Second Walker Official Opposes Him
Ex-Director of Financial Institutions say he was pushed to meet with lobbyists, avoid public records.
Peter Bildsten, former Financial Institutions Secretary for Gov. Scott Walker, appears in a digital campaign ad for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Evers. Screenshot of Tony Evers campaign video.
A second former Walker administration official has come out in support of the governor’s opponent Democrat Tony Evers.
Peter Bildsten served as Gov. Scott Walker‘s secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions from 2011 until 2015.
In an interview with WPR, Bildsten said he believes he was asked to refrain from creating electronic records because they would be subject to open records requests by reporters and the public.
“I certainly got the message that they wanted to minimize those kinds of requests, particularly for anything that might be sensitive, that might be of interest to the public,” he said.
He said Walker became increasingly political during his tenure.
“Particularly the last few years of the Walker administration has been much more about what’s good for Scott Walker and not so much about what’s good for the state of Wisconsin and the citizens of Wisconsin,” he said.
Former state Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Wall has also publicly supported Evers in the governor’s race. Wall says the governor didn’t address abuse at the state’s youth prison for political reasons.
The state Republican Party dismissed the allegations.
“Tony Evers is so desperate to distract from his failed record that he keeps peddling debunked statements from disgruntled ex-employees who have an agenda to push after leaving on bad terms,” said state GOP spokesman Alec Zimmerman. “These attacks have been repeatedly shown to be false, including in a statement by Wall himself making clear that he had ‘never been instructed’ to circumvent records laws.”
Listen to the WPR report here.
Second Former Walker Official Comes Out Against Him, Supports Evers was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
It is a constant revelation to see the ways in which Scott Walker’s Wisconsin has provided an out-of-town preview of Trumpism on the national stage. Leaving aside the differences in their personal qualities, such as Walker’s lower level narcissism as opposed to Trump’s extreme level, his off-the-shelf appeals to racial bigotry as opposed to Trump’s more virulent forms, his anodyne lies as opposed to Trump’s pathological ones, and his less poisonous and non-vengeful personal style, the similarities are profound.
Like Trump at the federal level, Walker has turned over state government to pay-to-play corporate interests. It is interesting in retrospect to see how the fake David Koch phone call was actually a seminal event in the state’s history. Like Trump, Walker has succeeded in implementing this corporate takeover by keeping the base in line with a steady stream of lies that they want to believe and the laser-like focus on punishing scapegoat groups.
At some point, the economic, fiscal, social, political, educational and environmental consequences of Walker’s corrupt and irresponsible actions and policies will become inescapable, as will those of Trump and the gang. Sadly, but almost certainly, they and their sycophants and enablers will be history by then. As the Wall Street guys who ran the country over the cliff a decade ago would say in overcoming objections to their recklessness, “IBG/YBG.” I’ll be gone/you’ll be gone, and the ever-loyal base will be there to blame it all on the hated liberals.