A judge's ruling in Mark Green's court case that will decide if the Green Team will have to divest a major portion of campaign contributions will be announced Monday.
Gubernatorial hopeful and U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, was ordered by the State Elections Board to return more than $467,000 of Political Action Committee contributions transferred from Green's federal campaign to his state election war chest. The board said the PAC funds were illegal because the groups were not registered in the state of Wisconsin.
Since the ruling Aug. 30, many have criticized the board for making the decision based on partisanship. In previous years, the board has allowed similar funding to be used in election campaigns. When current Milwaukee Mayor and Democrat Tom Barrett transferred funds from his U.S. House account to his state campaign for governor in 2002, the board approved the transfers.
Giving fuel to the fire surrounding the role partisanship played in the decision, an e-mail was made public on Thursday between three board members and a lawyer, Michael Maistelman, who is employed by current Gov. Jim Doyle. The Green Team claims these e-mails had an unfair influence on the Board's decision.
Jessica Erikson, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement the Republicans were attacking Doyle for contacting the board, when in fact GOP leader Rick Wiley, also spoke with a Republican appointee on the board just one day before the order was made.
According to Kerry Dwyer, a member of the board who received Maistelman's order said the Elections Board attorney George Dunst has said there is nothing illegal in contacting the board members.
Erikson also said Wiley has called for Democratic board members to resign, but no members have announced any such decisions.
