If Gov. Jim Doyle is touting clean government for Wisconsin, he should be the first to set a good example.
Doyle and Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha came under fire this week for $100,000 worth of illegal campaign donations.
State law indicates that the most one individual can give to a gubernatorial campaign is $10,000.
According to the indictment, Troha is accused of directing $100,000 from a company he controlled, Johnson Houston Partners, to his children, who gave the identical amount to political campaigns, including Doyle's, in 2002 and 2006. The indictment said five of the seven contributions could possibly be illegal.
Troha was unclear about the nature of the transactions to state casino regulators and proceeded to lie about these donations in a Jan. 12 interview with the FBI.
We feel the state should fully prosecute Troha for violating campaign contribution limitations. After all, what good is a spending cap if you give someone else the money to give on your behalf?
However, this is not the first time Doyle has been involved with alleged campaign finance indiscretion.
Last year, former state purchasing employee Georgia Thompson was convicted of giving a travel contract to a company that had contributed to the Doyle campaign.
We believe these multiple accusations are only further incentive for Doyle to return the money immediately and prove that clean government is a priority.
Last fall, the state Elections Board told gubernatorial candidate Mark Green to return more than $400,000 in campaign funds. In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last August, Anson Kaye, Doyle's campaign spokesperson, said, ""Congressman Green has been caught violating Wisconsin campaign-finance laws and he should own up to it, do what's right and get rid of his dirty money.""
In relation to the Troha money, Kaye said that the Doyle campaign would return the contributions if Troha is convicted.
The Doyle campaign called for Green to return this ""dirty money"" long before the state Elections Board mirrored this sentiment.
If Doyle waits to return this money he is being hypocritical. We believe if there is even the slightest suspect that the money may be dirty, it has no place in state government.
