A Madison alder is asking for a criminal investigation into an alleged agreement between Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and several Republican lawmakers that recently stripped Madison of its authority to set its own local minimum wage.
In his letter to Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, lead sponsor of Madison's citywide minimum wage ordinance Ald. Austin King, District 8, argues that Doyle and Republican legislators engaged in logrolling, a Class I felony, when Doyle agreed to sign a statewide minimum wage bill preempting cities from setting their own minimum wage laws in return for an agreement from Republicans to allow an increase in the statewide minimum wage.
\Today we died at the hands of the governor,"" King said on June 1, when both laws passed. ""Today is a sad day for the City of Madison and the future of low-wage workers across the whole state.""
Doyle signed the preemption bill into law and enacted an administrative rule to increase the statewide minimum wage on June 1. Doyle's actions increased the state minimum wage from $5.15 to $5.70 per hour and set it to increase to $6.50 on June 1, 2006.
King blasted Doyle in response. ""He's just awful for UW students,"" King said of Doyle. ""He's basically a pro-choice Republican.""
Madison enacted its own local minimum wage ordinance in 2004. Milwaukee, La Crosse and Eau Claire have also enacted similar citywide minimum wages, although only Madison's wage went above the $6.50 level, to $7.75 by 2008.
Business leaders argued that an uneven patchwork of minimum wage regulations across the state would lead to confusion, instability and unfavorable conditions for free enterprises.
Logrolling is a political maneuver whereby lawmakers exchange votes or influence to pass legislation. King points to the language of Wisconsin clean government statutes prohibiting logrolling and executive favor.
In his nine-page letter, King marshals a catalogue of public statements, documented actions and personal conversations-just short of an outright public admission-to argue that logrolling occurred and warrants investigation.
Both Doyle and Republican legislators rebuke King's claim.
""He's out on a limb on this one,"" said Bob Delaporte, communications director for Assembly Speaker John Gard.
Delaporte said there never was a guaranteed agreement with the governor and that politicians are constantly trying to find common ground.
The governor's office also objected to King's interpretation of the law. Doyle spokesperson Melanie Fonder called King's complaint ""frivolous and ridiculous,"" challenging the notion that a quid pro quo, which involves unrelated issues, actually took place.
""Logrolling is when you are trading one thing for another thing and that's not what's happening here,"" she said. ""This is all in one policy. It's all about the minimum wage.""
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Democratic Madison Reps. Spencer Black and Therese Berceau argued that the statewide wage increase came at a heavy cost. Each decried the permanent elimination of local authority to address the economic challenges of residents and put pressure on the state legislature to improve statewide minimum wage standards.
""This is a short-sighted move and a bad deal,"" Black said.
