Andy Gronik

David S. "Andy" Gronik is an American entrepreneur and business executive from the State of Wisconsin. He has been featured in Who's Who In Leading American Executives.[1]

Andy Gronik
Born
David S. Gronik II

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Georgia
OccupationEntrepreneur

Biography

Gronik was born and raised in Glendale, Wisconsin, the son of Anne and David Gronik. Gronik graduated from Nicolet High School in 1975. Gronik attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and received a Bachelor's degree in business administration from the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia in 1979. Gronik founded an appraisal and consulting company that has worked with Wisconsin companies including Harley-Davidson and Kimberly-Clark.[2] Gronik is a member of the Appraisal Institute, American Society of Appraisers, and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Gronik has worked with the World Bank to teach collateral topics to business leaders and bankers in China.

In 2014, Gronik founded consulting firm GroBiz, LLC. In 2016, Gronik founded a nonprofit organization, StageW. Gronik resides in Fox Point, Wisconsin with his wife and two young children.

2018 gubernatorial campaign

In July 2017, Gronik announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to oppose Scott Walker in the 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.[3][4]

In September 2017, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Associated Press reported that court records were revealed to show that Gronik was fired by his father and sued by his former business partner for allegedly fraudulent business practices. In the same month, it was reported that Gronik was paid at least $6.1 million to settle court cases in which he claimed his move into a mold-infested house negatively impacted his personal health and his family's health.[5] Gronik said toxigenic mold and pathogenic bacteria in the house shocked his Crohn's disease out of remission. It was later reported that Gronik's lawyer falsely claimed that he was terminally ill.[6]

On April 19, the Wisconsin Gazette, a statewide LGBT and progressive newspaper, released their endorsement of Andy Gronik stating, "we must ensure the candidate is the one who stands the best chance to win - That candidate is Andy Gronik."[7] In doing so, the Wisconsin Gazette became the first newspaper to formally endorse a candidate in the Democratic Primary of the 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.

On May 12, during the Wisconsin Republican Convention, Gronik spent the weekend interviewing Wisconsinites about their experiences with Scott Walker. In addition to these interviews, he sponsored a mobile billboard to circle the convention center that highlighted Walker's special interest takings.[8] During his time outside the convention, Gronik was heckled during his interviews by convention-goers.

Gronik submitted 3602 signatures to the Wisconsin Election Commission, well over enough for him to be included on the ballot.[9] The Republican Party submitted a complaint alleging that thousands of these signatures had been collected by felons and were thus ineligible.[10] Gronik responded, stating that while these collectors had committed felonies in the past, they had served their time and were eligible to collect signatures. Further, he stated that in articulating these complaints, the Republican Party was being "offensively racist" by assuming that because the majority of his signatures were from the urban Milwaukee area, that they were felons.[11] The Wisconsin Election Commission reviewed Gronik's signatures, found that they were valid and then struck down the Republican Party's challenge by voting unanimously to place Gronik on the ballot.[12]

References
  1. Benson, Charles (2017-07-12). "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gronik calls for better job creation". TMJ4. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  2. "Our Leadership Team | StageW". stagew.org. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  3. "Democratic businessman Andy Gronik to challenge Gov. Scott Walker". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. Ekdahl, Jake. "Gronik makes his case for governor". Wiscnews.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Democrat Gronik's past business dealings haunting campaign". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  6. "Bice: Governor candidate Andy Gronik received $6.1 million after making serious health claims". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. "Andy Gronik has the right stuff to defeat Walker". Wisconsin Gazette. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  8. Times, Jessie Opoien | The Capital. "At convention, Wisconsin Republicans defiant against talk of a 'blue wave' in 2018". madison.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  9. "Wisconsin Election Commission Report" (PDF).
  10. Times, Jessie Opoien | The Capital. "Andy Gronik campaign calls Wisconsin Republicans' signatures challenge 'offensively racist'". madison.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  11. Times, Jessie Opoien | The Capital. "Andy Gronik campaign calls Wisconsin Republicans' signatures challenge 'offensively racist'". madison.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  12. Press, Associated. "The Latest: Elections panel puts Gronik on ballot". Retrieved 2018-06-11.
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