Trial may reveal "rotten core" of state government in Wisconsin
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Fri Jun 09, 2006 at 09:48:30 AM EST
There's a trial about to get underway in Milwaukee, and no one's quite sure what it might reveal. A Department of Administration purchasing supervisor has been charged with directing a big contract to a firm that had donated large sums of money to Governor Jim Doyle's campaign.
The big question: Was the contract awarded because of the donations?
Jay Heck of Common Cause, a reform group in Madison, told The Associated Press: "This will be a rare glimpse into how state government may really operate, and it may reveal a rotten core. This trial will be about whether there was a quid pro quo between the donations and the award of the contract."
Doyle, a Democrat who is running for re-election against Congressman Mark Green, a Green Bay Republican, has denied being involved in the deal and said he never met Thompson. After the charges were filed, Doyle canceled the travel contract.
The La Crosse Tribune editorial staff thinks that this is a perfect example of the need for better policing within the state government.
Senate Bill 1, which was killed by Republicans in the Assembly, who would not allow it to come to a vote, would have combined the existing State Elections Board and State Ethics Board into one agency, with investigative ability.
With five former legislators from both parties convicted of campaign law violations and crimes, and with the governor under a cloud because of the travel agency issue, it would seem that now is the time for real ethics reform at the state level.
Tags: Wisconsin, In the States, Ethics in Government, Jim Doyle (all tags)
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