Recall Group Has Over 300,000 Signatures

     United Wisconsin, the group that is organizing the effort to recall Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Kleefish, and four senators, has announced that it has collected over 300,000 signatures in the first 12 days of its 60-day period in which to gather them. This puts them at approximately 50% of the number that they wanted to collect.  Executive Director Megan Mahaffey stated that even though they might have the required number of signatures earlier than required, they still plan to turn them in to the Government Accountability Board on January 17th, the last day before the deadline.  If you are interested in signing the recall petitions contact your friendly local union representative and they can direct you to whomever is circulating the petition.

Reminder: Recall Petitions Available

     The drive to collect the over 540,000 signatures required to force a recall election of Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Kleefish is under way.  If you wish to sign the petition, please see your Union representative and they will either have a petition or will be able to direct you to someone else who is.  They will also have information as to how you can become a circulator yourself.  Please also encourage your friends, family, or anyone else to sign.  Signers need only to have lived in Wisconsin for at least 28 days, and to be eligible to vote.  THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE CURRENTLY REGISTERED TO SIGN THE PETITION, as Wisconsin allows voter registration on the day of the election.  Please remember as we go through the next sixty days that just as you have the right to sign the petition, others have the right not to, so be persuasive and polite but not pushy.  Thank you for you support.

Walker Recall Effort Begins

United Wisconsin and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has begun to collect the over 500,000 signatures that it requires in order to recall Governor Scott Walker.  Make sure to find someone who is circulating the petition and sign up today.  Offical circulators will be wearing lanyard to identify themselves, so make sure that the person who is circulting your petition is wearing a lanyard, or is in some other way trustworthy, as there is some concern that fake petitions will be circulated.  When you are done signing, make sure to get three other people to sign as well!

Ohio Rejects New Collective Bargaining Law

   In a statewide referendum yesterday, the people of the state of Ohio rejected recently implemented collective bargaining laws that were more restrictive than those passed in Wisconsin.  It is being considered a huge victory for labor unions in the state, and a defeat of Republican Governor John Kasich.  You can read more about it by clicking here.

Walker Recall Effort Date Set

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate has announced on the party website that the effort to recall Governor Scott Walker will begin on November 15, 2011.  540,306 valid signatures are required to force a recall election.  Organizers will have 60 days to collect the needed signatures.  You can read more details here.

Fake Democrats Lose

All six fake "Democrats" - who were really Republicans running as Democrats at the urging of the Republican party - running for election in the State Senate lost their primaries on Tuesday, setting the stage for general elections August 6.  Republican primaries in the races for the three recalled Democratic senators will be held on July 19th, 2011.  That includes the race for Sen. Jim Holperin's seat.  Make sure everyone gets out to vote in the Republican primary on the 19th.

New Lawsuit Against Bargaining Law

     A coalition of Wisconsin unions has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the recently passes Wisconsin Act 10.  The lawsuit contends that the Act violates the First and Fourteenth Ammendments of the constitution because it encumbers people's right to "bargain, organize, and associate for the purpose of engaging in union activity" and because it discriminates among classes of municipal employees by exempting police, firefighters, and state troopers.  This is the first lawsuit to actually attack the bill on its merits, although it should be noted that it does not challenge the pension and insurance contributions of employees, as the unions involved in the lawsuit have "made it clear from day one that Wisconsin public sector workers would do their part to share in the sacrafice and keep our state moving forward" according to a statement issued by the AFL-CIO.  The case has been filed in the Western District of Wisconsin and assigned to District Judge William M. Conley, who was appointed to the position by President Barak Obama.

