Fond du Lac-area Senate candidate convicted in 2005 of writing bad checks

The Democrat and first-time political candidate Michael Rapp wrote the checks to Walmart when he was homeless and in need, he said.

By Peter Cameron and Sammie Garrity, THE BADGER PROJECT

A Democratic candidate for state Senate pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors nearly 20 years ago for writing several bad checks to Walmart.

Michael Rapp, now living in unincorporated Van Dyne in Fond du Lac County, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $516 fine and more than $1,700 in restitution, according to court documents.

He also pleaded no contest in 2007 to one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

“It’s a pretty simple explanation,” Rapp wrote in an email to The Badger Project. “In 2005, I was down on my luck and living out of my car for a while and to get by I wrote a few bad checks. I knew it was illegal, but I did what I had to do to get by. I served probation and paid restitution for that.”

“In 2007, my probation officer found a few marijuana pipes of mine,” he continued. “No big deal!!”

Rapp was in his early 20s at the time. Now 41, he says he is the sole owner-operator of a pest control company. He is married with two children, according to his campaign website.

The Badger Project found the misdemeanors while conducting background checks on all 2024 candidates for the Wisconsin State Legislature.

A person who has been convicted of a felony can not run for political office in Wisconsin, according to a 1996 amendment to the state constitution.

Rapp is running against state Sen. Dan Feyen, a Republican from Fond du Lac seeking his third, 4-year term. Both candidates are running in the newly-shaped 20th Senate District, which stretches from the bottom of Lake Winnebago in the north through West Bend to the south and ends at the shores of Lake Michigan. The districts for the Wisconsin State Legislature were redrawn after the state Supreme Court ruled the old maps were an unconstitutional gerrymander that gave too much advantage to the Republicans who drew them.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CANDIDATES ON ISSUES

Rapp is running on “fair tax policies that address income inequality and closing loopholes that allow the wealthiest individuals and corporations to avoid contributing their fair share,” according to his website.

He also mentions “lowering the tax burden on middle-class families and ensuring that we do all that we can to address the soaring costs of housing, childcare, and healthcare.”

Feyen is running on “smaller, smarter state government” and lowering taxes, according to his website.

On education, Rapp said he prioritizes “increasing teacher salaries, equip(ing)) our classrooms with the necessary resources teachers need to succeed, and ensur(ing) that public tax dollars are spent at public schools.”

Feyen emphasizes “supporting ALL of our educational systems,” including technical schools and apprenticeships to help small businesses fill open positions.

The state senator also touts his support for “Wisconsin helping secure our southern border,” an issue that is the responsibility of the federal government, not state governments.

And Feyen calls himself “100% Pro-Life” and promises “to fight any attack on your Second Amendment rights.”

The current salary for a state legislator in Wisconsin is $57,408 per year.

Rapp advocates expanding Medicare in Wisconsin, which would result in billions of federal dollars coming to the state to cover healthcare for some lower-income residents, but which the Republican-controlled Legislature has rejected for more than a decade.

The election is Tuesday, November 5. Anyone eligible to vote in Wisconsin can register that day at the polls.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.