Mark Green and his supporters are crying foul because the state Elections Board ruled that he can’t transfer some $467,000 of federal campaign funds to his gubernatorial campaign. After all, the board allowed Democrat Tom Barrett to transfer his federal campaign funds when he ran for governor in 2002. Why the change in the rules?
Meanwhile, the Madison weekly Isthmus just ran a feature story by Erik Gunn examining the question of whether Gov. Jim Doyle is getting different treatment from the media than former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. The story recites past stories showing that Thompson contributors got sweetheart deals from the government, yet he wasn’t hammered mercilessly by the media as Doyle has been for doing the same thing. Why this change in the rules?
The simple answer is that citizens – and the media – have reached a level of disgust with ethically challenged politicians. The caucus scandal has resulted in the prosecution of legislators for activities their predecessors engaged in with impunity. And the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, after being scooped by other publications on both the caucus and county pension scandals, was so embarrassed that it has become far more aggressive in its coverage of government. That’s all to the good for our democracy. But is it somehow unfair?
Let’s start with Green. State law says candidates for state office can only raise money from Political Action Committees (PACs) registered in this state. According to Green representative Mark Graul, the entire $467,000 in disallowed PAC funds is from PACs not registered in the state and thus barred by state law.
Green is also breaking the state law that bars gubernatorial candidates from raising more than $485,000 in PAC money. Counting the federal rollover and the money he raised from registered state PACs, Green is over the state limit by more than $182,000.
Ah, but Barrett was allowed to do this by the state Elections Board. Statistics provided by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign show that Barrett was allowed to transfer some $267,000 in federal funds from PACs not registered in Wisconsin. And this, combined with the legally registered PAC money Barrett raised, put him over the state ceiling of $485,000 by about $112,000.
Call me a prude, but I don’t think the Elections Board should allow anyone to break two state laws in running for governor. I don’t believe the citizens want lawbreakers to run this state.
Is the sudden switch unfair to Green? Yes. But consider the switcheroo former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen is facing for using state employees to work on campaigns, something that is illegal but had been practiced for years in the Legislature. Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard is demanding that Jensen pay $242,334 to compensate taxpayers for the salaries and fringe benefits of seven Republican aides he had campaign on state time, in addition to repaying $67,147 in legal fees. That seems like piling on for someone already (and legitimately) facing jail time. If anyone is getting a raw deal, it’s Jensen.
Meanwhile, consider the Doyle situation. Back in 1997, Journal Sentinel reporters Steve Schultze and Dan Bice did a series looking at contributors to Thompson and the favored treatment they received. Thompson reacted by meeting with the paper’s editors to complain. Shortly thereafter, Schultze and Bice were removed from the state beat, and there was no more such scrutiny of Thompson
Flash-forward to this year, where the JS has done countless front-page stories going after Doyle. Just the fact that Doyle met with a chief executive seeking help from government has merited front-page headlines. Thompson was celebrated for glad-handing executives because this was seen as good for the economy, regardless of whether the executives contributed to his campaign or got sweet deals from the state. Now the governor and his aides are apparently supposed to avoid any such meetings.
The paper’s campaign against Doyle was so relentless that U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic investigated the state contract for Adelman Travel and convicted lower-level civil service employee Georgia Thompson for wrongly awarding the contract. But Biskupic couldn’t prove that any higher-ups in the Doyle administration were complicit in this.
Biskupic has often reacted to media coverage by launching investigations. There’s nothing wrong with this; part of a prosecutor’s mission is to assure the community that justice is being done when there are reports of sleazy activities. But it shows how the media can have an impact on legal proceedings. Similarly, the Wisconsin State Journal’s aggressive series on the caucus scandal pushed prosecutors to investigate what had been business as usual in the capital.
In short, I think most citizens would welcome the Journal Sentinel’s scrutiny of any connections between Doyle’s contributors and actions taken by his administration. But wouldn’t they also want a level playing field, where the paper provides equal scrutiny to the connections between the millions in federal contributions Green has received and the legislative votes he took benefiting these contributors? Shouldn’t the paper also look at meetings Green and his aides had with these favored contributors? If anyone has a reason to cry foul about unfairness, it would be Doyle.
Will Attanasio Buy the Bucks?
At the outset, let me confess, this is just a rumor. A good source has told me that Mark Attanasio has made inquiries about buying the Milwaukee Bucks. The story makes sense, considering the situation the Bucks’ current owner, Herb Kohl, now faces.
Kohl has already tried to sell the team once but has made it clear that the new owner must be committed to keeping the team in town. That leaves him searching for a locally invested, wealthy individual who is also interested in sports. The list of such folks is not long, notes attorney Martin Greenberg, an expert in sports franchise economics and board chair of the Wisconsin State Fair.
“It would not surprise me if Attanasio is interested,” says Greenberg. “He’s well invested in this community, and I think he’s done well with the Brewers.”
Attanasio has done well indeed, sustaining fan interest and driving revenue up while being strategic in his spending. He has strong support from this community and has learned its inner workings, all of which could help when it comes to making the inevitable pitch for tax support for the Bucks. As Greenberg notes, “There does not appear to be an appetite in the community for more tax dollars going into sports teams.”
Certainly, that issue is a non-starter as long as a U.S. senator like Kohl owns the team. The idea of politicians trying to hand tax money to another politician is one the most adroit PR person would have difficulty selling.
In the meantime, the Bucks have just signed a short-term lease with the Bradley Center. Why short-term? One possible reason: This would make it easier for a new owner to negotiate his own terms, free from a constraining long-term lease.
Meanwhile, Bradley Center board chair Ulice Payne has thrown in the towel, saying there’s nothing the Bradley Center can do to get the Bucks the kind of annual revenue an average NBA team generates. The consensus seems to be that the structural bones of the Bradley Center cannot be cheaply changed to accommodate better-sited luxury boxes, more club seats, retail stores and all of the other revenue generators enjoyed by state-of-the-art NBA franchises. “Reconstructing the Bradley Center would cost more than starting from scratch,” says Payne.
Payne has suggested some kind of mini city development, combining a new basketball arena with retail, residential and office space. That’s a staggeringly ambitious vision and might take someone like Attanasio, a Los Angeles investment banker, to pull it off. Of course, Payne has suggested the government kick in with Tax Increment Financing, which may be the one kind of subsidy that could slip by without opposition.
Attorney and Wisconsin Center board chair Frank Gimbel suggests that the new arena complex should be a vertical development on Wisconsin Avenue, across from the convention center, to maximize revenue for both entities. Gimbel is still hoping for some kind of state support for an expanded convention center combined with support for a new arena, something he thinks unlikely unless Jim Doyle gets re-elected.
In short, it’s a very complicated situation and would take some business genius with deep pockets to save the team. Attanasio certainly fits that description.
