With scarcely more than two weeks before the gubernatorial primaries, the Democratic Party is facing some problems.
Sen. Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, announced last week that he funded the investigation into Rep. Gary George’s, D-Milwaukee, race for governor. Chvala said he used $2,400 of his campaign money to help remove George from the ballot, a move George’s lawyers said is illegal.
“When it was brought to my attention that Gary George had filed barely more than the 2,000 required signatures to appear on the ballot for governor and that potentially hundreds of the signatures appeared to be forgeries, I agreed to pay for the cost for further investigation of the legitimacy of the signatures by a handwriting expert,” Chvala said.
“In no way were my actions coordinated with any other candidate for governor, Governor McCallum, or their respective campaigns. The bottom line is that no candidate should be able to get on the ballot with signatures that are either forged or procured through fraud,” he continued.
George turned in his nomination papers for the governor’s race July 9, with more than 2,100 signatures. His nomination petition had 192 more signatures than required by law.
Three days later, July 12, Daniel McMurray, a UW student, challenged George’s nomination papers, claiming many of the signatures were false. Under the written challenge, he asked the state Elections Board to remove George from the ballot.
The board investigated McMurray’s claim, temporarily removing George from the ballot, and later began a criminal investigation based on the challenge.
Chvala also secretly backed McMurray’s complaint against George.
The Elections Board voted July 18 to keep George on the ballot while three district attorneys investigated the case. Based on their investigation, a criminal investigation began.
The state Elections Board removed George from the ballot July 31, stating 221 signatures and addresses on the nomination papers were invalid. Two days later, George requested an investigation into the challenges leading to his removal from the ballot.
A group of supporters filed a lawsuit Aug. 9 to get George back on the ballot, but a Dane County judge would not allow it. The state appeals court upheld the judge’s decision August 16.
With funds from his campaign, Chvala paid for a handwriting expert to analyze signatures from George’s nomination papers, which cost Chvala $175 per hour.
According to a spokesman for George, under state law candidates can use campaign funds only for political purposes, excluding personal or governmental purposes.
Elections Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy was not available for comment but has stated the board would discuss whether Chvala violated state law.
Rick Graber, Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman, said Chvala has many political ties to Tom Barrett. Graber noted that Chvala supports Barrett, Chvala’s wife works for Barrett’s campaign, and Chvala was behind McMurray’s challenge.
Graber said the Republican Party does not condone election fraud, and those involved with forged signatures are brought to justice quickly.
“However, one can reasonably ask why Chuck Chvala chose to deceive the voters of Wisconsin by not being upfront about his involvement until now,” Graber said.
