Jon Richards


Jon Richards is an American attorney and former teacher from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served eight terms as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 19th Assembly District from 1999 until 2015. In 2014, Richards sought the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Wisconsin rather than seeking re-election to the Assembly, but was defeated by Susan V. Happ.

Early life and education

Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Richards graduated from Waukesha North High School. Richards received his bachelor's degree from Lawrence University. Before earning his law degree from University of Wisconsin Law School, he attended Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Career

Richards taught English in Japan and volunteered with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. He was a special prosecutor in the Kenosha County district attorney's office before being elected to the Wisconsin State General Assembly, where he has represented the 19th district since 1998. He served as Assistant Minority Leader from 2003–2007.
In October 2013, Richards announced he would run for attorney general in Wisconsin. He came in second in the Democratic primary election of August 2014, with 90,101 votes to 144,369 for Susan Happ, and 42,555 for Ismael Ozanne.