RACINE, Wis. — Former Wisconsin State Sen. George Petak died Tuesday at the age of 75, his son said.
“My Dad certainly fought the good fight and finished his race well,” Petak’s son Brian Petak wrote on Facebook. “What a legacy he has left for all of us.”
Petak, a Racine-area Republican, represented the 21st Senate District from 1991 to 1996. He was the deciding vote on the 1995 bill that secured funding for what would become Miller Park, ensuring the Brewers would stay in Milwaukee. The bill also raised sales taxes in the five counties around Milwaukee, including Racine County.
The move cost Petak his job, as he lost in a recall vote in 1996. He was the first Wisconsin state legislator to be removed via the recall. Then-Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Petak as deputy director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority after the election loss.
Gov. Tony Evers issued a statement, calling Petak a “man of faith, courage and principle.”
“He truly had a servant’s heart, always leading with empathy and integrity to give back and do more for others,” Evers said. “Kathy and I join the people of Wisconsin in mourning the loss of Sen. Petak and offer our sincerest sympathies to his wife, kids, loved ones, and the many whose lives he touched.”