NEWS
Illegal campaigning allegations brought against Chvala
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by Morgan Felchner
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Dan Kroll, former press secretary to state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, said Thursday that Chvala commonly engaged in illegal campaigning practices in his Senate office.
Some five years after the alleged incidents that Chvala’s staff worked on his 1996 reelection campaign in his office during business hours, Kroll said he decided to come forward after he learned legislative campaigning was under investigation. Kroll explained the allegations in an article in the Capital Times.
Chvala denied the allegations in a statement Friday.
“I have a strict policy of requiring that if employees choose to volunteer on campaigns, that they do it on their own time, and they claim the appropriate leave time,” Chvala said.
Chvala said all employees who worked on any campaign did so on a volunteer basis.
Kroll said work was done in Chvala’s Senate office because he had no campaign headquarters and said he heard aides advise Chvala to obtain another office, but he denied the advice.
Chvala said he used his law office on the Capitol square for political activity and never considered an office in downtown Madison because it was outside his district.
In Chvala’s statement, he attributed Kroll’s accusations to disgruntled feelings by Kroll after his termination.
Chvala said Kroll is an “ex-employee with an ax to grind.”
And also said Kroll was fired because of his “slow and incompetent performance as press secretary.”
Kroll pointed out specific employees involved in the illegal activities including former state Democratic Party Chairwoman Terri Spring. Kroll said Spring was hired to head the Democratic party campaign.
Spring denied all accusations and Chvala defended her in his statement.
“Any volunteer work [Spring] did was done on her own time.”
