Is Republican Bob Donovan living in his Wisconsin Assembly district?

Wisconsin state Rep. Bob Donovan refuses to answer whether or not he is living in his district.

The former longtime Milwaukee alderman has been in the state Assembly since 2023, representing Greenfield.

In 2024, when Wisconsin got new maps after the gerrymandered ones were overturned, the GOP lawmaker said he would relocate to the 61st district, still in Greenfield, in order to seek that seat.

But it’s still unclear whether Donovan is living in his new district, as required by state law, and what the arrangement is. Also it’s unclear whether he used campaign funds to pay rent, which is dramatically lower than surrounding units.

According to public records, Donovan owned a home in Milwaukee and Greenfield (outside of the 61st district), but after the legislative boundary lines were redrawn, he began to rent an apartment in the district he was seeking.

According to voter records, Donovan registered to vote from the new apartment, but his wife, Kathleen, voted from the Greenfield residence outside of the district.

Donovan also used his old address for financial reports submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

Dan Bice, the late reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, previously reported on the discrepancy. The newspaper reported a month after his 2024 reelection victory, Donovan began paying himself $850 a month from his campaign account for “staff lodging” at his old house.

But Donovan didn’t have a campaign staffer listed at the time.

“So who was this supposed staffer living at Donovan's out-of-district apartment, and why was he paying the money to himself? Donovan had two legislative employees, but both were paid by the state and have their own places in Oconomowoc and Beaver Dam,” Bice wrote.

“So was Donovan using his campaign account simply to pay off the mortgage for his old, out-of-district house or to cover the rent at his new, in-district apartment?”

After he was caught, Donovan reimbursed his campaign account in February, but apparently forgot to refund his campaign for one month.

If Donovan is residing in the district and his rent is $850, there’s still a question of how the 70-year-old managed to sign a lease with such cheap rent in Greenfield.

The city’s average rent is $1,295, according to Zillow. Also, the cheapest available apartment in his building is listed on the property management’s website for $1,270. According to HUD, the fair market rate for an “efficiency” rental in Milwaukee County is $939.

Donovan didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Milwaukee Courier. Other outlets that covered the discrepancy also note the Republican didn’t respond.

The former south side alderman had past troubles with the law, including a 1992 citation for disorderly conduct for peeking through a hole in a partition between restroom stalls in a men’s room for 10 minutes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

He is seeking reelection against Democrat Ben Brist, an U.S. Army veteran and Harvard graduate.

Rachel La Due, deputy communications director for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said in a statement:

“Bob Donovan and his billionaire-backed campaign is so out-of-touch with Wisconsinites in the 61st Assembly District struggling to afford everyday needs that he thinks they will accept one of two bad realities: either he has access to vastly more affordable housing as a politician than most renters in his district, or he is not actually a resident of the district he is supposed to represent. Voters in the 61st are ready to elect a representative who will fight to lower their costs and property taxes—not someone who can’t even be bothered to live in the district.”