A Republican legislator wrote a letter Friday calling for the resignation of an independent legislator arrested Wednesday on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater wrote to Rep. Jeffrey Wood, I-Chippewa Falls, and respectfully asked Wood to resign his position in the Assembly. If Wood refused, Nass said he would draft an Assembly Resolution of Expulsion under Assembly Rule 21 and Article IV, Section 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution and force Wood to leave.
A Wisconsin state trooper stopped Wood Wednesday night due to a tip from a witness that he was driving erratically, according to a Wisconsin State Patrol report.
The report said Wood failed his field sobriety test and was taken to an area hospital for a blood test, where he admitted to being under the influence of Lorazepam and nighttime cold medication.
According to Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Nass, if the measure is introduced the Assembly speaker would appoint an ethics and standards committee to hold hearings on the matter and put out a report and recommendation. A two-thirds vote of the Assembly is needed to expel a legislator.
“Rep. Nass waited 24 hours to see if Wood would resign on his own, and he said it’s clear [Wood] won’t do it without certain measures,” Mikalsen said.
Mikalsen added drafting and finalization of expulsion measures would be completed by the end of next week, and Nass hopes introduction and committee hearings will occur in a matter of weeks.
Mikalsen also said the incident raises serious questions about whether or not Wood was under the influence of controlled substances while voting on the Assembly floor Tuesday as the Lorazepam prescription Wood was accused of abusing at the time was almost empty when he was arrested.
According to the Wisconsin State Patrol’s report, Wood’s prescription was filled the Tuesday before his arrest.
“Representative Nass believes if the full Assembly is confronted with the extreme danger [Wood] put citizens in, they will expel him,” Mikalsen said.
Wood released a statement Friday, saying he has struggled with alcoholism for many years. According to the statement, Wood checked himself into an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program in the summer, and he is still enrolled in it.
“I have been taking medication prescribed to me by my doctor to treat anxiety,” Wood said in a statement. “Due to recent events I have checked myself into the inpatient AODA program at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis.”
Assembly Speaker Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, said in a statement released late last week he was disturbed by Wood’s arrest and said the charges against him are very serious.
In a press conference Friday, Gov. Jim Doyle agreed Wood’s arrest is a troubling issue for the state.
“As alleged, this kind of driving puts the public at very grave risk,” Doyle said. “I think [Wood] has a big decision to make and if he doesn’t then I think the people in his district have a big decision to make.
