Senate GOP fires 8 Evers appointees, including UW regents, judge watchdogs

 

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Senate Republicans on Tuesday fired eight appointees Democratic Governor Tony Evers had named to different state boards and commissions, including members of the UW Board of Regents and the state commission created to hold judges accountable.

Senate leaders had indicated Tuesday's session would be the final one of 2024; the Legislature likely won't convene again until a new two-year session begins in January.

During the 2023-24 session, Senate Republicans fired a total of 20 Evers appointees, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.

Between 1981 and 2022, the Senate had rejected a total of five gubernatorial appointees, and that included State Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska), who was appointed to serve as the agriculture secretary in 2019.

Pfaff said Tuesday Senate Republicans were discouraging qualified candidates from wanting to accept offers to serve as an Evers appointee.

"What it signals, is it signals partisan politics," Pfaff said during a news conference before Tuesday's session. "Doesn't matter your background, doesn't matter your qualifications, doesn't matter your work ethic."

The Senate GOP fired two Evers appointees to the UW Board of Regents, John W. Miller and Dana Wachs, who previously served in the Legislature.

In December, Miller and Wachs both voted against a deal UW System leaders struck that restructured 43 jobs related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, commonly referred to as DEI.

That agreement passed 11-6 after three regents reversed their original votes, but Democrats said Miller and Wachs were still rejected Tuesday as acts of political retribution.

"It says something when we are willing to take away an appointment because individuals were willing to stand up for diversity, equity and inclusion," State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) said.

State Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) was the only Republican to vote against firing the two regents.

Senate Republicans also fired four of Evers' appointees to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which reviews complaints against judges and court commissioners.

Yulonda Anderson, Jane Foley, Janet Jenkins and Judy Ziewacz were rejected from their nominations to fill four of the commission's nine spots.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) said on the floor the judicial nominees had displayed political bias during their confirmation hearings, which were held last August and September.

Wanggaard also said some of the appointees did not display a strong enough grasp of how the body worked, including knowledge of what made up a walking quorum and what actions were responsive to open records requests.

"In many cases, they had apparently endorsed candidates for judicial office," Wanggaard said. "The judicial commission must remain neutral, above partisanship and enforce the law by following the laws without bias."

Democrats maintained the judicial commission rejections were also acts of revenge that targeted appointees who would not condemn Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz.

Republicans have accused Protasiewicz of showing prejudice on the issues of abortions and redistricting because she openly criticized the state's previous legislative maps and described herself as pro-choice during last spring's campaign.

"It was structured as a witch hunt," State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) said. "Trying to force these appointees into basically making a prejudgment as to whether or not they would vote to censure Justice Protasiewicz."

Senate Republicans also fired Terrance Craney from his spot on the Deferred Compensation Board and, in a surprise move, fired Mildred Gonzales from the Council on Domestic Abuse.

Gonzales' confirmation was unanimously recommended by the Senate's committee on children and families. The seven other appointees had their confirmations recommended for rejection by Republicans at the committee level.

In a statement, the governor's office slammed the rejections as "baseless." The Evers administration immediately named new appointees for all eight positions.