A couple of weeks ago we told you about a corruption trial getting underway in Wisconsin that had the attention of reformers and politicians alike.
Well, Georgia Thompson, the procurement official (hello David Safavian!) in question, was found guilty of directing a $750,000 contract to one of Governor Jim Doyle's (D) major campaign contributors. Doyle's campaign says it's a case of an isolated official, while his opponent Rep. Mark Green (R) is trying to paint it as indicative of Doyle's administration as a whole. As for Common Cause's interest:
But while Doyle's campaign tries to leave the case behind, political observers say fallout from the trial will muddy the debate over campaign-finance reform in a gubernatorial race that already has seen its share of questionable donations.
"You've got this money floating around in general that is simply destroying the political system, both at the state level and at the federal level," said John Witte, professor of political science at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The amount of private money that you have to have to run your campaign is just ridiculous. If this leads to some kind of reform of that sort, I would be very happy."
So would we, Professor. The Green Bay Press-Gazette article that quote comes from has a good breakdown of what this means for the campaign finance and ethics reform process in Wisconsin.
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account just by filling out the form below. It's quick and free.
