Former gubernatorial candidate and Green Bay politician Mark Green settled his case with the Wisconsin state Elections Board Friday, as he was required to return almost half a million dollars.
Under the settlement, Green will not be able to use the $467,844, deemed illegal by the SEB, in a future run for office. The money was originally transferred from a U.S. Congressional fundraising account to a state account, a move the board found illegal.
According to the settlement, Green has until Dec. 31, 2009, to dispose of the money. Green can give the money to the Common School fund, the Wisconsin Election Campaign fund or various other charities.
The settlement also stipulates that the SEB cannot take further action in this case and can only enforce the settlement.
""When I converted my federal campaign account to a state account we complied not only with state law and Elections Board rules, but we actually followed the advice of the board's staff,"" Green said in a statement.
""The decision by the Elections Board last fall has now been exposed as nothing more than a crass manipulation of a governmental agency by Jim Doyle in his desperate effort to hold on to power,"" he added.
Green appealed the SEB decision and asked the state Supreme Court to hear his case. The state Supreme Court did not issue a ruling and most likely will not because of the settlement.
""This settlement confirms what we have said all along—that Mark Green should not have been able to use this illegal money in his campaign for Governor,"" said Democratic Part of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke in a statement.
Under a new ethics bill, the SEB will merge with the state Ethics Board to form a Government Accountability Board, a move Green said he supports.
""I am gratified that the Elections Board itself has been eliminated,"" he said. ""No other candidate will ever again receive the kind of unfair treatment I received from what was supposed to be an impartial body.""
