One Wisconsin Now
Press Release

Three Months and Four Days Later, Still No Reimbursement or Remorse From Scott Walker for Illegal Usage of State Plane

‘Governors Can’t Use Public Resources to Benefit Themselves or Their Campaigns’

By - Oct 22nd, 2018 01:50 pm
Gov. Scott Walker. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

Gov. Scott Walker. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

MADISON, Wis. — In July 2018 Scott Walker broke the state law prohibiting politicians from using taxpayer resources to benefit their campaigns, flying to Rhinelander on a state plane to film a television commercial for his campaign at a cost to taxpayers of over $2,000 for the day. While Gov. Scott Walker has come up with an alibi, he hasn’t apologized for his malfeasance, or according to the most recent records made available by his administration, reimbursed taxpayers.

“There is a bright line that a politician like Scott Walker who has been in office for a quarter century should know about,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “Governors can’t use public resources to benefit themselves or their campaigns.”

Evidence obtained by One Wisconsin Now as part of their investigation of Scott Walker’s serial misuse and abuse of state planes reveals how Walker flew to Rhinelander at taxpayer expense on the same day he filmed a television ad for his campaign in nearby Three Lakes. In an attempted cover up, Walker’s state office scheduled a public event in Rhinelander, weeks after his campaign lined up the ad shoot in the area. Walker is refusing to reimburse taxpayers the $2,017.66 bill they footed for the flight because of the public event.

Ross noted the circumstances of Walker’s illegal use of a state plane are similar to an incident involving former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum. As part of a settlement to end a Wisconsin Ethics Board investigation in 2003 McCallum reimbursed the state for using a state airplane for personal purposes, even though the usage occurred concurrent with a public event.

This isn’t the first time Walker has found himself in questionable legal territory with his campaign and use of public resources. A number of close Walker aides and associates he oversaw as Milwaukee County Executive were convicted of crimes including illegal campaigning on public time. Other charges included money laundering campaign contributions and embezzlement.

For his part, Walker created a legal defense fund while he and his campaign were under investigation. Records disclose he spent over $447,000 on criminal defense lawyers but the donors to his defense fund have remained secret to this day, 2,383 days later.

Concluding Ross commented, “It would be nice if Scott Walker copied his Republican predecessor who was caught pulling a similar stunt and paid us back for his illegal use of the state plane.”

A timeline of Scott Walker’s illegal use of the state plane to film a campaign ad is available here and a full accounting of the serial misuse and abuse of the state plane by Scott Walker since he ended his run for president is available here.

One Wisconsin Now is a statewide communications network specializing in effective earned media and online organizing to advance progressive leadership and values.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Organizations:

Recent Press Releases by One Wisconsin Now

Dan Kelly’s Opinion: It’s OK to Lie in Judicial Campaigns

State Supreme Court Candidate Co-Authored Column Opposing Efforts to Clean Up Court Campaigns

Campaign Cash Keeps Flowing to WILL’s Shill Dan Kelly

Over $14,000 from Board Members of Right-Wing Legal Group to State Court Justice’s Campaign

Right-Wing Group That Wants to Criminalize Abortion Backs Dan Kelly State Supreme Court Campaign

Dan Kelly Supporters Want Court Action to Allow Enforcement of Abortion Ban Dating to 19th Century

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us