Shady All Children Matter Continues Support for Towns

Former State Rep. Debi Towns continues to receive the backing from All Children Matter, an organization that remains under a legal cloud in Wisconsin after the State Elections Board determined in November 2006 that they violated rules about express advocacy. Top donors to the lawbreaking pro-private vouchers group have given Towns over $8,000. They have also sent out smear mailings on her behalf and placed a large television buy in her media market.

All Children Matter is the $10 million out-of-state, pro-private school vouchers group financed by right wing billionaires and millionaires, including Dick and Betsy DeVos and the Wal-Mart heirs. All Children Matter, which has blanketed the state with racist attacks against numerous Democratic elected officials and candidates, was fined $5.2 million by the Ohio Elections Commission on April 4 for illegally funneling $870,000 into Ohio campaigns.

All Children Matter backed Debi Towns as she left office in 2006, trying to help divert tax dollars from the over $100 million four-year-old kindergarten system to for-profit private school operations. Less than a month before she left office, Towns was tapped to head the Assembly Speaker’€™s ‘€œTask Force on Four-Year-Old-Kindergarten. At that time she suddenly released a report without consulting members of the committee. One of the most controversial recommendations from that report was that private schools without certified teachers should be able to access untold state funds from the taxpayer-financed four-year-old-kindergarten budget.

At the time of her outrageous actions on that committee, Towns had already received some 45 contributions from All Children Matter’€™s top donors and after leaving office she received a top-paying position with School Choice Wisconsin, an organization headed by Susan and George Mitchell who have also donated over $60,000 to All Children Matter.

Debi Towns continued relationship with the lawbreaking All Children Matters raises serious questions. You can learn more about the group by visiting the AllCashMatters.org site.

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