Republicans reject Evers' appointees for elections commission, DNR board
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Senate Republicans on Tuesday rejected the confirmation of a former Milwaukee County clerk who had been nominated to serve as one of the state's top elections officials.
GOP senators also rejected four of Evers' appointees to the seven-member Natural Resources Board (NRB), which sets policy for the Department of Natural Resources.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appointed Czarnezki in May after Julie Glancey resigned from the commission. Czarnezki had been serving as one of the three Democrats slotted on the six-member Wisconsin Elections Commission.
The state Senate voted 21-11 to reject Czarnezki's appointment.
Czarnezki served as the Milwaukee County clerk from July 2009 through the end of his second term in 2016. Czarnezki also served in the state Senate, and he most recently served as a supervisor on the Milwaukee County Board.
Speaking to reporters at the state Capitol Tuesday, Evers said it was "insanity" for Senate Republicans to turn away Czarnezki, as well as his four NRB nominees.
"It's insanity. It's insanity. You think about, these are all good people, and they're all strong supporters of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Idea," Evers told reporters at the state Capitol after the vote. "And they're completely appropriate people to serve in those positions."
Evers responded by immediately naming Carrie Riepl as his new appointee on the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Riepl is a human relations manager for the city of Eau Claire, and she previously served as the city clerk there.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said in a statement Czarzezki flouted the law when he joined other Democrats in abstaining during a vote to nominate Meagan Wolfe for a second term as the state's top elections official.
“The Governor’s appointment to the Wisconsin Elections Commission violated the law by refusing to promptly and properly appoint an election administrator," LeMahieu said in a statement.
Democrats maintain Republicans set a precedent allowing Wolfe to keep serving without confirmation, even after her first term ended. Senate Republicans refused to hold a confirmation hearing for Sandra Nass, who Evers appointed to replace Fred Prehn on the Natural Resources Board (NRB).
Prehn refused to step down at the end of his term in May 2021, and a then-conservative majority on the state Supreme Court ruled Prehn could stay because the Senate hadn't confirmed his replacement.
While the Senate voted in September to reject Wolfe's confirmation, Republicans' own lawyers recently admitted in court filings that vote was "symbolic" because Wolfe was "lawfully holding over" as the WEC administrator.
Quite the contradiction between what Sen. Maj. Leader LeMahieu told us last month and what his lawyers are now saying in court re: WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe.
— A.J. Bayatpour (@AJBayatpour) October 17, 2023
Court filing: We admit Wolfe is lawfully holding over
LeMahieu in Sept: Time has run out since Wolfe's term expired https://t.co/V2L4emgRbjpic.twitter.com/AlUcUBfhPu
State Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) was the only Republican to break from his party in voting against rejecting Czarnezki's appointment.
"We can blame that on all of us. We created a partisan committee," Cowles said. "That was a deliberate thing to create three Democrats and three Republicans. He took the Democrat position."
Republicans established the elections commission in 2015 when they disbanded the Government Accountability Board under former Gov. Scott Walker.
Republicans decided the commission would be made up of three Republicans and three Democratic appointees.
Senate GOP fires more than half of the DNR board
Republicans on Tuesday also voted to fire four of the seven members of the NRB, which sets policy for the Department of Natural Resources. Nass was one of the four appointees rejected by the Senate GOP.
As with the WEC appointment, Evers immediately announced four new appointees: Todd Ambs, who would serve a term ending in May 2029; Robin Schmidt, who would serve a term ending in May 2027; Patty Schachtner, who would serve a term until May 2027, and Douglas Cox, who would serve a term ending in May 2029.
LeMahieu said the nominees were rejected because they "openly indicated they would not comply with the laws of our state if confirmed."
Cowles said if Republicans believed NRB members were setting DNR policy that violated state law, they could always undo that policy at the committee level or on the powerful Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules.
"You're gonna disagree with some people sometimes, you're gonna agree with them other times. The governor has the appointment," Cowles said. "He's already appointed four more people, so where has this gotten you?"