Tag: tony evers

Tony Evers' cabinet because of a dispute over whether 15 appointees of Gov. "I think some of those cabinet members are going to be in trouble," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau said of Evers' top advisers. Fitzgerald said the GOP stance was a reaction to the court fight over a different set of appointees made by Evers' Republican predecessor. “The political theatrics from Republican leaders are getting old," said a statement from Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse. In one case, a Dane County judge last month ruled all actions taken during the session were invalid. In response, Evers rescinded the 82 appointments made by Walker. Evers has since reinstated 67 of the 82 Walker appointees, erasing doubts about whether they hold those positions. He contends those jobs are vacant, while Fitzgerald and other Republicans say they continue to be held by the Walker appointees. People are pretty upset about Ellen and about Georgia.” Fitzgerald said he wanted to see how the court cases play out before determining how to handle the confirmation of Evers' cabinet. RELATED: Lame-duck scorecard: Where the cases stand in the fight over GOP laws limiting Wisconsin governor He said he expected some of the cases to eventually be resolved by the state Supreme Court — and was glad conservative Judge Brian Hagedorn won a seat last week on the high court.

Democrats say Republicans spoiled chances for bipartisanship with a lame-duck session that peeled power away from Democratic Gov. No," Evers said. As we get further down the line in the budget-making, I’m sure we’ll meet more often.” Fitzgerald said lawsuits challenging the laws Republican legislators passed to limit Evers' power are hampering progress. RELATED: Lame-duck scorecard: Where the cases stand in the fight over GOP laws limiting Wisconsin governor "I think we’re still trying to figure out who to talk to, how to talk to them, and when to talk to them," Fitzgerald said in a statement. If they talked regularly, Evers might be able to persuade Republicans to adopt some of his budget plans, Vos said. Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said Evers is not interested in political strategy but in addressing public policies. Evers." "Is this something that could be done without legislation?" "I’m happy with the relationship we’ve been able to build with Speaker Vos and the Assembly — we’ll continue to work together and hopefully the governor will decide to engage," Fitzgerald said. Hintz said it's also up to Republicans to be willing to negotiate with a Democratic governor.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers Wednesday walked back a vow he made to withdraw the state from the Affordable Care Act lawsuit less than 24 hours after making the commitment in his first State of the State address. “The governor has not directed the attorney general to take any specific course of action, he has simply withdrawn his authority for this lawsuit,” Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said in a statement. Evers’ reversal comes after the release Wednesday of a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau that splashed cold water on the governor’s plans to withdraw Wisconsin from an ongoing multi-state lawsuit seeking to invalidate the ACA. The memo, sent to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, states there is no legal way for the new governor to fulfill his campaign promise to withdraw the state from the suit. “It is only the Joint Committee on Finance that has the authority to approve any compromise or discontinuance of an action in which the attorney general’s participation was requested.” Evers in Tuesday’s State of the State address clearly stated he would seek to end the state’s participation in the lawsuit. Evers’ proposal drew immediate ire from Republicans, who described the potential move as an illegal action. “This was the story statewide today and now after it’s found to be illegal they are saying they never said it?” he wrote on Twitter. Evers used different wording in a letter to Kaul, stating, “I am immediately withdrawing the authority previously provided under (state law) for Wisconsin to participate in litigation over the Affordable Care Act.” Under previous law, Evers would have had the authority to withdraw the state from the suit. A Kaul spokeswoman did not respond to a request seeking comment on whether Kaul is still reviewing options to get out of the lawsuit.

MADISON, WI (WSAU) -- Outgoing Governor Scott Walker will not completely leave the political realm when he hands the position over to Democrat Tony Evers next Monday. In a message on Tuesday Walker announced he will be part of several organizations including a "speakers bureau" that will provide "new and exciting opportunities." Walker said he intends to work towards "broaden our scope with an additional focus on returning power to the people in the states — from a federal government grown out-of-control," adding that is the best way to "drain the Swamp on a permanent basis." He also spoke of lowering taxes on the hard-working people of the state. Additionally, the Walkers intend to stay in Wisconsin but didn't provide details of where they would be moving once they vacate the Governors Mansion, which has been their home since they sold their house in Wauwatosa three years ago. Walker did say that he and his wife Tonette will be working to re-elect President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in the 2020 election.

Gov.-elect Tony Evers’ pick for transportation secretary is in limbo after Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said Friday he has serious concerns about the appointment. Within hours of Evers announcing Craig Thompson, the director of an influential transportation advocacy group, as his selection, Fitzgerald, whose GOP-controlled chamber must confirm all Cabinet appointments, flashed a warning Thompson may be the wrong person for the job. “Gov.-elect Evers has made a wise choice in this selection of a bipartisan consensus builder to tackle the significant transportation challenges facing Wisconsin,” he said in a statement. Other industry and government groups, such as the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, Public Works Association and Operating Engineers, offered their full support of the nomination, referencing Thompson’s leadership in the field and understanding of the critical role of infrastructure to the state. Fitzgerald’s comments came after Evers announced four new agency appointments Friday in Madison as his Cabinet takes shape less than three weeks before inauguration. In addition to Thompson, Evers named Brad Pfaff as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Rebecca Cameron Valcq as head of the Public Service Commission; and Mark Afable as Commissioner of Insurance. During a news conference Friday, Thompson said all options are on the table as transportation funding solutions, declining to offer specifics. Those concerns were echoed by consumer advocacy group Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, or WISPIRG. On Wednesday, Evers announced four other Cabinet appointments in Milwaukee. They are: Preston Cole, a member of the state’s Natural Resources Board and a Milwaukee city official, as Department of Natural Resources secretary; Joel Brennan, CEO of Milwaukee’s Discovery World science and technology museum, as Department of Administration secretary; Kevin Carr, a U.S. marshal, as Department of Corrections secretary; and Sara Meaney, chief marketing officer for Milwaukee Film, as Department of Tourism secretary.

