Chris Abele's cash; City Hall shuffle; Tommy Thompson skips run for governor
Bill GlauberChris Abele's cash
Now we know who dumped $250,000 into Milwaukee's mayoral race through a "dark-money" group called Fair Future Action.
That would be Chris Abele, the former Milwaukee County executive who likes to play political kingmaker.
In this case, Abele's favorite was Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Columnist Daniel Bice has the details.
Bice writes the nonprofit "spent $230,859, mainly to bankroll TV ads in February to help push Johnson across the finish line in the crowded primary.
"But none of this had to be reported until now."
Bice explains the rules regarding disclosure for the 527 organization. Fair Future Action's first public financial report was due on Friday, 10 days after the April 5 general election.
The money quote comes from Matt Rothschild, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign: "Citizens have a right to know who is trying to influence them in how they vote. And super-rich spenders like Chris Abele shouldn’t be able to hide behind a legal technicality when they’re throwing their big bucks around.”
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, here's the story from last week on Johnson's mayoral inauguration.
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City Hall shuffle
Milwaukee has a new Common Council President, Ald. José G. Pérez, who becomes the first Latino to hold the position.
Alison Dirr writes that Peréz will lead the 15-member council, replacing Cavalier Johnson, who was elected mayor April 5.
"I want my time as your president to be about hope, about the future," Pérez told council members in a virtual meeting Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, Johnson picked Ald. Nik Kovac to the position of budget and management director, replacing Dennis Yaccarino. Kovac will have to be confirmed by the full council.
Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff said he'll be running for Kovac's District 3 seat, making him the first to throw his hat in the ring.
Meanwhile, over at the Milwaukee County Board, Marcelia Nicholson was elected to another two-year term leading the 18-member board.
"We have six new members, and I truly believe we will accomplish much more together," she said Monday as the board held its first in-person meeting in more than two years.
Tommy Thompson skips run for governor
The big news in the governor's race this week was Tommy Thompson's announcement that he won't take another run at the state's top office.
"This is a very difficult conclusion. After a full life of service and leading and growing businesses, I know I have the vision, drive and vitality to serve another term as governor," Thompson said in a statement.
"Wisconsin needs strong leadership to bridge political divides, care for our most vulnerable, set our economy on a path to succeed in the 21st-century, and again make us the shining star of the nation. I would have brought those qualities and commitment as governor," he said.
Molly Beck writes that a late entry by the 80-year-old Thompson, who served four terms before joining the George W. Bush administration, would have scrambled the Republican primary race to unseat Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers.
Already running are former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who announced her campaign for governor eight months ago, Kevin Nicholson, a U.S. Marine veteran and management consultant who launched his bid in January, and state Rep. Tim Ramthun, who announced his candidacy in February.
Late last week, Eric Hovde announced he wouldn't join the GOP race for governor but was taking a look at the 2024 U.S. Senate race.
There's one more potential GOP governor runner to be heard from: Tim Michels, a former U.S. Army Ranger and a co-owner of his family's international infrastructure and energy construction corporation.
GOP's big map victory
We now know the legislative map lines for Wisconsin's 2022 elections after the state Supreme Court adopted maps drawn up by the Republicans.
The decision came three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out maps drawn up by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
"In the 4-3 decision, Justice Brian Hagedorn joined the court's conservatives after earlier siding with its liberals. The ruling came at one of the last possible moments, falling on the day that candidates could begin circulating petitions to get on the ballot.
"The new maps tilt heavily in Republicans’ favor, with 63 of the 99 Assembly seats and 23 of the 33 Senate seats leaning toward the GOP, according to a December analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Because this fall's election is so soon — the primary is four months away on Aug. 9 — the maps are all but certain to be the ones used this fall. But the long-term legal fight may not be over because Democrats and their allies may challenge the maps in federal court for the elections that will be held in 2024 and beyond."
Also, here's Craig Gilbert's take on the Congressional maps.
He writes:
"If you think competition in elections is a good thing, then here’s one trend that might cheer you up: Wisconsin will have twice as many competitive congressional districts in 2022 as it did in 2020.
"Unfortunately, the number is only going from one to two.
"Of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, six will remain safe for one party or the other."
Around the horn
Union wants a judge to throw out a finding that Republican fake electors from Wisconsin violated no laws.
Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer initiated private talk with judge in city case.
AG Josh Kaul says Republican opponent Eric Toney needs to admit errors by his office in low-bail case.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson raised $7.1 million in campaign cash during the first three months of 2022.
Tweet of the week
Because winter in Wisconsin doesn't give way easily to baseball season, here's one from Tim Halbach, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service: "I think it's a right of passage to play baseball in the snow in Wisconsin. The zing of the bat hitting the ball when it's 36F is something you'll remember forever."