Succeeded by	Cletus J. Vanderperren
Constituency	53rd district
Personal details
Born	(1951-09-19) September 19, 1951 (age 73) Waupun, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Parent	Frank E. Panzer (father)
Residence	West Bend, Wisconsin
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA)
Profession	banker

Biography

Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Panzer was educated at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, after which she was a banker and worked in the Wisconsin State Legislature.

In 1980, Panzer was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in a special election to replace fellow Republican James R. Lewis (who had been convicted of perjury). (She had almost defeated then-incumbent Lewis in the 1974 Republican primary.) She served until 1993, when she was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in another special election.^[1] Panzer eventually rose to be the majority leader of the senate.

In the Republican primary election in September 2004, Panzer was herself defeated for renomination by her successor in the state assembly, Glenn Grothman, who alleged that she was not sufficiently conservative for the modern-day Republican Party.^[2] Grothman won with a vote of 79% to 21% for Panzer.^[3]