Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday called for the dismantling of an independent state agency that oversees elections and that authorized an investigation into his 2012 recall campaign. Walker, who launched his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last week, told reporters following a bill signing ceremony in Oshkosh that he wanted to scrap the Government Accountability Board and replace it with “something completely new that is truly accountable to the people of the state of Wisconsin.” Walker also called for an investigation into the board’s activities. He did not say who should lead the investigation. Walker’s comments come just four days after the state Supreme Court halted a board-approved investigation into whether conservative groups illegally coordinated with Walker’s 2012 recall campaign, saying the groups broke no laws. Republican state lawmakers have been talking for months about reshaping the board, and the Supreme Court’s ruling has only bolstered the calls for change.
The board, which replaced the partisan Ethics and Elections boards in 2008, is comprised of six former judges appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. It oversees elections as well as campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws.
… No specific proposal for changing the board has been made public, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has called for its director Kevin Kennedy to be replaced.
Kennedy, who previously served as head of the elections board that preceded the GAB, has defended the board’s makeup and scope of duties. He says one of its biggest benefits is that it serves as a one-stop-shop for questions about elections, ethics and campaign finance laws that often overlap.
Full Article: GOP hopeful Scott Walker calls for dismantling of state elections board | Chicago Tribune.