Biography/History

James S. Haney, Neenah, Wisconsin paper company executive, lawyer, and Republican partisan, was born on January 10, 1945 in Amery, Wisconsin, the son of Alvin Monroe and Verna M. Haney. He graduated from Amery High School as co-salutatorian in 1963, having spent his junior year as an American Field Service Exchange Student in Denmark. Haney received a B.A. degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1967. While at the university, Haney was a senator of the Wisconsin Student Association, 1965-1966; chairman of the University of Wisconsin Young Republicans (UWYR), 1966; a member of the Wisconsin Union Forum Committee, 1966; and a member of the Student-Faculty Committee on the Selective Service System, 1966. He earned a Doctor of Law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School between 1967 and 1972. During part of those years, from June 1966 through December 1968, he was a part-time aide to Governor Warren P. Knowles. He also participated in the Student Bar Association, 1967-1972; served in the Army as a military personnel specialist, February 1969 to September 1970; and was a faculty member at Madison Business College, January 1972 to March 1974. Following graduation from law school, Haney was associated with the Smith and Schultz law firm in Madison until March 1974 when he became public affairs director for the Bergstrom Paper Company in Neenah. In August 1976, Haney also accepted the position of assistant secretary of Bergstrom Paper Company.

Haney's active participation in politics began in 1959 when he founded the first teenage Republican organization in Wisconsin. This Polk County (Amery) group was active through the 1960 presidential election. As noted above, Haney remained immersed in Republican and campus politics through his years at the university. Before moving to Winnebago County in 1974, Haney was chairman for one year of the Dane County Republican Party, and more recently has been chairman of the New Republican Conference, which was organized in the mid-1970s to recruit moderate Republican candidates and to develop Republican alternatives in Wisconsin.

Haney married Ann Jansen Nelson on August 21, 1976. He has one son, Eric, by his first wife, Camille.

Organizations With Which Haney Affiliated

• American Bar Association, 1972-present
• American Paper Institute, Wisconsin Coordinator, State and Local Government Relations, 1975-present
• Bergstrom Paper Company Management Club Member, 1974-present
• Capitol Community Citizens, 1973-1976
• Citizen Advisory Committee to Senate Commerce Committee, 1975-present, Subcommittee on the Wisconsin Paper Industry
• Dane County Bar Association, 1972-1974
• Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, Director and Member of Executive Committee, 1976-present
• Junior Achievement Advisor, 1974-1975
• Madison Urban League, 1973-1974
• National Wildlife Federation, 1974-present
• Neenah-Menasha Chamber of Commerce, Director, 1974-1976
• Neenah-Menasha GOP Membership Chairman, 1975-present
• Republican Party of Dane County, Chairman, 1973-1974
• University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, life member
• University of Wisconsin Union, life member Winnebago County Bar Association, 1974-present
• Winnebago County Republican Party, Executive Committee, 1974-present
• Winnebago County Solid Waste Management Board Member, 1975-present
• Wisconsin Association of Manufacturers and Commerce, Member, Environment Committee, 1974-present
• Wisconsin Bar Association, 1972-present
• Wisconsin Paper Council, Chairman, Government Relations Committee, 1974-present