Republicans call elections board ‘failed experiment’

Taking questions from lawmakers, Kennedy was asked about his relationship with Lerner by Brookfield Republican Sen.

Would the better watchdog be a group of retired judges whose mission in life during their professional careers was to weigh evidence, arbitrate disputes and make decisions based on the facts before them? The probe, which was blocked by the state Supreme Court earlier this summer, was investigating what prosecutors believes was illegal coordination between Governor Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative outside groups.

“Investigations with an unlimited budget that turned into partisan witch hunts, serious lapses in monitoring of our elections as well”.

“The only thing the GAB has been consistent about is being inconsistent”, Vukmir said. But she says it did show major changes are needed. Republicans and Democrats would appoint members of the boards.

“Each party has an equal number of nominees on each of the commissions”.

Vukmir introduced the legislation that would replace the GAB with separate ethics and elections agencies run by partisan appointees. She reminded the audience that the GAB was created in 2008, in the aftermath of the caucus scandal at the state capitol.

“It’s a huge mistake you’re making”, she said. You want to go back to a toothless agency. “I owe you no explanation about my personal relationships”, Kennedy said.

GAB director Kevin Kennedy gave a spirited defense of the almost 8-year-old board, saying the real goal is to exert more political control over an independent arm of the government, which he said would weaken regulation and lead to more corruption going undetected. He called the legislation, bad policy for the citizens of Wisconsin. The current board also oversees the state’s ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws. Kennedy responded, comparing the questions to 1950s-era McCarthyism.

In response, majority Republicans are poised to put the Legislature in charge of policing itself and requiring the new panel to get OK from the Legislature’s budget committee (now controlled by Republicans) to spend more than $25,000 on an investigation.