Summary Information
Carl Otte Papers 1970-1986
Milwaukee Mss 124; PH 3910; PH 3911
7.8 c.f. (20 archives boxes) and photographs
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Papers, mainly 1983-1986, of a former Democratic legislator (Assembly 1967-1982; Senate, 1982-1986) consisting of alphabetical subject files and files on problems of individual constituents. The subject files contain correspondence and memoranda from constituents, colleagues, advocacy groups, and staff members; speeches and statements; policy papers and reports; minutes; and clippings. They relate to legislative issues such as education, nursing homes, and taxes and to committees on which Otte served including the Senate Transportation Committee, the Migrant Labor Council, and the Legislative Council's Special Committee on Primary Prevention. English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil00124 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Carl Otte, former Democratic legislator from Wisconsin, was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on June 24, 1923. He attended Sheboygan Christian School and graduated from Central High School, also in Sheboygan. From 1943 to 1945 he served in the 478th Ordnance Evaluation Company in Europe. In 1949 Otte married the former Ethel Dorothy Braatz, and they are the parents of four children.
Among the Wisconsin legislators of his era Otte was unusual for his strong labor background. During over twenty years as an employee of the Almira Leather Company he was an active member of Local 325 of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America. For several years he was also chairman and a member of the local's negotiating and grievance committees. Also well known for his musical activities, Otte was a member of Local 95 of the American Federation of Musicians, and he represented both locals on the Sheboygan County Central Labor Council. As a member of the council, he served as chairman of the COPE committee.
Otte's background also includes a strong involvement in local government. He served as a member of the Sheboygan Police and Fire Commission and served six years on the Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors (1962-1968).
Otte first sought election to the Wisconsin Assembly in a special election in 1967. Re-elected seven times, he served on numerous committees including several terms on the Joint Finance Committee and three terms as its vice-chair. In 1975 he chaired its subcommittee on nursing home reimbursement. In 1971 he was elected vice-chair of the Committee on Revisions, Repeals, and Uniform Laws. In 1977 he served as vice-chair of the Legislative Council's Special Committee on the Care of the Mentally Ill. During the 1979 and 1981 sessions he served as chairman of the Migratory Labor Council.
Other committee assignments while in the Assembly included the Legislative Council's Special Committee on the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1971); the Joint Legislative Committee to Visit State Property and the Legislative Council's Special Committee on Employe Protection in Business Closings (1973); the Legislative State-Supported Programs Study and Advisory Committee, the Joint Legislative Committee on Institution Closing, the Legislative Council's Alternate Care Placements Study Committee, and the Governor's Committee on Migratory Labor (1975); and the Legislative Council's Special Committee on the UW System Enrollment Funding Formula.
In 1982 Otte was elected to the State Senate. In that house he served as chair of the Transportation Committee and the Legislative Council's Special Committee on Primary Prevention, and he was a member of the Legislative Council's special committees on municipal and collective bargaining laws and on regulation of nursing homes.
In 1986 Otte was defeated in an attempt for reelection in the Democratic primary. Since leaving the Legislature he has worked as a consultant on transportation issues for Gary Goyke and Associates.
Scope and Content Note
The Otte Papers span the years from 1970 through 1986 and cover many legislative issues, but the files are substantial for his four years in the Senate. Even for these years the collection is missing some correspondence, and there are none of the biographical clipping scrapbooks, statements and press releases, district questionnaires, or the other publicity materials commonly created by Wisconsin legislators. (A few of Otte's district newsletters have been added to the collection from the Archives' Political Vertical File.) Some papers dating from Otte's Assembly years are included in the collection, but they are scant. There are also no papers from any of his political campaigns nor any material concerning his role in local government or the labor movement in Sheboygan.
The papers are arranged in two categories: SUBJECT FILES and CONSTITUENT PROBLEMS. Photographs concerning Otte's legislative activities is available in Madison in the Visual Materials holdings. Xeroxed copies are included in the boxes.
The SUBJECT FILES are arranged alphabetically, with a few topics subdivided into more detailed alphabetical categories. Included here is correspondence from constituents, advocacy groups, departmental executives, and other legislators; minutes; reports; notes; proposals; speeches and statements; and clippings. Of special note within the subject files are materials (including photographs) on Otte's chairmanship of the standing committee on transportation (A box of official records of this committee for the 1985-1986 session is catalogued as part of Series 166.) Also useful are Otte's correspondence and minutes pertaining to the Migrant Labor Council, as no similar files for that organization are in archival custody, and his files of correspondence and minutes on the Legislative Council's Special Committee on Primary Prevention.
