On Jan. 6, Jim Doyle, promising “a new day in Wisconsin,” became the first Democrat sworn into the governor’s office in nearly 16 years, and immediately the winds of change came spinning threw the revolving doors at the State Capitol.

The inauguration celebration featured a $25-per-person dance at Monona Terrace, breakfasts in Milwaukee and Madison, the taking-of-an-oath ceremony and a governor’s office open house at the Capitol. All events were open to the public and raised $435,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wisconsin.

Doyle, wasting little time, filed for an extension on his first day as governor to present his budget plan to the State Congress.

Doyle and his wife Jessica moved into the governor’s mansion Jan. 10, leaving their home on the west side of Madison where they had lived for 22 years.

The executive residence had been a bone of contention in December as the Appleton Post-Cresent reported lobby groups had contributed in the past to the Wisconsin Executive Residence Foundation, which raises funds used to maintain and furnish the mansion. Also last month, state Sen. Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, sent a letter to Doyle asking him to sell the mansion as a goodwill gesture, citing a tight budget.

Last Monday, Doyle announced five new appointments to the University of Wisconsin-System Board of Regents. Replaced regents Gerard Randall and Alfred De Simone have said they will not step down until the Senate confirms their replacements, remaining within their state-granted rights but confronting the tradition of stepping down at the governor’s request.

“I think we can look at how the vacancy occurred. I was working within the original process, how it was intended to work as it was drafted, and I got caught up in this distorted version of the process,” Randall said.

The slew of dismissals by Doyle was not unexpected by the Republicans, said Susan Paddock, a professor of government relations at the University of Wisconsin.

“I don’t think the messages Doyle is sending are inconsistent. It is a new day; we want to see an end to partisanship, but that doesn’t mean the Democrats will just lay down and not take what is handed to them,” said Paddock, who thought the Republicans would probably not take much action to retaliate against the dismissal of the appointees in the interest of bipartisanship.

“The Republicans don’t want to draw lines in the sand, especially because they don’t have the votes to override vetoes. Not only do we have a governor of a new party, but the Senate has changed, too,” said Paddock, who believes budget concerns have been a more troublesome feature of the transition problems than the change in leadership.

“These budget concerns are not just happening in Wisconsin. We’re seeing in city after city, state after state, the budget situation is pressing, and the economy isn’t strong enough to get things back on track,” Paddock said.