Scott Walker signed all three sweeping lame-duck bills into law in Green Bay on Friday, concluding an eleventh-hour effort by Republican legislators to roll back some of the next governor’s authority. Walker, who has faced national scrutiny and calls from Democrats and some Republicans to reject the legislative package entirely, said during the bill signing he was approving the three bills in full, without line-item vetoes. “The overwhelming executive authority that I as governor have today will remain constant with the next governor,” Walker said in front of a faulty Venn diagram trying to show how Evers and Walker would continue to have the same powers to introduce budgets and veto bills, among other powers. However, the diagram didn’t explain key changes included in the bills that limit Evers’ power over economic development, lawsuits and administrative rules. +2 Walker’s signature on the bills provides a victory to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, who championed the controversial package that will strip some powers from the governor and attorney general, and limit early voting to two weeks before an election. Vos in a statement lauded Walker’s signature on the legislation as an acknowledgment of “the importance of the legislature as a co-equal branch of government.” Evers, along with other Democrats and some Republicans, including former Gov. For example, lawmakers originally proposed to allow the Legislature to override the attorney general by appointing its own counsel in cases where state law was challenged. One of the most contentious measures in the package will take away Evers’ authority to allow the state to drop out of ongoing lawsuits and give the Republican-controlled Legislature the right to join ongoing litigation without the permission of the attorney general. Republicans have argued the measure would provide consistency in early voting statewide, because municipalities have had more freedom in choosing when to allow in-person absentee voting. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now, which has challenged previous Republican-led restrictions on early voting, is planning swift legal action to address the early voting measures in the lame-duck legislation.

Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers has unveiled a panel to advise him on public safety and criminal justice, saying he views the issue as ripe for compromise with Republicans controlling the state Legislature. In a statement Monday announcing the panel, Evers and Lt. Gov.-elect Mandela Barnes also noted racial disparities in the prison system and said it’s time “to start prioritizing people, not prisons.” The new panel includes Dean Strang, who gained international fame for his defense of convicted murderer Steven Avery, whose case was featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer,” as well as former state Supreme Court justices Louis Butler and Janine Geske. Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney; Kelli Thompson, head of the state Public Defender’s Office; Matt Frank, former state Department of Natural Resources secretary and former assistant state attorney general; Milwaukee County Chief Deputy Sheriff Denita Ball; Rick Raemisch, former state Department of Corrections secretary and Dane County sheriff who now leads the Colorado Department of Corrections; Walter Dickey, University of Wisconsin Law School professor and former DOC secretary; Angela Lang, director of the Milwaukee-based Black Leaders Organizing for Communities; Jim Palmer, head of the state’s police union. The announcement Monday said the panel aims to “bring together people from all sides of the criminal justice system” to work on possible criminal justice changes. Spencer Black, a former state lawmaker and prominent environmentalist; Tom Hauge, a former longtime DNR wildlife management bureau chief who retired in 2016 after being threatened with a demotion for not being “customer-focused” enough; Preston Cole, who serves on the DNR’s Natural Resources Board; Former DNR state forester Paul DeLong; Dave Clausen, former chairman of the Natural Resources Board; Matt Krueger, who leads the conservation group WI Land + Water.

As Wisconsin's newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers prepares to take office in January, the Republican-controlled state legislature held a lame duck session to pass laws to limit the powers of the governor's office. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a…

Republican Gov. Scott Walker in neck-and-neck race with Democrat Tony Evers. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC…

Scott Walker watched as former Gov. Tommy Thompson exhorted a friendly Republican crowd to help Walker prevail in his surprisingly precarious race for a third term. “The recipe is Scott Walker. You know like a good chocolate chip cookie, it sort of melts in your mouth? You know it really feels good.” But the old recipe for victory may not be working in a midterm election where Democrats appear poised to do well across the country. Ominous polls have Walker in trouble, and he’s sounding the alarm to supporters. Democrats, after years of failure and frustration, are daring to hope that they may finally slay their political white whale. If the onetime presidential candidate and Republican rising star loses, it would qualify as one of the bigger upsets of the midterm election because of his record in difficult situations before — winning election and re-election despite two victories in his state by Barack Obama, and turning back a 2012 recall attempt by Democrats incensed by his attack on public-sector unions. A Walker loss to Tony Evers, the bland 66-year-old state education superintendent who enjoys Egg McMuffins and playing the card game euchre, would also give Democrats hope for the future in a state that Republicans have had a firm grip on for eight years. Walker’s approval rating remains below 50 percent and President Donald Trump’s is worse, even though Trump carried the state two years ago.