John La Fave has been the elected Register of Deeds for Milwaukee County since January 2003. Previously he was a member of the Wisconsin legislature for ten years, 1993 - 2003.

Mr. La Fave serves as the Land Information Officer of Milwaukee County and is a member of: Wisconsin Land Information Association, Milwaukee County Automated Land and Information System, Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association, Property Records Industry Association and the National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks.

In 2003 the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds department became one of the first counties in the country to begin electronic recording of real estate documents. Electronic recording of documents is faster and more efficient than recording paper documents. On January 8, 2008 this office was the first in Wisconsin to begin eRecording deeds.  Click here for JS Online article

During Mr. La Fave's tenure 12 years of microfilm images have been converted to digital format.  Document images are now available via computer from February 1, 1988 to the present. These documents are available on the Internet through our software vendor for a fee.

Real Estate Records Internet Access

John La Fave is a member of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Wisconsin Alumni Association, Vespa Club of America, Clean Wisconsin, Brown Deer Senior Citizens Club, Granville-Brown Deer Chamber of Commerce and the Bay View Bicycle Club. John was born in Milwaukee in 1949 and is a lifelong resident of Milwaukee County. He attended Wauwatosa West High School and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in education.

John's involvement in political and community affairs began during his high school years when he was active in civil rights activities and the peace movement. He worked two years as an elementary school teacher, 18 years as a sales representative and ten years as a State Representative. John and his wife Andrea live in the Village of Brown Deer. They have two grown daughters and three grandchildren.  Occasionally John enjoys commuting the 11 miles to the courthouse via bicycle.

Updated 04/03/08