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Speaker moves quickly on Wood expulsion

October 26, 2009 By

The Assembly Speaker is moving quickly to discuss the fate of a five-time OWI lawmaker.

The process to form a committee is underway, to consider the expulsion of Representative Jeff Wood (I-Chippewa Falls), who was arrested last week for OWI — his fifth such arrest. State Representative Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) says he has already spoken with Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) in hopes of deciding membership of the Special Committee on Ethics and Standards.

“Yeah, we’re gonna be rolling this thing out very quickly.” Sheridan says driving under the influence “is a very serious issue.”

Wood said in a statement last week that he would not seek reelection, however there was no mention of resigning. Sheridan says Wood needs to get his act together, and this newly-formed committee will look at all the options. [Read more...]

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Lawton out, no Dems in the race for guv

October 26, 2009 By

Lt. Gov. Barb Lawton drops out of the governor’s race, citing “very personal reasons.” Lawton wrote in an e-mail to supporters and posted on her website  that her “deep commitment to our state is second only to my commitment to my family.”

Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan comments on Lawton’s announcement.

AUDIO1 (:09 mp3)

Sheridan’s name had come up in the past as a potential candidate for governor. Does Lawton’s decision change Sheridan’s thoughts on a possible bid now? [Read more...]

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Barrett still unsure about run for Governor

October 26, 2009 By
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he’s still undecided about a run for governor.

Appearing in Madison Monday, Mayor Barrett said he was surprised by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton dropping out of the race. Still, he’s made no decision yet on whether he’ll seek the Democratic nomination in 2010. Barrett says it takes time to sort things out, but he understands that “time is of the essence” and he’ll be making a decision in the near future. [Read more...]

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Lawton out of governor’s race

October 26, 2009 By

Citing “very personal” reasons, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton today announced that she’s withdrawing from the race for governor. Lawton’s decision comes less than a week after Governor Jim Doyle delivered a less than enthusiastic assessment of Lawton’s accomplishments during the last eight years, and leaves their Democratic Party without a candidate.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who has said that he is considering a run for governor, was in Madison today for a press conference with Doyle on an unrelated matter. Barrett indicated that he is still considering his options, and will advance the timetable for reaching a decision, but did not specify when that might be.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate said he was “very surprised” by Lawton’s decision. “Lieutenant Governor Lawton had been very enthusiastic about running for governor, but she’s indicated that it’s a very private and personal decision, and I think we should respect that.” [Read more...]

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Doyle considering campaign fund refunds

October 26, 2009 By

If you’re a Jim Doyle campaign contribute who’d like your money back, you may be in luck. With a reelection campaign no longer in the cards, Governor Jim Doyle now has decisions to make about what to do with the roughly two million dollars in his campaign fund. “We have made it clear to any donor who wants to have it returned that we will return a portion of it, because obviously some of it has already been spent,” said Doyle, adding that thus far, there hasn’t been a lot of call for refunds.

AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:55 MP3)

That leaves the governor, who announced in August that he won’t be seeking a third term, some discretion on how to use the money. “I intend to use what funds I have in my campaign account to really push forward on things that I care a lot about,” Doyle said. “I want to make sure that we get candidates elected that are really supportive of agenda that I’ve laid out.”

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