Wisconsin GOP appointees are still serving on state boards despite expired terms: report

30 September 2022

Multiple members of the Wisconsin state board that were appointed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker (R) are refusing to leave their posts although their terms have expired, per a new report.

According to The Associated Press, the three members of the board designated to manage Wisconsin's technical colleges are Becky Levzow, Kelly Tourdot, and Mary Williams. Their terms expired in May 2021.

Although Gov. Tony Evers (D) has nominated six individuals for the 13-member Wisconsin Technical College System Board, none of his appointees have been confirmed by the state's Republican-led Senate.

The defiant members' approach is similar to the one taken by former board member Fred Prehn, who was also appointed by Walker.

Prehn was reportedly "encouraged by Republicans to keep his seat on the state Natural Resources Board to ensure GOP control, even though his term expired last year."

Per the news outlet, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) filed a lawsuit to have Prehn removed from the board. However, the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled in favor of Prehn stating that "a vacancy must exist before a governor can fill it — and that a vacancy occurs only if the incumbent dies, resigns or is removed for misconduct."

The report comes one week after a previous report detailed the three appointees' refusal to resign from their posts despite expired terms. Speaking to The Badger Project, Williams explained why she was still on the board despite her term expiring.

"I think it’s a rule,” she said during a brief interview. “You stay and as soon as the Senate takes up that person, and they go through what they have to do, that’s when I’m gone.”

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