The Government Accountability Board (GAB) has certified July 12 recall elections for GOP state Sen. Alberta Darling and five other Republican senators – but not without partisan controversy.
Organizers of the recalls against Dem senators, including Pleasant Prairie’s Bob Wirch, accused the agency of bias after it postponed taking up their petitions at a meeting this week.
"We object to the entire proceeding today," said attorney Eric McLeod, who represents the three GOP senators and the recall efforts against Wirch and fellow Dems Dave Hansen and Jim Holperin.
McLeod said the earlier court order stipulating the recall certification schedule required the GAB to take up the recalls against the Dem senators this week as well. He alleged that those senators’ petition challenges haven’t met the high burden to toss the recall efforts, and said any implication of bias on the part of the GAB should be of great concern to all involved.
Dan Hunt, who leads the effort to recall Wirch, called upon GAB Director Kevin Kennedy to resign or for Gov. Scott Walker or the GAB board to force him to do so.
Hunt said the GAB is acting outside of its statutory authority in delaying action beyond the court-authorized extension of June 3 and its decision to lump together all three challenges regarding Democratic senators together amounts to a “blatantly partisan maneuver to further the objectives of a particular party.”
Hunt said his group didn’t oppose the initial extension, but does not support further delay.
GAB attorney Shane Falk said the decision to delay the Dem senators’ recalls was due only to the fact that board staff wouldn’t have been able to complete its review of those petitions.
"We did everything humanly possible," Falk said, noting that staffers had come in over the holiday weekend and had previously pulled all-nighters in hopes of catching up on recall work.
The board action means that six total recall elections – all against Republican senators – will be certified for July 12, pending further legal action.
The three Dems up for recall would go on the ballot July 19 if certified by the board at its meeting next week.
– WisPolitics.com
