Biography

A passion for protecting, educating, and improving the lives of children brought Alberta Darling to the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1990. She served briefly in the Assembly before being elected in 1992 to the Senate, where she has served since. Her experience and advocacy for children, education and health care has vaulted her onto the state’s most powerful committees, including Joint Finance, the state’s budget writing committee; the Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee; the Education Committee as well as many important Boards and working groups.

Darling is best known for her work in support of education. As a member of the Education Committee, she believes Wisconsin must provide children with a superior learning environment, strong curriculum, and increased opportunities. As Vice-chair of Governor Thompson’s Council on Model Academic Standards she served with a bipartisan coalition who wrote the curriculum guidelines Wisconsin’s schools use today. She was instrumental in the creation of Wisconsin’s Open Enrollment program (statewide school choice); has authored or co-authored nearly every piece of charter school legislation and has aggressively fought to establish and strengthen the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program (MPCP) so the poorest Milwaukee children have the same opportunities as those in the suburbs.  All children need a safe environment to learn, and Darling led the charge for safer schools in Wisconsin. As Chair of the Special Committee on School Discipline and Safety, nearly all of Darling’s recommendations are now law. Darling also wrote the law to create Wisconsin’s EdVest Program and serves (since 1999) as Chair of the State’s College Savings Program board.

Recognized as a determined advocate for children, Darling has worked to improve child care for families and providers; to promote adoption and foster parenting, especially for children-at-risk. She is a longstanding committee member of the Bureau of Milwaukee County Child Welfare, charged with improving permanency for Milwaukee’s children. She has also actively supported full-funding of the Birth-to-3 program which serves young children with developmental disabilities.

Darling understands that building strong communities requires ensuring our streets are safe. Darling authored Wisconsin’s Sexual Predator and Community Notification Laws which paved the way for sexual predator legislation across the nation. She also authored Wisconsin’s law to protect children from abusive clergy. These landmark laws, along with her work on behalf of victims’ rights, have earned her a reputation as a crime-fighting legislator.

Darling knows that to keep Wisconsin moving forward requires reducing the tax burden on families and businesses and keeping government spending within taxpayer’s ability to pay. She has a consistent record of cutting taxes and authored spending cap legislation on state government. As Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Finance (JFC), Darling succeeded in passing a state budget 03-05 that cut state government a record-breaking 27.5%, cut our structural deficit by nearly half, and contained the lowest increase in spending on record in twenty years. She has served on the JFC, considered the nation’s most powerful budget writing committee, since 1999. She also currently serves on Wisconsin Center District, a government body created in 1994 to fund, build and operate the Midwest Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee, and continue operating the existing venues now called the U.S. Cellular Arena and Milwaukee Theatre.

Darling thinks high taxes are one of the reasons why seniors leave Wisconsin and has fought to provide incentives for them to stay. She supports exempting social security from the state’s income tax, is the author of Wisconsin’s health savings account legislation (HSA) modeled after federal law, and has advocated for two consecutive state budgets that make no reductions in SeniorCare, the state’s prescription drug assistance program. She supports efforts to enact and enhance price transparency among health care providers, so seniors and all consumers have the information necessary to purchase high-quality, affordable health care.     

Darling’s active spirit is evident in her many years of community service. Prior to serving in the Wisconsin State Legislature, Darling was a secondary English teacher and an avid community volunteer. Darling founded Today’s Girls/Tomorrow’s Women and has served on numerous charitable boards, including; United Way, Junior League, Tempo, Future Milwaukee, Greater Milwaukee Committee, YMCA and the American Red Cross.

Alberta and husband Dr. Bill Darling have been married for 36 years. They have two children, Liza and Will. Darling graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Secondary Education and has done graduate work in English at UW-Milwaukee and in Learning Disabilities at Cardinal Stritch University.

Blue Book Information

	Senator Darling was born in Hammond, Ind., April 28th, 1944. She is married to Dr. William Darling.  They have two wonderful children: William and Liza; and two grandchildren.
	Senator Darling graduated from Richwood H.S., in Peoria, Ill.; and then received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1966.  Senator Darling did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1972-74.
	Senator Darling is a Full-time legislator. She is a former teacher and marketing director.
	Senator Darling is a member of: League of Women Voters; Rotary of Menomonee Falls; Junior League of Milwaukee (former pres.); Today's Girls/Tomorrow's Women/Boys Girls Club (founder); Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures Host Com., Milwaukee 1995 (co-chp.); NCSL Education Com. (chp.).
	Senator Darling is a former member of: Public Policy Forum, Shared Delivery Service Com.; Next Door Foundation Adv. Com.; Tempo Professional Women's Organization; Alverno College Comn. on Education in the 21st Century; Wis. Strategic Planning Council for Economic Development, Small Business Task Force of Wis.; Greater Milwaukee Com.; Goals for Greater Milwaukee 2000 Project (exec. com.); United Way (exec. com. dir. and chm. of Allocations Div.); Future Milwaukee (pres.); Milwaukee Forum; Children's Service Soc. of Wis. (bd. of dir.); American Red Cross of Wis. (exec. com., bd. of dir.).
	Senator Darling is a recipient of the: Fair Air Coalition Friend of Education; Metropolitan Milwaukee Assn. of Commerce Champion of Commerce; Wis. Head Start Directors Assn. Award of Excellence; Future Milwaukee Leadership Award; National Assn. of Community Leadership Award; United Way Gwen Jackson Leadership Award; ESHAC Governor's Service Award; William Steiger Award for Human Service; St. Francis Children's Center Children Service Award; Riverwest Effective State Leadership Award; Milwaukee Civic Alliance Community Leadership Award; American Marketing Assn. Marketer of the Year. Listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Women.
	Elected to Assembly in May 1990 special election; reelected November 1990; elected to Senate 1992; reelected 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.