Rep. Kapenga Touts Violations of State Law as ‘Badge of Honor’

MADISON, Wis. — In response to a complaint filed yesterday with the Government Accountability Board (GAB), Rep. Chris Kapenga bragged on a right-wing website that his failure to comply with state law was a “badge of honor”. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross blasted Kapenga for his response to serious questions about his relationship with an out-of-state corporation and his use of his state office to raise money for it.

“You’d expect more from a guy who is asking voters for a promotion to the State Senate and who thinks he’s qualified to rewrite the our nation’s Constitution,” said Ross. “With all due respect, his failure to obey state law is no badge of honor, it’s a stain on his ethics.”

Kapenga serves as “co-president” of the Assembly of State Legislatures (ASL), a corporation registered in Ohio that advocates for rewriting the U.S. Constitution. In a complaint filed yesterday with the state Government Accountability Board, One Wisconsin Now documented that Kapenga is using his taxpayer-funded state office to raise funds for the group and failed to disclose his position as an officer of the corporation as required by law.

Ross questioned what else Kapenga may be failing to disclose about his relationship with ASL, like what financial compensation he may be receiving from the group and if he is using taxpayer resources of his office for other ASL work beyond the fundraising noted in the GAB complaint.

He concluded, “Rep. Kapenga appears to have violated state law. He owes taxpayers and constituents answers and an apology, not the hubris and disrespect for the people he’s paid to serve he shows them by declaring his behavior earns him a badge of honor.”