Dick Wagner
Former state Rep. David Clarenbach on Dick Wagner: '[He] was the most decent, caring, gentle man that I’ve known — unusual for an activist, almost unheard of for a politician.'
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan began his political career on the Dane County board in 1991 when Dick Wagner was chair. Pocan says Wagner, an activist, historian, and the first openly gay member of the county board, had an outsize influence on him and countless other young politicians.
“I don’t know if there would be a Mark Pocan or a [U.S. Sen.] Tammy Baldwin or a [Madison Ald.] Mike Verveer if it wasn’t for Dick Wagner,” Pocan said during an Isthmus Facebook live event Tuesday evening.
Wagner died unexpectedly Dec. 12 at 78.
Pocan says Wagner’s influence extended beyond Dane County’s border with his work in the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials, a group he helped co-found in 1985 (now the Victory Institute). With Baldwin, then also a county board supervisor, he hosted the group’s fifth conference in Madison. In the early to mid-’90s, Dane County had more out gay officials than the entire state of California, says Pocan. “A lot of that was because of Dick Wagner; he was a mentor to many around the country, but certainly in our backyard.”
In a statement, Baldwin paid tribute to her mentor. “Dick Wagner was a deeply inspiring person in my life as a role model, mentor and lifelong friend. I may not have ever entered public service if not for the guidance and encouragement he provided me to walk the path he paved. He provided the opportunity for young people like myself and others growing up all over Wisconsin to know that they are not alone and that they stand on the shoulders of people who came before them. Dick lived a life that showed to all of us that history only moves in one direction: Forward. For that, I am forever grateful.”
On the county board Wagner worked to restrain urban sprawl and preserve rural land, improve water quality, and implement noise abatement measures. Another one of Wagner’s mentees, former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who was appointed to the county board in 1987, says Wagner demonstrated how good leaders “handle the heat” when making hard decisions. “He never lost his cool, never returned an insult, but never lost his commitment to the cause.”
Wagner worked for the state of Wisconsin for 33 years in a variety of policy, management and budgetary roles. He also served on many boards and committees, including the Wisconsin Arts Board, Fair Wisconsin, Madison Landmarks Commission, Urban Design Commission and the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.
Joe Tarr
Dick Wagner, chair of Urban Design Commission
Wagner (middle, hand raised), then chair of the Urban Design Commission, leads a tour in 2015 of recently completed projects that had been approved by the committee.
He received a doctorate in American history from UW-Madison in 1971, and in recent years published two books on Wisconsin’s lesbian and gay history, We've Been Here All Along: Wisconsin's Early Gay History and Coming Out, Moving Forward: Wisconsin's Recent Gay History. Wagner also contributed a history column to Our Lives magazine for 14 years, making him the magazine’s longest running contributor, according to publisher Patrick Farabaugh.
Wagner spoke to former Isthmus news editor Joe Tarr in 2019 for a cover story about the publication of We’ve Been Here All Along. For the book, Wagner gained access to the disciplinary records of 50 students accused of homosexuality in the ’40s and ’50s at UW-Madison and found that those caught reacted in two ways. Some responded by accepting treatment and claiming to be “cured” so they could get on with their lives; others reacted defiantly, pushing back against the accusation that they were “sick.”
“You can find gay voices that refuse to internalize it,” Wagner said. “That to me is significant because it’s a sense of their own liberation, their own agency.”
Wagner also told Tarr that he chose the title of his book — We’ve Been Here All Along — to challenge the myth that gay activism started with the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and to show that the gay rights struggle didn’t just occur on the coasts.
“Not all of gay history happened in New York or California,” he said.
In 1982, Wagner worked with David Clarenbach, then a state representative from Madison, on a proposed bill to make it illegal in Wisconsin to discriminate in housing or employment based on sexual orientation. The legislation was modeled on local laws passed by Milwaukee, Madison and Dane County; Wagner was instrumental in passing Dane County's anti-discrimination ordinance and supported Madison's efforts as well.
Clarenbach says it was key that the largest jurisdictions in the state had legitimized similar anti-discrimination laws, but Wagner’s influence went beyond that.
“I don’t think I can overstate the role he played,” says Clarenbach. “He was a strategic advisor par excellence.” Wisconsin’s Gay Rights Law passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus; it was the first such state law in the nation.
Clarenbach, who was friends with Wagner for 50 years, says Wagner hosted countless fundraisers at his home — not all political — and he was a gracious host, for crowds and smaller gatherings. He loved to cook and socialize.
“Dick Wagner was the most decent, caring, gentle man that I’ve known — unusual for an activist, almost unheard of for a politician,” says Clarenbach. “A beautiful soul.”
A celebration of Wagner's life, scheduled for Jan. 8, has been postponed. The rescheduled date has not yet been determined.