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Vos says Gableman elections probe will continue

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The latest development in a partisan Republican investigation into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin saw state State Attorney General Josh Kaul make a request of Speaker Robin Vos

“So my request to Speaker Vos is simple: shut this fake investigation down,” the Democratic AG said during a press conference in Madison on Monday.

Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who’s issued multiple subpoenas to local officials, asking them to be interviewed at his office in Brookfield

“The whole use of this subpoena process is really a show here, because there are elections officials around the state who are happy to talk voluntarily to folks in an open forum, where the public’s able to see what’s happening,” Kaul said.

In a statement, Vos said Gableman will continue his investigation, and that the subpoenas have been issued correctly.

“Election integrity should be a bipartisan effort. Sadly Attorney General Kaul has sided with the out-of-state billionaires meddling in our elections and ignored Wisconsin citizens who bring up irregularities.

“In order to restore confidence in our election system, Justice Gableman will continue his investigation. The subpoenas have been issued correctly – a fact backed up by the nonpartisan Legislative Council in a memo requested by Assembly Democrats.”

Governor Tony Evers has called the taxpayer funded investigation “a boondoggle,” but in a video posted to YouTube over the weekend, Gableman insists it’s nothing of the sort.

“Looking the other way, while millions of dollars in private funds may have been used the public management of elections to achieve a preferred outcome at the expense of election integrity – if indeed this occurred – would be the true definition of a boondoggle.”

Gableman is referring to grant money from a group funded by Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg. The money to help administer elections want to hundreds of Wisconsin communities, but the former state Supreme Court justice’s focus has been on the state’s five largest cities, all of which went for President Joe Biden.

 

Gableman issues subpoenas to five Wisconsin mayors

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The attorney in charge of a Republican investigation into results of the 2021 presidential election in Wisconsin dropped in on Tuesday night’s Green Bay Common Council meeting.

Michael Gableman told alders he was in town for other other meetings and wanted to introduce himself to the council.

The former conservative state Supreme Court justice explained that “the vast majority of American citizens have no idea how elections are supposed to be administered.”

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel before he addressed the council, Gableman said he also does not have “a comprehensive understanding” of how elections work.

Gableman – who this week issued subpoenas to the mayors of Wisconsin’s five largest cities – also said an October 31 deadline for him to complete his work was unrealistic. That date was set by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who hired Gableman to oversee the review.

“There’s been a lot of concerns raised about influence of private organizations – such as Center For Tech and Civic Life – participating directly in the administration of public elections,” Gableman said in response to a question about the scope of his investigation. “Finally, there is great concern by many citizens over the reliability, the accurate nature, of the voting machines.”

Mayor Rhodes-Conway

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, one of the mayors subpoenaed, tooks Republicans in the legislature to task, for attempting to change Wisconsin election laws following Donald Trump’s loss in the state last year.

“There’s a lot of Republicans that one elections using those same laws. The same ballots, the same voting equipment, the same polling places, that voters used to elect President Biden and other Democrats.”

Rhodes-Conway said that to this point, the election review headed by Gableman has been confusing.

“I don’t what he’s doing, I don’t know what kind of investigation he’s running, and I don’t know what they think they’re going to get out of it.”

The mayor added that she’s willing to meet with Gableman – but that any meeting ought to be open. “So if I’m going to go to Brookfield and spend my time in a strip mall answering questions, I think that room should be open to the public, and I think it should be open to the press.”

Rhodes-Conway said the level of what’s being requested by Gableman’s office of special prosecutor is “unprecedented,” and it’s unclear whether the city will be physically able to comply.

 

State Senator Lena Taylor running for Lieutenant Governor

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While the 2022 races for Governor and Senate ramp up, there’s a new entrant for Lieutenant Governor. State senator Lena Tayor of Milwaukee has put in her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor, running for the position that’s currently being held by Mandela Barnes.

Barnes is one of many Democrats in the running for the U.S. Senate.

Taylor says her 18 years in the Legislature will help Governor Evers better work with the rest of the Capitol if he’s re-elected in 2022.

Several Republicans are also in the running, including State Senator Pat Testin and Lancaster mayor David Varnam.

Owens drops out of race for state Attorney General

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A Republican candidate for state Attorney General is dropping out of the race. UW-Madison law school professor Ryan Owens released a statement on Monday, in which he said that “wrongheaded and false claims” have taken a toll on his family.

Owens’ decision to leave the race follows reports regarding podcasts that he hosted as director of UW-Madison’s Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership. Four episodes were found to have been removed from the web.

Owens’ departure leaves Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney to face Democratic incumbent AG Josh Kaul in 2022.

