Former state Sen. Lena Taylor sworn in as Milwaukee County judge

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Former state Senator Lena Taylor is now a Milwaukee County circuit judge after her swearing in ceremony at the Milwaukee County Courthouse Monday, Jan. 29.

She takes the position formerly held by Judge Audrey Skwierawski, who resigned to become state court administrator. Taylor will preside over misdemeanor cases that aren't related to domestic violence. 

Taylor was first elected to the state Assembly in 2003 following a special election. She was then elected to the state Senate in 2004 and has represented Milwaukee at the Capitol for more than 20 years. 

Taylor, who also had a private practice as a lawyer, said she felt the time was right to focus all of her attention on the courtroom.

"At some point, being able to have the opportunity as a lawyer to go back to my roots, the place I started in the Milwaukee courthouse, was always something that I wanted to do," Taylor said. 

Governor Tony Evers will now call a special election to fill her Senate seat this spring. 

Taylor said Evers had asked whether she was interested in a possible judicial appointment shortly after he was first elected governor in 2018.

"The governor spoke to me about whether or not I wanted to become a judge right after he got elected [five] years ago," Taylor said. "But at that time, I told him it was something I wanted to do, just not then."

As a circuit court judge, Taylor will get a big raise, at least in terms of what she's paid by taxpayers. Wisconsin circuit court judges earn a salary of $164,487 while members of the Legislature are paid $57,408.

Taylor said money played no role in her decision to apply for a judgeship.

"If money was a factor, I probably would've never ran for office," she said. "I made five times what I [made as a lawmaker] as a lawyer."

Taylor had been eyeing a seat outside the Legislature in recent years. She ran unsuccessfully for Milwaukee mayor in 2020 and 2022. She also dropped out of the race for lieutenant governor in 2022, and she lost a race for Milwaukee municipal judge last spring.

Taylor said her proudest accomplishment as a lawmaker was her work on bills aimed at improving the reentry process for people being released from incarceration. She said, as a judge, she'd tap into her knowledge of those programs to hopefully get small-time criminals on the right track.

"I hope to use my courtroom in a way that can be that kind of resource for people," she said. "But people will have to be accountable for their behavior."