Late Friday afternoon (after 5 PM) a reporter called and asked me for a reaction to the news from the Government Accountability Board. I asked, "What news?" The reporter told me that the GAB had issued a press release 45 minutes earlier stating that they wouldn't be certifying our recall as scheduled this Tuesday, May 31. To say the least, I was shocked and, for one of the rare times in my life, speechless.
The GAB states http://gab.wi.gov/node/1883 that they are taking this, action " because of the strong likelihood that any finding of sufficiency or insufficiency by the Board will be appealed to a circuit court, it is imperative that the issues raised by these challenges are fully examined , and that a complete record is created for a court to consider."
This action is motivated by politics. From the timing of the announcement to the fact that only recalls of Democrat senators are being delayed points to this as being politically motivated. Also, how does the GAB know that there is a "strong likelihood" this will go to court? Who have they been speaking with behind the scenes? They have not communicated with us except for official filings and inquiries. These are only some of the concerns.
When Senator Wirch challenged our petitions we answered that challenge forcefully. Of approximately 18,300 signatures submitted he challenged 4,043. We responded by rebutting 3,251 of those challenges. Last week the GAB verified 17,544 signatures which confirmed our rebuttals. As you know, we only need 13,537 signatures for the recall. At that time he also submitted only 20 affidavits purporting "fraud" after telling the press he had "mountains" of affidavits. 5 of those affidavits were filed by people who went to a drive-thru to sign the petition.
What do we do? We are considering our response carefully. We may challenge this decision in a news conference. We may take them to court. We will challenge them in the press. I feel strongly that I wouldn't be representing the thousands of people who signed our petitions properly if I didn't aggressively challenge this decision.
Ultimately the recall will go through. There will be an election that will replace Senator Wirch. That cannot happen too soon. Let's constantly keep our eye on the goal - holding our senator accountable.
Let's Make History Together,
Dan
