Since nearly the dawn of time, Democrat Doug LaFollette has been Wisconsin Secretary of State. He was first elected in 1974 and has served since, save for a brief interruption of four years. In 1978, former Milwaukee Ald. and Judge Vel Philips was elected Secretary of State and became the first African American elected to a state constitutional office. But she generated publicity (notably from this magazine) for doing very little on the job, and voters, in their wisdom, returned good old Doug, a first cousin three times removed of “Fighting” Bob LaFollette , to this august office.
The problem is, the Secretary of State has never had many duties, which may be why Philips had such a problem trying to look busy. The situation got worse after the Legislature, with then Gov. Tommy Thompson’s approval, took away two of the office’s main functions: monitoring lobbying activities and investigating ethics violations.
I remember calling the office not long after that law was passed, and the phone was answered by LaFollette himself, who moaned about his staffing and funding being cut. Still, the office currently has some 8 to 10 employees, a staffer told me. So what are they all doing?
A recent story in Madison’s Isthmus suggested that the office now functions “as a huge government filing cabinet where one can find land deeds, oaths of office and the complete Blue Book collection since 1853. The secretary’s most notable task is affixing the state’s Great Seal to all of the official acts of the governor.”
The office is a moldy artifact of the 19th century, back before the explosion of agencies run by the governor. The Secretary of State’s minimal duties could be easily and more efficiently absorbed by the executive branch. I’m guessing any staffer with a strong hand could affix the Great Seal.
Legislators grabbing gimmicks like the Taxpayers Protection Amendment would be better served finding obvious examples of waste like this office and working to eliminate them. They might then move on to state treasurer, another outmoded office whose duties could probably be absorbed by the Department of Revenue.
Meanwhile, Democrat Scot Ross has announced his intention to challenge LaFollette in this fall’s primary, and two Republicans, R.J. DeBaufer and the delightfully alliterative Sandy Sullivan , have also filed papers. Looks like we’re going to have a rock ’em sock ’em race for a totally unnecessary office.
Look for LaFollette to cite his long experience, a record of service that certainly stands by itself. As he put it to Isthmus , “It’s not like people are unhappy with the job I do.” Sounds like the perfect slogan for his campaign.
Sheriff Clarke Gets Religion
Sheriff David Clarke looks great in a cowboy hat. He is likeable, charismatic and articulate. His vision, as announced on his office’s Web site, is to be “the best law enforcement agency in the state.”
Given that the sheriffs mostly handle routine duties like patrolling the freeways and guarding the county jails, that is a lofty, if not impossible vision to achieve. Meanwhile, Clarke has hit a few bumps along the road.
Last week, the deputies’ union filed a civil rights lawsuit against Clarke, claiming he violated their rights to freedom of religion by allowing a representative from Elmbrook Church to speak at their mandatory roll call. The speaker was inviting deputies to join a Christian law enforcement group that offers support to each other, along with the chance to take part in Bible study.
Clarke called the talk “informational” and added this: “Unfortunately, we live in an era where some people will make even God the enemy.”
What if the speaker was inviting folks to join a Buddhist, Mormon or Hindu support and prayer group? How about a radical Islamic sect or maybe a Christian-professing Amway salesman? These are all people who believe in God. Perhaps each day’s roll call could force deputies to hear a presentation from yet a different pitchman.
The union’s lawsuit is demanding compensatory and punitive damages, which seems absurd for one brief talk. The union has a history of squabbling with the sheriff. But Clarke is making it easy for them to score points, given his errors of judgment.
Not long ago, the union released information showing that Clarke spent taxpayer money on all sorts of travel to professional conferences from 2004 to 2006: trips to Seattle; Massachusetts; Longmount, Colorado; New York City; Madison; Washington, D.C.; Riverside, California; and two separate trips to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a total cost of just under $25,000. That’s a notable bill for any officeholder, much less a professed fiscal conservative. It’s all part of the steady drip drip of blotches smearing Clark’s record. At some point, voters might begin to see a pattern.
Who’s Your Favorite Republican?
Straw polls at the state Republican convention this past week offered a few clues as to who party insiders like. There’s no obvious favorite for president in 2008, as the voters split between many candidates. Still, it was striking that they preferred George Allen , Rudy Giuliani , Condi Rice and even Newt Gingrich over John McCain for president. McCain clearly remains distrusted by party insiders.
On the home front, the straw poll showed a runaway win for JB Van Hollen (228 votes) over Paul Bucher (88 votes) for attorney general. I still insist that voters cannot warm to a man without a first name. Voters want to know who their candidate is, and JB sounds like an anonymous corporate flunky and the initials look like a cattle brand.
Meanwhile, the convention gave the cold shoulder to Rep. Terri McCormick (R-Appleton), who is running in the primary for the 8th Congressional District against the party favorite, Assembly Speaker John Gard . Polls show that Gard is running poorly and the Democrats have a good chance of picking up this seat, which has been held by Republican Mark Green .
“The Democrats are going to have a field day beating up on Gard about his connection in the Scott Jensen/Steve Foti caucus scandal,” conservative Bob Dohnal has written. McCormick, he added, is “the founder of the charter school movement in the state and a very independent, intelligent and tough candidate.… McCormick also does not have to answer to the sins of the leadership in the caucus scandal.”
Ah, but McCormick is given scant chance of winning the primary, largely because GOP insiders and donors are backing Gard. They may come to regret that decision.
