Registered lobbyist appointed as administrator in Gov. Walker’s administration

A little over a week ago, employees at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development received the following email message:

Employee Messages
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 8:46 AM
To: DWD DL All Users
Subject: Message from DWD Secretary Perez: WC Administrator Appointment

Message from DWD Secretary Perez: WC Administrator Appointment

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of John Metcalf as our new WC Administrator.

John is currently Director of Human Resources Policy at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), where he has worked since 1988 specializing in such areas as employer-employee relations, unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation. He coordinated the WMC “friend of the court” program in which WMC filed legal briefs representing the business community in major court cases and administrative agency proceedings.

While at WMC, John has served on a number of boards and advisory panels, including the Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council Study Commission, and the Worker’s Compensation Rating Committee of the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau.

His previous experience includes serving as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the former Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations (now DWD). He also worked as a legislative aide in the Wisconsin State Senate.

John is a University of Wisconsin Law School graduate. He earned his undergraduate degree in history and a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

John has expertise in worker’s compensation that will help us strengthen Wisconsin’s competitive edge and advance Governor Walker’s agenda of creating jobs. I am very pleased he will be joining my executive leadership team.

Please join me in welcoming John to his new role as WC Administrator.

Regards,

Manny Perez
Secretary

What Secretary Perez’s email didn’t mention that in addition to his experience working for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Metcalf is also a registered lobbyist in the state of Wisconsin. Perez’s email also didn’t mention that Metcalf was a donor to Gov. Walker’s gubernatorial campaign, having donated $500 to help get Gov. Walker elected.

Date	Contributed To	Contributor Name	City, State Zip	Employer	Interest Category	Amount
07/23/2010	Walker, Scott	Metcalf, John	Madison, WI 53704	Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce	Business	$500.00

The appointment of John Metcalf strikes me as yet another example (see Cathy Stepp) of Gov. Walker’s administration putting the proverbial fox in the henhouse, but at least John Metcalf has a college degree!