The constituent correspondence in the subject files has been extensively weeded to remove routine or redundant letters. In many instances Otte's letters were written by a member of his staff, but there is some indication that he reviewed drafts and made notations concerning the desired response. Interaction with staff is one of the most unusual and important aspects of the Otte papers, for staff input in most legislative offices is oral rather than written. Otte's files, however, include numerous lengthy memos on many topics to the senator from staffer Alice O'Connor.
A file containing copies of the correspondence described above refiled alphabetically by name is known from internal evidence to have existed but was not received by the Archives. Despite the absence of easy name access hich this file provided researchers will note many letters from prominent political figures such as Anthony Earl, Robert Kasten, Robert Kastenmeier, William Proxmire, and James Sensenbrenner scattered throughout the files held by the Archives.
The CONSTITUENT PROBLEMS Files chiefly consist of letters from citizens of his district covering a vast array of topics and concerns and related case work. The files are arranged alphabetically by name. Several files (most notably those of Sue Haldane and Bradley Poth) concern prisoners and various problems associated with their parole and welfare.
Administrative/Restriction Information
The deed of gift contains no language concerning transfer of literary rights.
Presented by Carl Otte, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, November 20, 1986. Accession Number: M86-569
Processed by Coleen Wysocki (Intern-1989) and Carolyn J. Mattern.
Contents List
|
Series: Subject Files
|
|
Milwaukee Mss 124
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Abortion, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Agriculture, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
American Motors, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
Animal inhumanity, 1979-1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
Appointments, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Arts bills, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
Autocap, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
Bed & breakfasts, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Biographical information, 1968-1981, n.d.
|
|
Box
1
Folder
10
|
Cable television, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
11
|
Chiropractors, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12
|
Coast Guard, 1985
|
|
Box
1
Folder
13
|
Community Housing Alternative Program, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
14
|
Comparable Worth, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
15
|
Congratulatory letters, 1977-1986
|
|
Box
1
Folder
16
|
Contract bidding, 1984-1985
|
|
|
Corrections
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
General, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution, 1977-1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Pardons and paroles, 1981-1985
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4
|
Prison alternatives, 1979
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
Prison industries, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Waupun State Prison, 1980-1984
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Crime and law enforcement, 1982-1984
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
Criminal Justice Council, 1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
Dairy farmers, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
Dare care, 1980-1984
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
Dentists, 1985
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12
|
District attorney vacancy-Sheboygan, 1985
|
|
Box
2
Folder
13
|
Dogs, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
2
Folder
14
|
Drinking age, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Drugs, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
Drugs, Generic, 1982-1984
|
|
|
Education
|
|
Box
3
Folder
10
|
Certification, 1985
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
Collective bargaining for UW staff, 1981-1984
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
Education for employment, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
Faculty pay, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
General, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
Higher education, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
3
Folder
8
|
Private schools, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
3
Folder
9
|
Public Instruction budget, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
11
|
School aids, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
12
|
Truancy, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
13
|
University of Wisconsin System, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
14
|
Vocational, Technical and Adult Education, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
15
|
Economy-Wisconsin, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
16
|
Equal Rights Amendment, 1980-1984
|
|
Box
3
Folder
17
|
Flags, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
3
Folder
18
|
Fuel assistance, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Gambling, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2-3
|
General correspondence, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
4
|
“Good people,” 1983-1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Governor's Youth Awards, 1985-1986
|
|
|
Health and Social Services
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Aging, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
7
|
Aid to Families with Dependent children, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
8
|
Alcohol and drug abuse, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
9
|
Budget amendments, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
10
|
Child abuse, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
11
|
Child support, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
12
|
Community aids funding, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
13
|
Community Options Program, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
14
|
County Home Rule, 1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
15
|
Developmentally disabled centers, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
4
Folder
16
|
General, 1983-1986
|
|
|
General relief
|
|
Box
4
Folder
17
|
Hmong, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
4
Folder
18
|
Welfare, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
Group homes, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2
|
Health departments, 1984
|
|
Box
5
Folder
3
|
Homecraft Program, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Income maintenance, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5
|
Medical assistance, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
