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SUN PRAIRIE - The state Assembly's
Democratic leaders decided Monday they won't attend a campaign
fundraiser next week after all.
The Assembly Democratic Campaign
Committee had organized a $1,000-a-head golf outing for June 15 in
Wisconsin Dells. Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, and
Majority Leader Tom Nelson, D-Kaukauna, both said last week they
planned to attend.
Sheridan and Nelson helped pass an
Assembly rule in February that prohibits members from raising cash for
their personal campaigns while the state budget is in play. The rule
was meant to keep special interests from persuading lawmakers to
insert perks in the spending plan in exchange for donations.
Legislators are still locked in debate
over the 2009-11 budget. Both the Assembly and the state Senate must
pass an identical version before Gov. Jim Doyle can sign it into law.
The process could take days yet, if not weeks, making it likely the
outing would fall while negotiations continue.
The Assembly Democratic Campaign
Committee isn't a personal campaign committee, but it does raise cash
to divide among Democratic candidates. Mike McCabe, executive director
of government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and
Assembly Republicans said Sheridan and Nelson's presence at the golf
outing at least violates the spirit of the no-fundraising rule.
Sheridan and Nelson defended their
plans last week, saying they were well within the boundaries of the
rule.
Still, the Wisconsin State Journal
newspaper ran an editorial on its web site Sunday evening criticizing
them. Late Monday evening Sheridan and Nelson issued a statement
saying they stood by their interpretation of the rule but wouldn't
attend the outing. They asked the committee to reschedule the event.
"While we know that this event is
in full compliance with the rule, we also understand it is important
that we do nothing to call into question the effectiveness of the
ban," Sheridan and Nelson said.
"Because of our deep commitment to
campaign finance reform, we have decided not to attend the June 15th
event, and have asked that the event be rescheduled to a later date.
Just as it is critical that we have a strong ban in place, it is also
critical that people have full faith and confidence in the ban."
The statement doesn't say when the
committee should reschedule the outing.
McCabe said Monday that Sheridan and
Nelson did the right thing.
"Going ahead with the fundraiser
would've been a mistake," McCabe said. "They would have
opened themselves to charges of hypocrisy if they'd gone
forward."
A message left at the Assembly
Democratic Campaign Committee after business hours on Monday wasn't
immediately returned, nor were messages left for state Republican
Party spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.
State Rep. Mark Gottlieb, R-Port
Washington, introduced a bill this spring that would insert a
fundraising ban during budget work into state law. He said last week
Sheridan and Nelson were trying to exploit a loophole in the
fundraising rule. Gottlieb also did not immediately return messages
left at his Capitol office or district listing.
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