{{short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} '''Richard J. "Rick" Phelps''' is an American politician from [[Wisconsin]]. Phelps served as [[Dane County, Wisconsin]] [[County Executive]] for nine years.
==Background== Phelps received his bachelor's degree and law degrees from the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120908013627/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/background/jan-june96/welfare_biographies.html Richard J. Phelps]</ref><ref>[http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/104284204.html Rick Phelps Endorses Joe Parisi]</ref>
==Dane County Executive== In 1988, Phelps ran in a special election for the office of Dane County, Wisconsin County Executive against [[Joe Wineke]]. Phelps defeated Wineke and then served as Dane County Executive 1988-1997 replacing [[Jonathan B. Barry]] who resigned. Phelps was the executive director of the Wisconsin Public Defenders at the time of his election serving from 1983 to 1988. After he left office, Phelps served as senior vice president of M&I Bank.<ref>[http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=22074 The Pol vs. The Exec]</ref><ref>County Executive Rick Phelps, ''Wisconsin State Journal'', January 25, 1996</ref>
==Wisconsin Democratic Primary Congressional Election of 1998== In 1998, Phelps lost a race for the Democratic Party nomination for [[WI-02]], finishing second in a four-way primary to [[Tammy Baldwin]], who went on to win the House seat being vacated by retiring Republican Representative [[Scott Klug]].<ref>''Wisconsin Blue Book'', 1999-2000, p. 859.</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Richard J.}} [[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni]] [[Category:Wisconsin lawyers]] [[Category:Dane County executives]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
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