5
Folder
6
|
Physicians assistants, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
7
|
Pregnancy Options Committee, 1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
8
|
Public health, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
9
|
Residential care, 1983
|
|
Box
5
Folder
10
|
Superrule-Medicaid, 1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
11
|
Supplementary Security Income, 1982-1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
12
|
Welfare fraud, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
13
|
Women, Infants, and Children Program, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
5
Folder
14
|
Workfare (100 hour rule), 1984-1986
|
|
|
Hospitals
|
|
Box
5
Folder
15
|
General, 1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
16
|
Holy Family Hospital, Manitowoc, 1985
|
|
Box
5
Folder
17
|
Plymouth Hospital, 1985
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
Rate setting, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Regulations, 1985
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
Indians, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
Industry, Labor, and Human Relations, Department of, 1983-1986
|
|
|
Insurance
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5
|
General, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6
|
Health insurance, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
6
Folder
7
|
Liability insurance, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
6
Folder
8-9
|
Mal-practice insurance, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
6
Folder
10
|
Invitations, 1983-1986
|
|
|
Judiciary
|
|
Box
6
Folder
11
|
General, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
Juvenile justice, 1980-1986
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
Public Defender, 1980-1985
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3
|
Salaries, 1983-1985
|
|
|
Labor
|
|
Box
7
Folder
4
|
Almira Tannery, 1983
|
|
Box
7
Folder
5
|
General, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
7
Folder
6-7
|
Unemployment compensation, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
7
Folder
8
|
Wisconsin State Employees Union, 1980-1983
|
|
Box
7
Folder
9
|
Workers' compensation, 1980-1983
|
|
Box
7
Folder
10
|
Letters to the editor, 1983-1986
|
|
|
Local governments
|
|
Box
7
Folder
11
|
Alliance of Cities, 1984
|
|
Box
7
Folder
12
|
Calumet county, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
7
Folder
13
|
Cleveland, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
7
Folder
14
|
General, 1979-1984
|
|
Box
8
Folder
1
|
Glenbeulah, 1977-1984
|
|
Box
8
Folder
2
|
kiel, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
3
|
Manitowoc, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
8
Folder
4
|
Manitowoc County, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
8
Folder
5
|
New Holstein, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
6
|
Plymouth, 1979-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
7
|
Sheboygan, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
8
|
Sheboygan County, 1980-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
9
|
Town hall meetings, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
8
Folder
10
|
Marital property law, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
8
Folder
11
|
Mediation-arbitration, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
8
Folder
12
|
Mental commitment, 1980-1985
|
|
|
Mental health
|
|
Box
8
Folder
13
|
General, 1981-1986
|
|
Box
8
Folder
14
|
Suicide, 1983-1986
|
|
|
Migrant Labor Council
|
|
|
General
|
|
Box
8
Folder
15
|
1983-1984
|
|
Box
9
Folder
1-2
|
1985-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
3
|
Mobile homes, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
9
Folder
4
|
Newsletters, 1978-1984, n.d.
|
|
|
Natural resources
|
|
Box
9
Folder
5
|
Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission, 1974-1983
|
|
Box
9
Folder
6
|
Commercial fishing, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
7
|
Fishermen's Creek, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
8
|
Fishing, 1976-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
9
|
Game wardens-Manitowoc, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
9
Folder
10
|
General, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
11
|
Groundwater, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
9
Folder
12
|
Hazardous waste transport, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
9
Folder
13
|
Hunting, 1976-1986
|
|
Box
9
Folder
14
|
Indian hunting and fishing, 1983
|
|
Box
9
Folder
15
|
Kettle Moraine State Forest, 1982-1984
|
|
Box
10
Folder
1
|
Lake Michigan, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
2
|
Landfill, 1980-1985
|
|
Box
10
Folder
3
|
Septic systems, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
4
|
Sheboygan Harbor, 1979-1985
|
|
Box
10
Folder
5
|
State parks, 1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
6
|
Waste management, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
7
|
Wastewater treatment, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
8
|
Well contamination (Sheboygan), 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
9
|
Nuclear Free Zone, 1983
|
|
|
Nursing homes
|
|
Box
10
Folder
10
|
General, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
11
|
Greendale, 1985
|
|
Box
10
Folder
12
|
Survey process, 1984
|
|
Box
10
Folder
13
|
Obscenity, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
14
|
Office hours, 1985-1986
|
|
PH 3910
|
Photographs
|
|
Milwaukee Mss 124
Box
10
Folder
14a
|
Xeroxed copies of photographs
|
|
|
Primary prevention
|
|
Box
10
Folder
15
|
Correspondence, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
10
Folder
16
|
Early and Periodic Screening Diagnosis & Treatment Program, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
10
Folder
17
|
Family Health Subcommittee, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
1
|
Legislative Council memoranda, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
2
|
Legislative Council recommendations, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
3
|
Meeting summaries and minutes, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
4-5
|
Reports, 1982-1986
|
|
Box
11
Folder
6
|
Senate Bill 281, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
11
Folder
7
|
Senate Bill 282, 1985
|
|
Box
12
Folder
3
|
Resolutions, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
12
Folder
4-5
|
Retirement letters, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
12
Folder
6
|
School correspondence, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
12
Folder
7
|
School Fund, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
12
Folder
8
|
Securities commission, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
12
Folder
9
|
Self-help, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
12
Folder
10-12
|
Speeches, 1970-1986, n.d.
