New documents have surfaced at the trial of state Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Brookfield, shedding light on allegations that all three candidates in the state gubernatorial race campaigned on state time.
The campaign of Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, is accused of employing Eric Grant, a graphic artist, to work on campaign material for Green while on the state clock.
Green's press secretary Rob Bernon said he was unaware Eric Grant was working for his campaign on state time.
'[Green] always has had a policy in place that if you are going to do campaign work, you did it either on the weekends or on your own time. Or, you took the necessary steps such as taking a leave of absence to make sure you were complying with the rules,' Bernon said.
One document presented in Jensen's trial mentions Bruce Pfaff, current campaign manager for Milwaukee County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker. Pfaff said he does not know in what context he is being discussed in the trial.
'I do not believe I ever campaigned on state time. I took the appropriate vacation time when I did do campaign work. I was asked to appear before the investigation. I did so,' Pfaff said. 'I answered all the questions honestly, and the document that was brought up at trial has not shown to me why I was asked to come in and speak to the prosecutor.'
Recently, countless unethical campaign allegations have been raised against Gov. Jim Doyle. Rick Judge, campaign manager for Doyle, was unavailable for comment.
'State records prove that Jim Doyle and staff were soliciting donations at taxpayer expense,' said the Republican Party of Wisconsin in a statement.
With reports seeming to incriminate both parties, the Republicans and Democrats have been trading accusations back and forth.
In a statement from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Democrats challenged Green to acknowledge his involvement in illegal campaigning on state time.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin shifted their focus to Doyle's accusations. 'The Democrats and Jim Doyle are frantically trying to smear Republicans because they know Jim Doyle has a huge ethical problem, and the polls show it,' the Republican Party responded in a statement.
Charles Franklin, UW- Madison professor of political science, said recent accusations against Republicans will divert attention from attacking Doyle to defending their own candidates.
However, Franklin added, 'Anything implicating a campaign is a problem.'
