If Gov. Scott Walker were the chairman of the board of a multimillion-dollar company, he’d have been fired by now for his failure to be a good steward of his investors’ money. But Walker, the chairman of the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), a public-private entity playing games with taxpayer dollars, simply isn’t being held accountable for a long list of improprieties there.
Walker has no experience as a “job creator.” He held a few entry-level jobs in the private sector and during his time as a legislator and county executive he had very little to do with economic development. Yet as a candidate for governor he promised that he would create 250,000 private-sector jobs in his first term in office. He failed and said he’d never made that promise. As governor, he abolished the Department of Commerce to create WEDC, which has been problematic from its inception. It’s failed to track loans made with taxpayer dollars, didn’t follow state law or its own internal policies, and couldn’t account for how many jobs it helped to create or retain in Wisconsin.
Over the weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal reported a bombshell: WEDC gave a $500,000 unsecured loan to a high-dollar Walker donor’s company after that company couldn’t secure a loan elsewhere. Walker’s top aides, then-Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch and then-chief of staff Keith Gilkes, were aware of the loan and Huebsch intervened on the company’s behalf. Not surprisingly, the company defaulted on the loan and taxpayers are left holding the bag. Although Walker and his spokeswoman are distancing the governor from the matter, it’s been reported that Walker himself was copied on the letter promising the loan. Walker’s attorney says the governor didn’t receive it.
Although Walker’s fellow Republicans are closing ranks and staying silent, the Democrats are steaming mad. State Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) and state Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point), WEDC board members, are calling for a federal investigation into the matter. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has filed a complaint with the state Government Accountability Board alleging pay-to-play. And state Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) has called for WEDC to be abolished altogether, calling it a “failed model for economic development that is ripe for corruption.”
Let’s face it: If Walker was head of a private company, he’d be out of a job and on the street. But Walker the master politician and perpetual candidate is trying to blame others and brush off the matter and get voters to promote him to higher office. Will he ever be held accountable for his failures?
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Image by John Pemble via Flickr and a CC license
