Follow the money

Back in March, I wrote about Governor Jim Doyle’s flip-flop on AB 138, which would return control over the appointment of the Secretary of the Wisconsin DNR to a seven-member Natural Resources Board, instead of leaving the appointment of that position to the governor. For many years, the Secretary of the DNR had been appointed by the Natural Resources Board, until appointment power was granted to the governor during former Governor Tommy Thompson’s term in office. As Attorney General (and later a gubernatorial candidate) Jim Doyle had supported giving back the authority to to appoint the Secretary of the DNR to the Natural Resources Board; however as governor Jim Doyle has flip-flopped, with Doyle now supporting keeping the current system in place.

The Wisconsin State Journal raises an interesting point regarding the money trail surrounding AB 138, namely the fact that a lot of money has been given to Gov. Doyle by proponents of keeping the current system in place:

A recent Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis showed donors from groups lobbying against the DNR secretary bill have contributed more than $4.14 million to Doyle since 2003 – compared to $17,175 from members of groups supporting the bill.

$4.14 million sure is a lot of money, and it’s just unfortunate (and more than a little disappointing) that Gov. Doyle has changed his position on this issue.