NEWS
Doyle set to sign off on ethics
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Also by Keegan Kyle:
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by Keegan Kyle
Friday, February 2, 2007
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to sign sweeping ethics-reform legislation into law today, starting a six-month merger between the state Ethics and Elections boards.
The new watchdog agency, called the Government Accountability Board, will have unlimited access to resources to investigate and prosecute violators of Wisconsin's ethics, campaign-finance, lobbying and elections laws.
The board will consist of six former judges appointed by Doyle and approved by the state Legislature. All current staff positions on the Ethics and Elections boards will continue under the new board.
Ethics Board director Roth Judd said the transition will give administrators an opportunity to rearrange positions so staff members can support each other more effectively.
Judd said he will conduct "a review of how [the board] can redeploy all the talents of all the people who work for the agencies now" in the coming months.
"We can take the existing resources of the two agencies and combine them in such a way that … one plus one equals at least three, maybe five," Judd added.
On Thursday, Judd met with Elections Board director Kevin Kennedy to draft an agenda for the transition to August, six months from now. Most of the discussion included "practical challenges," such as merging staff duties and office supplies.
Something as simple as computers, Kennedy said, will need some attention. The Ethics Board's computers are self-owned and vendor-maintained, while the Elections Board's computers are state-owned and state-maintained. The agencies chose different providers due to size and cost-effectiveness — the Ethics Board employs six staff members, while the Elections Board employs 41.
"We have a lot of things on our plate for the next six months," Kennedy said. "We'll need to make adjustments."
Judd and Kennedy said the transition will be a challenge but is also completely manageable. But one factor that could slow or speed the process, they added, would be the Legislature's approval of six new board members.
A special committee will nominate at least eight former judges to Doyle for appointment. Doyle will submit three names to the state Senate and three names to the state Assembly for approval.
If a candidate is not appointed, or withdraws, Doyle may submit another candidate or ask for additional nominations. Each board member will serve six-year terms.
Mike McCabe, executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonprofit government watchdog group, said the appointment process could play a large role.
"Getting the new board in place will really be a determinant," McCabe added. "Any time there's a change in structure it takes time, but it will get done."
Kennedy said the sooner board members are appointed, the better. Quick approvals would give board members more time to create the new system "in their image" and hire administrative positions.
Judd and Kennedy's current positions as agency directors will end in six months. Both declined to comment whether they would apply for new positions as directors of the Government Accountability Board with similar responsibilities to their current positions.
"Right now, I'm just working on making this work out well," Judd said.
