MADISON, WI – Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel of the Government Accountability Board, released the following statement regarding the Legislative Audit Bureau’s evaluation of the Contract Sunshine Act:

“The audit confirms issues previously identified by the G.A.B. staff stemming from the original legislation, which focused solely on purchasing, and did not even require agencies to report the names of individuals and companies who received state contracts.  Other issues include the limited resources available to administer the Contract Sunshine Act, as well as the original design of the Contract Sunshine website.”

“The G.A.B. welcomes the Legislature’s new, more holistic approach to state government financial transparency, which will give taxpayers a website that provides the full picture of state spending.”

“G.A.B. staff will ask the Board to endorse the Legislative Audit Bureau’s recommendations at the September 12 meeting, and we will continue to work to maintain and improve our current window on state purchasing with the limited resources we have.”

Attached to this news release is a copy of Kennedy’s letter to LAB in response to the audit.

Madison, WI – The Government Accountability Board on Monday took several important actions regarding the four State Senate recall petitions which should lead to recall elections being ordered for State Senators Scott Fitzgerald (SD 13), Van Wanggaard (SD 21), Terry Moulton (SD 23) and Pam Galloway (SD 29).

The Board, meeting at the State Capitol, stopped short of certifying the recall petitions, awaiting a decision Wednesday in Dane County Circuit Court regarding an extension that would allow all the State Senate, Governor and Lt. Governor primary and recall elections to be held on the same schedule.

The Board denied legal challenges filed by the four State Senators regarding validity of signatures from the 2002 State Senate districts, signatures gathered the day the recall committees registered, signatures analyzed by third parties and signatures that may appear to be in similar handwriting.

After considering the State Senator’s challenges, the Board determined after careful review that each of the four recall committees collected enough valid signatures to trigger recall elections:

Senator    Signatures Required      Valid Signatures
Scott Fitzgerald    16,742    18,282
Van Wanggaard    15,353    19,142
Terry Moulton    14,958    18,657
Pam Galloway    15,647    18,511

All four State Senators attempted to incorporate by reference, the findings of the third-party Verify the Recall effort. The State Senators did not submit any actual challenges based on Verify the Recall, but simply said the Board should consider any challenges offered by the group, which has not submitted any information to the Board. Under state law, the Board can only accept challenges from the incumbent. In addition, the Board said it would not accept similar types of third-party challenges offered by the Governor and Lt. Governor’s committees when it considers those petitions at a future meeting. The Board is interested in reviewing Verify the Recall’s results for instances of possible petition fraud, as well as for ways to improve the recall petition process.

At the meeting G.A.B. Director and General Counsel Kevin J. Kennedy reported on the progress of the review of the petitions against Governor Walker and Lt. Governor Kleefisch. The Board’s staff has completed its first and second reviews of both petitions, and is currently working on the court-ordered duplicate search in the petitions. Before the duplicate review, staff has found:

Officeholder    Signatures Required    Signatures Submitted    Signatures Struck by Staff    Valid Signatures
Gov. Walker    540,208    931,042    25,495    905,547
Lt. Gov. Kleefisch    540,208    842,860    29,125    813,735

The Board decided to seek an extension from the current deadline of March 19 to March 30. By state statute, the recall election must be held “on the Tuesday of the 6th week commencing after the date” the Board finds a recall petition to be sufficient and orders the election. Wis. Stat. s. 9.10(3)(b). If the Board ordered recall elections on the current March 19 deadline, an election would be called for May 1, and if that becomes a primary election, the general election date would be May 29, the day after Memorial Day. If it ordered a recall elections by March 30, an election would be called for May 8, and if that becomes a primary election, the general election date would be June 5.

A hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Dane County Circuit Court before Judge Richard Niess regarding the Board’s extension request.
 

MADISON, WI – The Government Accountability Board today launched its first Facebook page, giving voters another way to keep up with news about elections and government ethics in Wisconsin.

“Our main website contains in-depth information about the G.A.B. and its mission,” said Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel of the agency. “Our Facebook page is a quick and convenient way for the public to see what’s new and get basic information about important events like upcoming elections.”

People don’t have to be Facebook members to view the G.A.B.’s page, but members can “like” the G.A.B. in order to receive updates in their news feed when there are new posts. Members can also send the G.A.B. staff a private message through the Facebook page.

Elections Division Administrator Nat Robinson said he’s excited about the G.A.B. joining Facebook because it will help reach eligible voters who may not rely solely on traditional news media to stay informed. “Facebook will help us extend our outreach efforts to younger voters,” Robinson said. “Facebook is an efficient, low-cost way to reach these voters and provide them with improved customer service.”

