Background
Lassa, Julie M. was born on October 21, 1970 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States.
Lassa, Julie M. was born on October 21, 1970 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States.
Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Lassa graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High School and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Surgery in political science and public administration from UW-Stevens Point in 1993.
She served as the executive director of the Plover Area Business Association and as the chair of the Portage County Democratic Party. She successfully ran in 2003 for the Wisconsin State Senate and continues to serve there. She is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and the Chair of the Special Committee on Performance-Based Disease Management Programs for Large Population.
2011 Wisconsin protests
During the protests in Wisconsin, Lassa, along with the 13 other Democratic State Senators, left the state to deny the State Senate a quorum on Governor Scott Walker"s controversial "Budget Repair" legislation.
Lassa ran against Republican nominee Sean Duffy for Wisconsin"s 7th congressional district, held by retiring Dave Obey. She was endorsed by Mike Tate, the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Duffy defeated Lassa with a strong showing in the November 2010 general election.
She previously was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 71st District from 1998 through 2003. Lassa is a member of the Heart of Wisconsin Business and Economic Alliance, Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business and Professional Women, and the Portage County, Wisconsin Business Council. Lassa was elected as a member of the Dewey Town Board from 1993 to 1994.
Lassa served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1998 through 2003.
She also serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Children and Families and Workforce Development, Senate Committee on Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief and Revenue, Senate Committee on Finance, Joint Committee on Finance, and the Special Committee on Review of State School Aid Formula.