Prior to her judicial service, she served sixteen years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the city of Milwaukee as a Democrat.
[1][2] After graduating from law school, she was hired as an assistant district attorney for Milwaukee County, which was her primary employment until her election to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1972.
Tesmer established a platform on opposition to the Vietnam War and support for progressive tax reform.
She asserted that Zablocki had been too supportive of President Richard Nixon's war policies, and had lost touch with the needs of his constituents.
[9][10] In 1989, Tesmer entered the race for Milwaukee County's newest branch of the Wisconsin circuit courts.