Pfaff announces he’s running in 3rd Congressional District

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The first high profile Democrat is stepping forward to run for U-S House from western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.

State Senator Brad Pfaff was elected to the state Senate last year. Before that, he was Governor Evers’ acting Agriculture secretary, until state Senate Republicans fired him in 2019. Republican Derrick Van Orden, a former Navy Seal, announced his campaign in April. Van Orden narrowly lost to Kind in 2020. Navy veteran Brett Knudson is running as a Democrat.

Incumbent Ron Kind announced in August that he won’t seek reelection to the seat he’s held for 25 years. The 3rd District is regarded as the most competitive in Wisconsin.

The primary election for the seat will be held in August.

Gableman issues subpoenas to Milwaukee and Green Bay elections officials

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Subpoenas have been issued by the attorney in charge of a Republican election review. Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman subpoenaed Milwaukee Election Commission director Claire Woodall-Vogg and Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys on Friday.

He’s seeking information about private grants used to help run the 2020 presidential election. Both were signed by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who hired Gableman.

Governor Tony Evers this week called the Republican review “a $700,000 boondoggle.” Speaker Vos responded that he was “supremely confident” in the process.

DHS says Pfizer boosters are readily available

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Booster vaccination doses for many people who got the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are now available. Dr. Ryan Westergard with the state Department of Health Services notes an initial vaccine series does remain highly effective.

“We are prolonging or extending the potency or the high level effectiveness of the vaccines, which are effective to begin with but might decrease over time. It’s a little bit complicated but the data tell a pretty clear story.”))

People age 65 and older, and those with a variety of medical conditions, are recommended for a Pfizer COVD-19 booster shot.

Stephanie Schauer is the state Division of Public Health Immunization Program Manager. “We do have a wide network of vaccinators available to give both the primary series and the boosters. It is important for folks that are looking for the booster to check and make sure that they have the Pfizer product.”

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are still in the process of being approved for booster shots.

People can find initial vaccines series and booster vaccines at vaccines.gov.

Evers calls Gableman election review ‘$700,000 boondoggle’

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers doesn’t think much, of former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s review of the 2020 election in Wisconsin.

In particular, Gableman’s statement that local election clerks will have to prove election fraud did not occur. “You don’t have to prove a negative in court,” Evers said on Tuesday. “You don’t have to prove a negative in any other place except for Justice Gableman’s court here. All I can say is if I was a clerk I’d be lawyered up and make sure you’re doing the right thing.”

“As the officials directly responsible for administering elections, Wisconsin’s 1,922 county and municipal clerks have a duty to the people of our state to be forthcoming in this investigation,” Gableman said in a video released last week. “It is my sincere hope that Wisconsin election officials will live up to that duty. But if they do not, we will use the power afforded to the office of special counsel to compel answers to these questions.”

“I hate to see an inquisition like this, especially one you’re being told you have to prove is was a good election,” Evers said. “Everybody knows it was a good election. Everybody knows there was no fraud.”

The Democratic governor also called the Republican effort “a 700-thousand dollar boondoggle.” during comments at World Dairy Expo in Madison on Tuesday.

Evers pick for Natural Resources remains unconfirmed by state Senate

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Three years into his term, the state Senate has finally confirmed 39 of Governor Tony Evers appointees. Those include DOT Secretary Craig Thompson, Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dawn Crim, and DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski.

But Evers appointment of environmental educator Sandy Nass of Ashland to the Natural Resources Board remains in limbo. “This can happen in a rational way. Somehow it became irrational,” Evers told reporters at World Dairy Expo in Madison on Tuesday.

The governor said Nass can serve if Wausau’s Dr. Frederick Prehn – whose term has expired – simply steps down, or if the Senate confirms Nass. “It just slows down the process, and it makes us look like idiots as a state.”

Right now, neither possibility appears likely. Prehn’s continued presence on the seven member board which sets policy for the Department of Natural Resources allows appointees of former Republican Governor Scott Walker to retain the majority.

Amid latest COVID-19 surge, health care workers ‘tired, stressed, frustrated’

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As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across Wisconsin, the head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association wants people to understand the pressures that’s putting on health care workers.

WHA CEO Eric Borgerding said that ICU beds are hard to find for the critically ill. “ICU capacity across Wisconsin right now is really, really tight.”

Borgerding noted the current wave of COVID-19 patients tend to be younger and sicker, and in the hospital longer than last fall.

“It’s really my hope that folks will understand we’re really stressed right now, and not just take for granted that the health care system can handle this,” he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has reported that the majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, and that vaccination remains the best protection against hospitalization, serious illness and death.

WHA provides a daily COVID-19 Situational Awareness Update on its website.