The state Assembly failed on a 47-47 vote early Friday morning to take up a resolution aiming to remove a state representative who was charged three times in one year for driving while intoxicated.
The resolution to expel state Rep. Jeff Wood, I-Chippewa Falls, was originally scheduled for Tuesday. According to Wood, he asked the Assembly to take up the resolution before a court date he has scheduled for this week.
Assembly members who voted against taking up the resolution said they did not want to discuss the issue in the absence of the resolution's author, state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater. Nass was excused earlier in the week to attend his mother's wake and funeral.
Nass said in a statement that votes for taking up the resolution in his absence were ""cowardly"" and ""despicable conduct.""
Since his arrests, Wood has attended treatment and rehabilitation programs. Wood has said he does not plan to seek re-election this fall.
