(AP) – A review by a nonpartisan watchdog group says Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker accepted campaign contributions from a mining company owner and one of its executives around the time the company contacted Walker about developing an open-pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says Walker received $8,000 last September from mine developer Christopher Cline, owner of Gogebic Taconite, which has an option to lease the mineral rights on land in Iron and Ashland counties. The review shows Walker also received $2,000 from John Dickinson II, president of Cline Resources and Development.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported Walker talked to the Cline Group’s managing director in recent months. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie says Walker “met with lots of potential Wisconsin job creators along the campaign trail.”
