'Maybe not red flags, but certainly yellow flags': Open government advocates question governors using alias email accounts
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Gov. Tony Evers has been using an alias to send official state emails. The governor's office said Monday it's been open about the practice of using such alternate accounts.
Wisconsin Right Now, a conservative online outlet, first reported Sunday evening Evers, a Democrat, had been conducting state business under the account, '[email protected].'
Warren Spahn pitched for the Milwaukee Braves from 1953 through 1964 and is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
When asked about the use of that alias account, Britt Cudaback, Evers' communications director, told CBS 58 Monday certain executive branch dignitaries, such as the governor, lieutenant governor and first lady, receive an alias email account "as a matter of digital security."
Cudaback then referred to letters the governor's office has sent to media outlets, including CBS 58, when fulfilling previous open records requests.
Those letters included language outlining what parts of the records had been redacted and why. One section noted dignitaries, including the governor, had their "non-public official direct email address" shielded.
"All identifiers of the Governor’s, Lieutenant Governor’s, and First Lady’s non-public official direct email address have also been redacted. Making this information available would significantly hinder the Governor’s, Lieutenant Governor’s, and First Lady’s ability to communicate and work efficiently," a Sept. 1 letter to CBS 58 read.
The Evers administration has noted in responses to previous open records requests it shields the alias email address used by the governor to protect the
Tom Kamenick, founder and president of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, said it wasn't clear whether the governor's office can legally refuse to disclose the names of alias email accounts.
"I'm not exactly sure how it would turn out [if the redacting practice were challenged in court]," Kamenick said. "I think the courts start with a strong presumption of transparency, so there'd always be a strong chance the courts would come out in favor of transparency and say, 'you can't hide email address, official government email addresses.'"
Kamenick said his biggest concern with the practice was it added another layer that would make it harder to know whether the governor's office had truly turned over all of the messages a requestor was seeking.
Kamenick said it's common for government watchdogs to request the same documents from multiple agencies. He said not knowing the name of an alias account would make it harder to cross-check whether one agency was withholding records another one provided.
"You wonder, when they're using a private email address, can you really trust that they are turning those records over to the public in response to record requests?" he said.
Kamenick added he'd heard Evers' predecessor, Republican Scott Walker, had also used an alias email to conduct state business.
CBS 58 contacted several former Walker staffers to ask whether they knew of such a practice. They either did not respond or did not immediately confirm whether Walker used an alias email.
Walker's former legal counsel, Katie Ignatowski, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Walker had used an account named '[email protected].' Ignatowski did not respond to questions CBS 58 sent Monday.
An email sent Monday to the Warren Spahn account bounced back with a message saying such an account did not exist in the state domain.
"I don't know if that means they're just gonna pick another one, but I think it's important that the public knows that there's this alternative account," Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said. "But that doesn't mean there was anything illegal about it."
According to the Wisconsin Right Now report, emails supplied by Evers' office included messages signed, "Tony" and "Tony Evers." The email address sending those messages was redacted.
Lueders said he was encouraged by the Evers administration having a stated practice of turning over messages sent to and from the alias account. Still, he questioned whether the need to filter out spam and harassing messages justified elected officials conducting business under a pseudonym.
"I don't know that they've demonstrated any necessity, that these communications have to take place in some other channel besides the official one," Lueders said.
How far back Wisconsin governors have used alternate email accounts is unclear. Melissa Baldauff, who previously served as a spokesperson for Evers during his first term, said on X, the site originally known as Twitter, the practice dated back to Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who served from 1987 to 2001.
Every governor in Wisconsin since Tommy Thompson has used an email alias. Evers administration has routinely disclosed to records requesters (including members of the media) that an alias exists for digital security reasons but has provided the content of emails. https://t.co/Iwh8jrVMLR
— Melissa Baldauff (@mbaldauff) November 27, 2023
Bill McCoshen, who was an advisor to Thompson, said he was unaware of Thompson using an alias. He said he didn't recall Thomson even having a computer in his office during his first two terms.
I don’t even remember a computer being in Tommy’s office in his first two terms. And if there was one later in his tenure, there’s no way he had an email. https://t.co/fDcRaW5P9U
— Bill McCoshen (@billmccoshen) November 27, 2023
CBS 58 asked the state Department of Administration (DOA) if it tracked how long governors and other executive-level dignitaries had used an alias account. A DOA spokesperson said that information would have to come from the governor's office. Cudaback said the practice dated back at least a decade, going back to Walker, who was first elected governor in 2010.