A judge ordered gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., to return nearly $468,000 in out-of-state campaign contributions Monday, upholding a controversial decision from the State Elections Board last month.
In his ruling, Dane County Judge Richard Niess wrote that "the Elections Board reached the correct result, regardless of the infirmities, if any, in its process."
The ruling follows a lawsuit issued by Green's campaign against the Elections Board for ordering him to divest contributions from out-of-state political action committees not registered in Wisconsin.
Green's campaign said Monday they plan to appeal the ruling to the state's Supreme Court.
"In light of Judge Niess' decision today, Green for Wisconsin will be placing $467,844 into a separate account that will not be accessed by the campaign until there is a final decision on the status of our conversion," Green's campaign manager Mark Graul said.
"As Judge Niess said, the questions surrounding this matter are best addressed by the Supreme Court, which we expect will happen very quickly."
The amount being contested is part of $1.3 million Green legally raised as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives but then transferred from his federal campaign account to his state account. The transfer was made just one day before the Elections Board adopted a rule stating only PACs registered in Wisconsin can donate to gubernatorial campaigns.
Green's lawyers and his campaign have argued the board has been inconsistent by applying the rule retroactively.
"For 29 years, the state Elections Board has allowed candidates to use their federal accounts to run for state office," Graul said. "Just four years ago, the board unanimously allowed then-Congressman Tom Barrett to do the exact same thing Mark Green has done."
Though the Wisconsin Department of Justice did not return repeated phone calls as of press time, DOJ attorneys representing the SEB said in their legal brief the current Elections Board is not bound by decisions of previous boards.
And amid recent accusations of Democratic partisanship on the board and illegal lobbying of Democrat-appointed board members, accusations of unethical Republican lobbying have emerged.
According to Anne Lupardus, deputy press secretary for Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's campaign, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin Rick Wiley contacted SEB chairman and Republican appointee John Savage a day before the SEB vote on the Green money.
"Republicans are caught in a web of hypocrisy on this issue," Lupardus said. "It's all an attempt to distract from the fact Green is in violation of state campaign finance law."
Lupardus added DOJ attorneys have challenged almost all of the $1.3 million Green transfer through an active federal law.
"In their brief, the DOJ said in 2004, Congress amended a federal law to allow federal campaigns to transfer funds into state accounts, but that transfers are applicable to state laws," she said. "So transferred federal campaign contributions become limited to $43,128."
Despite the Green campaign's immediate call for appeal, it remains unclear when the issue will be resolved.
