Rep. Peter Barca is the Wisconsin Assembly Democrats Leader
In the same week that Gov. Walker's chief of staff resigned to head up the recall defense for his boss, Republicans in the state legislature also moved to propose changes to Wisconsin's election laws in a blatant attempt to control the rules in favor of Gov. Walker and cover up his past campaign violations.
In a committee hearing early last week, GOP legislators Sen. Leah Vukmir and Rep. Jim Ott indicated that they want Gov. Walker to have power over the Government Accountability Board (GAB), which oversees elections in Wisconsin. Republicans are doing this because they are upset with a commonsense ruling from the GAB that would allow Wisconsinites to access a recall form online that had their address already filled out, print it, sign it and mail it to the relevant recall group.
This ruling worries Republicans because it might make it easier to recall Gov. Walker. But rather than stand up for the constitutional right that allows the people to recall incumbent officials, Republicans plan on meeting Thursday in an executive committee meeting to discuss ways to consolidate power over the recall elections by taking advantage of a previous power grab by Gov. Walker to veto any rule from GAB or any other agency…even those that might impact him directly.
That is not what democracy should look like in Wisconsin. Here GAB has historically been independent of control by the politicians they oversee.
Unfortunately, this would be another unprecedented power grab by Gov. Walker. It is a clear abuse of power to have him in charge of the rule making for his own recall election.
As if this isn't enough, Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman is now calling for legislation to end the requirement that campaign contributors in excess of $100 disclose their employment information. This law has been on the books since 1975. When it is followed by campaigns, it has been a crucial in ensuring transparency in Wisconsin elections that mirrors federal requirements.
Rather than continue Wisconsin's proud tradition of open and transparent elections, Republicans are trying to repeal this law in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to cover up Gov. Walker's repeated campaign finance violations. In Gov. Walker's 2010 gubernatorial campaign alone, citizen groups filed complaints with the GAB showing that Gov. Walker's campaign failed to report the required employer information of 650 donors whose combined donations totaled $234,920.
Not surprisingly, Gov. Walker's disregard for Wisconsin's campaign finance laws has actually been going on for nearly a decade:
- In 2002, Walker received a failing grade by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for improperly reporting the total number and value of campaign contributions
- In 2002, 2003, and 2004, Walker failed to report the required employer contribution information for a combined 75 donors
- In 2005, the State Elections Board slapped Walker with a $5,000 fine for failing to disclose that budget-related automatic phone calls were paid for by his campaign
- In 2010, complaints from citizen groups show that Gov. Walker failed to report the required employer information for more than 650 donors whose combined donations totaled $234,920
With such a long history of willfully skirting Wisconsin's campaign finance laws, one must wonder what Gov. Walker is trying to hide from Wisconsinites.
Instead of abusing their power and covering up past campaign violations, Republicans should push Gov. Walker and his campaign to disclose as much information as possible to show that they've done nothing wrong.
With so many clouds hanging over the Walker Administration, now is absolutely not the time to cede more authority to Gov. Walker. Instead of attempting to change the rules to benefit themselves, legislative Republicans should be working with Democrats to ensure that our election rules continue to be governed by non-partisan officials and that those who break the rules are held accountable for their actions.
It's time to stand up for our democracy. Let's show Gov. Walker and his secret donors that working, middle-class families are fired up and ready to take Wisconsin back.