Nine Recall Elections Approved in Wisconsin

On Wednesday, June 8, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board approved three more recall elections, bringing the total to nine recall elections statewide.

The board approved the recall elections for Sen. Jim Holpering (D-District 12), Sen. Robert Wirch (D-District 22) and Sen. Dave Hansen (D-District 30).

The recall elections for these three Democrats has been set for July 19; if a primary election is needed it will be held on July 19 with the general election on August 16, 2011.

One week earlier, the GAB approved the recall elections for six Republicans, including Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-District 32), Sen. Randy Hopper (R-District 18), Sen. Luther Olsen (R-District 14), Sen. Alberta Darling (R-District 8), Sen. Robert Cowles (R-District 2) and Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10).

The recall elections for the six GOP Senate members is July 12; if a primary is needed it will be held on that day with a general election to be held on August 9.

All six Republican Senate members have filed a lawsuit contesting the board's certification of their recall elections; it is unknown whether litigation resulting from this legal action could affect the recall dates.

In other recall election news, the Wisconsin Republicans announced on Monday, June 6 that the party would support the use of protest candidates in the recall elections.

In a press release, the party stated that "the Republican Party of Wisconsin has advocated that protest candidates run in Democratic primaries to ensure that Republican legislators have ample time to communicate with voters throughout their districts after the state budget is approved."

The La Crosse Tribune reported on Wednesday, June 8 that another former GOP members was planning on running against a Democrat to force a primary.

The Tribune reported that James Smith, a former member of the La Crosse County GOP's executive committee, was planning to run as a Democrat to force a primary in the recall election of Sen. Dan Kapanke.

Sen. Kapanke is being challenged in the recall election by Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-District 95).

Hudson Patch also reported that Isaac Weix from Elmwood, a former Republican Wisconsin State Assembly candidate now living in Menomonie; was collecting signatures to run in a primary race against Democratic candidate Shelly Moore.

No word yet on how many signatures Weix has obtained.

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Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10)

• On Tuesday, June 7, 2011 Wisconsin Act 19 was published into law. The new law, which was originally co-authored by Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, will repeal DNR requirements that communities disinfect their drinking water. Harsdorf has stated in the past that this legislation was necessary because some communities cannot afford to comply with the regulations.
• AB 175, an act co-authored by Harsdorf, was introduced on Wednesday, June 8. The bill seeks to allow a court to order a person who is convicted of violating a restraining order, for the duration of the restraining order, to global positioning system (GPS) tracking by the Department of Corrections. The legislation was referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Corrections.
• SB 26, an act authored by Harsdorf and co-sponsored by state Rep. Dean Knudson, passed the Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday, June 8, with a vote of 71-26. The legislation seeks to remove the federal requirement to provide bonding authority for the new Stillwater bridge project. Having already passed the Senate on May 10 with a 23-10 vote, the bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Scott Walker.
• Harsdorf is in full campaign mode. Harsdorf's campaign recently unveiled MooreTaxes.com; a website devoted to attacking opposing candidate Shelly Moore. A conservative lobbying group also recently began running negative TV ads against Moore.
• Harsdorf has a Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Higher Education meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 14.

Rep. Dean Knudson (R-District 30)

• SB 93, the conceal and carry legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Dean Knudson, has made significant process as of late. The bill recently passed through the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Utilities, Commerce, and Government Operations. The bill now awaits a hearing in the Joint Committee on Finance.
• SB 107, an act co-sponsored by Knudson, passed in the Senate Committee on Insurance and Housing on Wednesday, June 8. The bill seeks to prohibit any town, village, city or county from imposing restrictions on residential landlords. The legislation will prohibit any ordinances that limits the landlord from obtaining or using various types of information about a
  tenant or prospective tenant, such as household income, occupation, court records, rental history, and credit information and prohibits any ordinances that limits how far back in time a prospective tenant's records may be used by a landlord in the rental process. The bill now awaits scheduling in the Senate.
• Knudson has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

• On June 9, Sen. Ron Johnson appeared on ABC News's Topline, discussing the debt and the need for leadership to promote economic growth.
• On June 10, Johnson appeared on Fox News, where he talked about the federal budget and debt with host Bill Hemmer.
• Johnson has a Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 15 at 2:30 pm.
• Tweet of the week: "As the size of government increases, we lose the right to choose what type of light bulb we can put in our homes. http://tinyurl.com/3efsd32."

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)

• Sen. Herb Kohl has a Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 14 at 10 a.m.

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)

• Rep. Ron Kind has a Committee on Ways and Means meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 16.