|
|
Box
12
Folder
13
|
State budget, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
12
Folder
14
|
State Fair Park, 1984-1986
|
|
|
Taxes
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
Farmland Preservation Tax Credit, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
2
|
Gas tax, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
3
|
General, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
4
|
Homestead Credit, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
5
|
Income tax, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
6
|
Inheritance tax, 1984
|
|
Box
13
Folder
7
|
Property tax relief, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
8
|
Sales tax, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
9
|
Shared revenue, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
10
|
Social Security, 1985
|
|
Box
13
Folder
11
|
Telephone utilities, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
12
|
Tours in district, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
13
Folder
13
|
Transient merchants, 1986
|
|
|
Transportation Committee
|
|
Box
13
Folder
14
|
Air transportation, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
15
|
All-terrain vehicles, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
13
Folder
16
|
Budget information, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
17
|
Clearinghouse Rules, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
13
Folder
18
|
Corps of Engineers, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
13
Folder
19
|
Emission inspections, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
14
Folder
1
|
Gasohol, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
14
Folder
2--3
|
General, 1983-1984
|
|
PH 3911
|
Grade crossing photographs
|
|
Milwaukee Mss 124
Box
14
Folder
3a
|
Xeroxed copy of photographs
|
|
Box
14
Folder
4
|
Handicapped parking, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
14
Folder
5
|
Hazardous wastes, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
14
Folder
6
|
Highway funding, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
14
Folder
7
|
Highway improvements, 1986
|
|
Box
14
Folder
8-9
|
Highway LS, 1978-1986
|
|
|
Highway 23
|
|
Box
14
Folder
10-11
|
1976-1983
|
|
Box
15
Folder
1-2
|
1984-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
3
|
Highway 28, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
4
|
Insurance, 1982-1985
|
|
Box
15
Folder
5
|
Interstate highways, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
15
Folder
6
|
License plates, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
7
|
Mass transit, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
8
|
Sheboygan survey reports, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
9
|
Motor Vehicle office (Sheboygan), 1985
|
|
|
Railroads
|
|
Box
11
Folder
8
|
Chicago and Northwestern acquisition of Milwaukee Road, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
9
|
Crossing, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
10
|
Issues, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
11
|
Milwaukee Road, 1983-1985
|
|
Box
11
Folder
12
|
New Holstein hearing on abandonment, 1983
|
|
|
Sooline
|
|
Box
12
Folder
1
|
General, 1983-1985
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Box
12
Folder
2
|
Acquisition of Milwaukee Road, 1983-1985
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|
Box
15
Folder
10
|
Road salt, 1984-1985
|
|
Box
15
Folder
11
|
Safety bill, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
15
Folder
12
|
School buses, 1983-1986
|
|
|
Seat belts
|
|
Box
15
Folder
13
|
1984-1985
|
|
Box
16
Folder
1
|
1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
2
|
Sign contract, 1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
3
|
Taylor Drive, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
16
Folder
4
|
Trucking, 1985-1986
|
|
|
Transportation Commission
|
|
Box
16
Folder
5-6
|
Correspondence, 1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
7
|
Public hearing, 1986, July
|
|
Box
16
Folder
8-9
|
Public meetings, 1984-1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
10
|
Tuba, 1983-1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
11
|
Uniform Commercial Code, 1985-1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
12
|
Utilities-Holding companies, 1983-1984
|
|
Box
16
Folder
13
|
Veterans, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
16
Folder
14
|
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, 1985-1986
|
|
|
Series: Constituent Problems, 1977-1986
|
|
Box
17
|
A-H
|
|
Box
18
Folder
1
|
Haldane, Sue, 1977-1985
|
|
Box
18
Folder
2-6
|
I-M
|
|
Box
18
Folder
7
|
Merkel, Dan, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
18
Folder
8
|
Miller, John, 1986
|
|
Box
19
Folder
1-3
|
N-P
|
|
Box
19
Folder
4
|
Poth, Bradley, 1982-1983
|
|
Box
19
Folder
5-8
|
Q-S, 1979-1986
|
|
Box
20
|
T-Z
|
|
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