Former Republican assemblyman and lawyer James N. Azim, Jr. was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on January 17, 1936. He grew up in Muscoda, Wisconsin and graduated from St. John's High School. After attending St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and graduated in 1957. He then returned to his home town where he was a history teacher from 1957 through 1963. During this period Azim enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Law School which he attended on a parttime basis, graduating in October, 1965.
Azim began his career in political office with election to the Muscoda village board in 1960. In a special election in 1964, one year before completing his law degree, he won a seat in the Assembly from the 49th District. Although a member of the majority Republican Party, prior to 1970 Azim was a frequent spokesman for the minority, as his views were often more moderate than those of the conservative party leadership. After the Democrats assumed control during the 1971 session, Azim was again a spokesman for the minority, often disagreeing with the more liberal Democratic members of the Assembly. Because of his chairmanship of the Labor Committee in 1971, Azim was well known as a critic of the Lucey administration. Other committee leadership assignments included chairmanship of the Highway Safety Committee and vice-chairmanship of the Assembly Committee on Municipalities. Azim was also a member of the State Building Commission, and because of his background as a teacher, he served on numerous special educational study committees. Azim was deeply interested in environmental and water quality issues, and he served as secretary of the Blue River Watershed Associations and was a member of Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Waters Commission. He was also secretary of the Committee to Preserve Rural Television and the local Chamber of Commerce. A complete listing of Azim's committee work and civic participation can be found in the Wisconsin Blue Books.
During the 1973 session Azim began to undergo dialysis for kidney disease. Although he required treatment three times per week he was able to keep up with his legislative duties and his law practice. In 1976 Azim underwent kidney transplant surgery and died on June 14, 1976 as a result of complications arising from the operation.