Supreme Court Rules on Act 10

    With a shockingly short turnaround, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated the controversial Budget Repair Bill last night around 5 pm, just moments before the Legislature was set to include the controversial measure in the 2011-2013 Biannual Budget.  The court ruled that Dane County circuit court judge Maryanne Sumi's ruling was void from outset as she had acted outside of her jurisdiction in declaring the law null.  In the majority opinion, the Court concluded that "...the Legislature did not violate the Wisconsin Constitution by the process it used." These tactics were to enact Wisconsin Act 10 in a special legislative session with less than 24 hours public notice.  It is unclear how this ruling might affect the contract signed between Local 474 and Vilas County.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Recall Election Set

     The Government Accountability Board has set the recall election for Senator Jim Holperin (D-Conover).  The primary election will be held July 19, 2011 with the general electios to be held August 16, 2011.  Republicans Kim Simac - president of the Northwoods Patriots - and Lincoln County Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Lussow have both announced plans to run for Holperin's seat, which will necessitate at least a Republican primary on the 19th.

GAB Considers Last Three Recalls

     The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) meets this morning at 9:00 AM to consider Democratic challenges against the three recall petitions.  Democrats filed an appeal regarding the petitions to recall Senators Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), Jim Holperin (D-Conover), and Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) alledging several improprieties.  The GAB will see memos from its staff making reccomendations on how to proceed, but the bottom line laid out in the memos is that in each case, even if the GAB decides to throw out the improper signatures, there are still enough legal signatures to force an election for each senator.  The GAB will hear testimony from both sides and from their staff and either throw out each petition or schecule an election date.  GAB spokesman Reid Magney says that the cases on all three petitions should be decided by 6:00 PM.  We will keep you updated as we know more.

Kloppenburg Concedes, GAB Okays 3 Recall Elections

    In news today, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has officially conceded the Wisconsin Supreme Court election to Incumbent David Prosser at a Madison news conference.  A statewide recount showed her losing the election by 7,006 votes.  She also stated that she would not challenge the election in court, noting: "It would serve no purpose to bring a suit with insufficient legal basis. That is not the kind of lawyer that I am."
     In another part of Madison, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board was approved recall elections against three senators, while delaying a decision on three others.  Sens, Rob Cowles (R-Allouez), Alberta Darling (R- River Hills), and Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) will face recall elections on July 12, 2011.  If there are multiple entrants, then the July 12th date will become the primary with the general election on August 9.  Working over the Memorial Day weekend, the GAB was able to dismiss concerns and complaints against the three petitions in time for their meeting today.
     The same was not true in the case of the petitions agains Sens. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), Jim Holperin (D-Conover), and Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay).  The GAB stated that their recall petitions were challenged under different grounds and that they just didn't have the manpower to adequately dismiss all the claims against the petitions.  The GAB is working under a court-ordered extension to set the dates for all recall elections by this coming Friday, June 3, 2011.  They plan to return to the court to ask for more time.  Their proposed timetable for elections for any of the three whose dates haven't been set would be a July 19th primary and August 16th general election.  Once the recall election dates are certified, the offical who is being recalled has seven days to appeal to the courts.  It is unclear at this time if any of the senators facing recalls will do so.

Judge Strikes Down Collective Bargaining Law

   In a decision rendered earlier today, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi declared that there was "clear and convincing evidence" that the meeting at which Wisconsin Act 10 was passed did not meet with open meeting law requirement, and as such the law is void.  She then went on to issue a permanent injunction against it.  There are several more legal battles being fought regarding the law, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing arguments as to whether it should take up the case on June 6, 2011.  This development dows not change any of the contract agreements that were ratified by the union membership on Monday May 23, as once a tentative agreement is ratified it is binding, and Wisconsin Act 10 does not mandate an employee contribution to the retirement fund.  Please stay tuned for more information as we have it.

Recount Completed

The recount in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice has wrapped up, with the final, officially certified totals showing incumbent David Prosser winning by 7,006 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast. He is the winner right now, although many believe that there will still be more legal challenges of the results in the court system.  Stay tuned for more updates as we have them.

