Daniel Theno

Who is Daniel Theno?

Daniel O. Theno was a Wisconsin State Senator, city Mayor, state agency administrator, lobbyist before Congress and five state legislatures, local government administrator and executive director of a statewide trade association.

Theno graduated with a BS from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1969. He spent his senior year teaching at the University of Rio Grade do Sol in Porto Alegre, Brazil, under a university fellowship. At UW he was the recipient of the Iron Cross Honor Award as one of the most outstanding graduates of that university. Upon graduation, Theno taught at the Oregon High School for three years before entering politics.

Theno won a special election to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1972 from the 25th District of northern Wisconsin, defeating Ernest J. Korpela. He was re-elected in 1974, 1978, and 1982. In 1986 he was elected to one of two terms as Mayor of his hometown of Ashland, WI.

In 1989 he was selected to be the Director of Intergovernmental Relations for the State of Wisconsin. He subsequently served as Administrator of State and Local Finances in the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.