Background
Vukmir, Leah was born on April 26, 1958 in Milwaukee.
Vukmir, Leah was born on April 26, 1958 in Milwaukee.
Vukmir received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Marquette University in 1980, and a Master of Science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 where she specialized in child development and primary care treatment of children.
She previously served in the Wisconsin Assembly, representing the 14th District from 2002 through 2011. Vukmir was first elected in November 2002, succeeding Scott Walker (R), who was elected in a special election as Milwaukee County Executive. Vukmir announced on June 25, 2009 that she was challenging incumbent Democratic State Senator Jim Sullivan for the 5th district seat in 2010.
The race attracted large amounts of out-of-state campaign contributions, and only 14% of Vukmir"s donors were residents of Wauwautosa.
On November 2, 2010, Vukmir defeated Sullivan for reelection. She was succeeded in her Assembly seat by fellow Republican Dale Kooyenga.
Vukmir opposes medical marijuana and has said that there is no medical reason to use lieutenant At a public hearing in 2009, she was booed after accusing fellow legislators Jon Erpenbach and Mark Pocan of using dying cancer patients to further a secret agenda of legalization.
She is currently (2015) on the Board of Directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
In June 2013, the Center for Media and Democracy sued Vukmir, contending she had violated Wisconsin"s open records law by not turning over records related to her involvement with ALEC. Vukmir responded by claiming she cannot be sued while in office.
She was the ranking member of the Assembly’s Committee on Health and Health Care Reform. She was also a member of the committees on Public Health, Education Reform, Education and Criminal Justice.
Married George Vukmir. Children: Elena, Nicholas.