Pedro Colón

Pedro A. Colón (born April 7, 1968) is an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based 2nd district since November 2023. He previously served 13 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, and prior to his judicial service, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for six terms, representing the 8th Assembly district from 1999 to 2010. He was the first Latino elected to the Wisconsin Legislature, and now the first Latino to judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Background
Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, April 7, 1968, Colón grew up on the South Side of Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee's Thomas More High School. He received his B.A. in political science from Marquette University in 1991, and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1994.

Political history
He was first elected to the State Assembly in 1998, making him the first Latino to be elected a member of either house of the Wisconsin Legislature; he was reelected in the next five elections. He served as vice-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance and of the Judiciary and Ethics Committee.

He briefly ran for Mayor of Milwaukee in 2003, but withdrew, endorsing and becoming co-chair of the campaign for eventual 2004 election winner Tom Barrett. Colón also ran unsuccessfully for Milwaukee city attorney in 2008 against incumbent Grant Langley.

On May 26, 2010, Colón announced that he was not running for re-election in the 2010 general election, and resigned from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission, which he once chaired. The next day, he confirmed that he was applying for a job as the deputy director of legal services at the District, and had resigned to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

Wisconsin circuit judge
In September 2010, Governor Jim Doyle appointed Colón a Wisconsin circuit court judge for Milwaukee County. He was elected to a full term in the April 5, 2011, spring election, and was subsequently re-elected in 2017 and 2023.

Court of Appeals
Just after the 2023 election, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Timothy Dugan announced he would not run for re-election in 2024. Colón announced his campaign to succeed Dugan in May 2023. Dugan subsequently announced he would leave office early, in November 2023. Governor Tony Evers then appointed Colón to succeed Dugan in November to finish out the remaining year of his term. When sworn in, Colón will be the first Latino to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Personal life
He is married to Betty J. Ulmer; they have two daughters, Lily and Julia, and live in Walker's Point. Judge Colón is on the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.