One Wisconsin Now Files Complaint as Gov. Walker Fails to Disclose Legally Required Information for 240 Donations on Latest Campaign Finance Report

Since 2009, Walker Violated State Campaign Finance Disclosure Law Over 7,500 Times

MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker’s latest campaign finance filing fails to disclose employment information, as required by state law, for 240 large contributions, according to an analysis by One Wisconsin Now. Going back to 2009, when Walker began his run for Governor in earnest, his reports have failed to disclose legally required employer information for 7,512 big money donors giving over $100 totaling $2,330,197.98 in contributions.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross commented, “We’re not just talking about one instance of sloppy bookkeeping here. Gov. Walker has a long and well-established pattern of complete and utter contempt for following the law when it comes to disclosing the required information about the big money givers footing the bill for him to pursue his political ambitions.”

Wisconsin State Statute section 11.06(1)(b) requires candidates and officeholders disclose, “The occupation and name and address of the principal place of employment, if any, of each individual contributor whose cumulative contributions for the calendar year are in excess of $100,” on their campaign finance reports. One Wisconsin Now has filed a complaint with the state Government Accountability Board against the Walker campaign for its violations of this statute.

A table summarizing the instances since 2009 in which Gov. Walker has failed to abide by this requirement can be seen below, and a copy of One Wisconsin Now’s complaint with the Government Accountability Board can be found here: http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/files/20130808085351.pdf

ELECTION CYCLE NUMBER OF CONTRIBUTIONS AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTIONS UNITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS
July Continuing 2013 240 $55,397.50 $89,670.74
January Continuing 2013 $5,876.27
July Continuing 2012 1619 $427,361.88 $151,501.90
Special Post-Election 2012 324 $224,425.00
Special Pre-Election 2012 1265 $350,237.71 $91,352.22
Special Pre-Primary 2012 2287 $568,371.29 $288,314.63
Recall 60-day Report 2012 59 $10,811.00 $33,646.28
January Continuing 2012 146 $32,953.00 $27,064.76
Recall 30-day Report 2011 170 $43,114.04 $146,614.28
July Continuing 2011 109 $23,125.40 $126,920.49
January Continuing 2011 178 $76,305.00 $8,193.25
Fall Pre-Election 2010 428 $245,276.10
Report of Late Contributions 28 $37,900.00
Pre-Primary 2010 214 $79,464.68
July Continuing 2010 204 $68,575.38
January Continuing 2010 35 $10,710.00
July Continuing 2009 206 $76,170.00 $70,813.47
TOTALS 7512 $2,330,197.98 $1,039,968.29

The additional information required of large donations is a key piece of information for analyzing patterns of large donations to Walker. By reviewing this information, One Wisconsin Now was able to determine that employees and owners of businesses receiving tax credits from Gov. Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) between January 2011 and March 2013 donated nearly $400,000 directly to Walker’s campaign.

Ross noted that Walker’s abysmal record of complying with state campaign finance laws is not his only failure to disclose information. For example, Gov. Walker has refused to disclose the identities of contributors to his criminal legal defense fund that expended over $447,000 for his defense lawyers or the records that he turned over to prosecutors in connection with the investigation that resulted in felony charges and guilty pleas from six close aides and associates.

He concluded, “Gov. Walker has shown utter contempt for the people of Wisconsin by refusing time and again to shoot straight with us. In fact the record shows he’s failed to do so at least 7,500 times since he started running for Governor in 2009.”

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