Garey Bies (born 1946) is a politician and former deputy sheriff from Sister Bay, Wisconsin who served as a Republican Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 1st Assembly District from 2001 to 2015. He served as a member of the committees on Natural Resources, Tourism, Recreation, and State Property; Transportation, Veterans and Military Affairs, and as the chair of the Committee on Corrections and Courts.[1]

Garey D. Bies
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 1st district
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byDavid E. Hutchison
Succeeded byJoel Kitchens
Personal details
Born (1946-10-26) October 26, 1946 (age 78)
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children4
Residence(s)Sister Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materNortheast Wisconsin Technical College
ProfessionFormer deputy sheriff
WebsiteOfficial website

Bies was born in Manitowoc, graduated from Lincoln High School, and later earned an associate degree from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.[2] He served in the Navy for five years and worked in law enforcement for 30 years, retiring as chief deputy sheriff of Door County.[2][3]

Bies was first elected to the Assembly in 2000, defeating the Democratic candidate, former State Representative Lary J. Swoboda with 16,132 votes to 12,104 for Swoboda. He was re-elected in each biennial election after that, through 2012.

Bies deplored what he describes as the one-sided lack of civility exhibited by Democrats during the 2011-2012 Assembly sessions.[3] He voted for tax cuts for businesses to attract new businesses to Wisconsin and to encourage the expansion of existing businesses.[3] He says that the purpose of government is to "lay the rules down to protect the people".[3]

In 2014, rather than seek re-election, Bies chose to seek the Republican nomination for Wisconsin Secretary of State. He lost in the Republican primary of August 12, 2014, with 75,340 votes (35%) to 138,734 votes (65%) for Julian Bradley.[4] He was succeeded in the Assembly by Republican Joel Kitchens, who defeated Democrat Joe Majeski in the 2014 general election.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "State Rep. Garey Bies Committee Assignments".
  2. ^ a b Garey Bies (Rep.), 1st Assembly District Archived 2013-12-20 at the Wayback Machine, Wisconsin Blue Book 2011-2012, Chapter 1, Biographies, p. 21.
  3. ^ a b c d Bluhm, Warren. "Bies, Veeser spar on issues", Green Bay Press Gazette, October 19, 2012.
  4. ^ "Election Results: Secretary of State GOP Primary" WTMJ-TV website; August 13, 2014 Archived August 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Jensen, Rich. "Kitchens Wins Republican First District Assembly Primary Race" doorcountydailynews.com August 12, 2014
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