Recount Changes Little

With 71 of 72 counties finished with their recounts in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has only picked up 355 extra votes against incumbent Justice David Prosser.  This means that she would have to gain 6,962 votes in heavily Republican Waukesha County - the only county left to finish their recounting.  Of the approximately 30% of Waukesha County votes recounted so far, Prosser has actually picked up 18 votes, so it appears exceedingly unlikely that the recount will change any election results.

Challenges to Recall Petitions



Recall petitions are checked by the GAB.

     The Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) has filed a challenge to the recall petitions against Sens. Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin, and Robert Wirch.  The DPW has approximately 200 sworn statements from voters who report irregularities with the recall petitions.  These include people who claim they never signed the petitions, people who were told they were signing petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker, support local education, support local parks, or recall Republican Senators.  "Thousands of Wisconsin citizens fell victim to lies and misinfomation spread by the circulators, and the papers submitted [by the signature collectors] contain a river of omissions and wrong informations," said Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona).  Attorney for the DPW, Jeremy Levinson, went on to say that it appeared that many names on the petitions appeared to have been copied from the phone book, including the deceases father of Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison).     Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Mark Jefferson responded by calling the challenge "an expensive waste of time, couched in hyperbole and hot air" and predicted that even if the challenges of the signatures were upheld they would fall far short of the numbers needed to invalidate the petition.  All three petitions contained thousands of signatures more than required for force a recall election.
     Kennedy Enterprises of Colorado Springs, CO was paid $92,000 to circulate petitions against Democratic senators, and Democrats have also claimes that circulators from Florida, Colorado, and New York claimed to live at invalid addresses.  No one was available at Kennedy Enterprises when the Wisconsin State Journal attempted to contact them for comment.  It is not clear at this time how these challenges will effect the recall election scheduled for July 12, 2011.

Kim Simac to Run in Recall Election

According to the Lakeland Times, Northwoods Patriots President Kim Simac will be challenging Senator Jim Holperin in the upcoming recall election.  She plans to kick off her campaign today at 10:00 am at her campaign headquarters in Rhinelander.  In response to her announcement, Senator Holperin said "It's clear that Kim Simac, beacause she ran the recall operation, is mad at me, and it's pretty clear that she's angry at government, yet now she wants to be a part of it."  The election has been set for July 12, 2011 but could be delayed by legal challenges of the signatures on the petitions.  We will bring you more information when we have it.

Recall Petition Information

It is Monday morning information time, everyone.  We hope you had a wonderful weekend are the ready to get back to work.  If you would like a little light reading, you can see a list of the 16 Wisconsin senators who are targets of recall petitions if you click here.  If you want to see specific information about the recall efforts by a particular committee to recall someone, click on their name.  You can access the information regarding Senator Holperin, including the petitions themselves, if you click here.  And the best part is that the information comes directly from the Government Accountability Board, so it is at least unbiased.  Have a great week everyone!

Supreme Court Vote Recounting Begins

The recounting of Vilas County votes in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 in the Vilas County Courthouse Conference Rooms in the basement of the Courthouse.  The recounting will commence at 9:00 AM.  Access to the rooms will be through the door to Conference Room #3 and items such as purses, coats and briefcases, as well as pencils or pens with blue or black ink, are prohibited.  Please make sure to allow your elected officials the space and concentration that they need to complete this complex, tedious, and critically important process.  Thank you.

Sen. Holperin Recall Petition Filed

The recall petition against Senator Jim Holperin was filed with the Government Accountability Board on Thursday, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.  There is no word yet on any details of the recall election.  We will let you know when we have more information.  Thank you to all of those who helped support workers' rights and Senator Holperin by not signing the petition.

Kloppenburg Files for Recount

     In a move that was widely expected, Assistant Attorney General Joanne Kloppenburg officially asked today for a recount of the results of the recent election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, which saw her lose by approximately 7,000 votes out of almost 1.5 million cast.  Since the results were closer than 0.5% of the total votes cast, the state will pay the cost of the recount, which incumbent and victor David Prosser called a waste of time and money.