Robinson said the Facebook page is the G.A.B.’s first step into social media, and additional plans are being developed to expand our use of social media and digital connectivity, such as Twitter and an election app.

The Board’s page is at https://www.facebook.com/WisconsinGovernmentAccountabilityBoard.

The Board’s main website is at http://gab.wi.gov.
 

MADISON, WI – Governor Scott Walker announced today that he has reappointed Judge Gerald C. Nichol to a six-year term on the Government Accountability Board. 

Judge Nichol is a resident of Madison, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin Law School. He was in private practice from 1963 to 1988, except for 1970 to 1972, when he was elected Dane County District Attorney as a Republican. He served as a town of Madison municipal court judge from 1974 to 1987 before being elected a nonpartisan Dane County Circuit Court Judge in 1988.  He was reelected in 1994 and 2000, and served until 2004.

Since retiring from the bench, Judge Nichol has worked as a professional mediator. Judge Nichol was nominated by the Government Accountability Candidate Committee and appointed as one of the first six Government Accountability Board members in 2008 by Governor Jim Doyle for a term to expire May 1, 2012. His appointment to the Board was confirmed by the State Assembly in 2008. (Of the six original G.A.B. members, three were confirmed by the Assembly and three by the Senate.) Judge Nichol is currently board secretary.

Judge Nichol was re-nominated by the Government Accountability Candidate Committee in February. At the same time, the committee re-nominated Judge Timothy Vocke, who Governor Walker reappointed to a vacant seat on the Board, effective April 2, 2012.

The Government Accountability Board serves as an independent, non-partisan regulatory body that administers and enforces the state’s election, campaign finance, ethics and lobbying laws.

MADISON, WI – Judge Timothy L. Vocke of Rhinelander became chairperson of the Government Accountability Board for 2013 on Monday.

Under state law, the Board’s leadership is chosen by lot at its first meeting in January each year.
Judge Gerald Nichol of Madison was chosen as vice-chairperson for 2013, and Judge Micheal Brennan of Marshfield was chosen as secretary of the Board.

The G.A.B. is comprised of six non-partisan, former Wisconsin judges who are appointed by the Governor based on nominations from a committee of current Court of Appeals judges.

Judge Vocke replaces Judge David G. Deininger as chairperson. Judge Vocke was first appointed to the Board in May 2011 by Governor Walker. Complete biographical information about Judge Vocke and other board members is available on the agency’s website: http://gab.wi.gov/about/members.

Also Monday, Board members voted to forego their regular $445.15 per diem payment for the January meeting.

The Board has scheduled six additional regular meetings in 2013. Its next regular meeting will be a two-day session on Wednesday and Thursday, March 20 and 21. Additional meetings have been scheduled for May 21, August 20, October 22, and December 17.  A complete schedule of meetings is available here: http://gab.wi.gov/about/meetings.

MADISON, WI – Four Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges were selected Tuesday to serve on the Government Accountability Candidate Committee.

They are Judge Ralph Adam Fine of District I in Milwaukee, Judge Paul F. Reilly of District II in Waukesha, Deputy Chief and Presiding Judge Michael W. Hoover of District III in Wausau, and Presiding Judge Paul Lundsten of District IV in Madison.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abramson conducted the random drawing prior to oral arguments in the Supreme Court Hearing Room at the Capitol.  For each of the four appellate districts, she drew one name at random from a hat containing the names of all the Court of Appeals judges in that district.  As required by state law, all seven justices were present for the drawing.

The candidate committee is responsible for reviewing applications by former state judges to serve as members of the Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.), and must unanimously agree on each nominee.  For each vacancy, the committee forwards at least two names to the Governor.  The Governor’s appointment to the G.A.B. must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the State Senate.  

This spring, the candidate committee will meet publicly to review applications to fill the seat of Judge Thomas Cane of Wausau, whose five-year term expires in May.  Judge Cane, who is one of the Board’s original members, is still contemplating whether to apply for another term.  

The G.A.B. is made up of six members who are all former state judges and who must be non-partisan, which means they may not be a member of a political party or make political donations for a year prior to appointment and during their service.  Members serve staggered, six-year terms.  The agency’s nonpartisan structure, and the process for selecting its board members, is unique in the United States.

The new candidate committee begins its two-year term on March 1, 2013.  The outgoing candidate committee was comprised of Judge Kitty K. Brennan of District I in Milwaukee, Chief Judge Richard S. Brown of District II in Waukesha, former Deputy Chief Judge Gregory A. Peterson of District III in Wausau, and Judge Brian W. Blanchard of District IV in Madison.