Gableman AWOL on Commissions

New documents obtained by One Wisconsin Now raise further questions about the accuracy of Mike Gableman’s resume and his own statements at a February 29 Wispolitics.com forum that he was selected to be Burnett County judge by Governor Scott McCallum “based on my service on statewide commissions.”

Documents obtained by One Wisconsin Now show as an appointed member of the Judicial Council, Gableman missed five of the seven meetings held and his service on the Council was terminated when he resigned as Ashland County District Attorney, even though McCallum’s press release months later announcing Gableman’s appointment asserted that he was still a member of the Judicial Council. [Judicial Council Minutes, 11/16/01 – 5/17/02].

Newly-released documents of the minutes of the Law Enforcement Standards Board show there is no evidence Gableman ever attended even a single meeting of the board. There is also no evidence he stayed on the board after his sudden resignation as District Attorney since he was filling a slot representing DAs on the board. Yet, once again, in an effort to justify his appointment of Gableman, McCallum’s release claimed that Gableman was still serving on board. [Law Enforcement Standards Appointment, 4/17/02]

Last week One Wisconsin Now also reported that Gableman has highlighted his membership on two additional statewide commissions during his election campaign for judge, even though he was removed from those commissions without ever attending a single meeting. [Juvenile Justice Appointment, 12/2/02; Service Commission Appointment, 12/3/02]

Gableman appears more interested in collecting committee appointments to pad his resume in hopes of advancing his career rather than spending his time fighting crime. Over the years Gableman has trumpeted his membership on four statewide commissions, but now the facts show his membership in these committees was essentially in name-only and amounted to him attending a grand total of two meetings.

The efforts by Gableman and McCallum to try to bolster his experience by pointing to his service on these commissions appears to be a desperate attempt to distract attention away from Gableman’s role as a major political fundraiser for McCallum. [Gableman Judgeship Announcement, 8/19/02]

The distraction may also have been designed to deflect attention from another curious question raised by Gableman’s resume: why would someone suddenly resign from a prestigious District Attorney job paying nearly $80,000 a year to take a bureaucratic Administrative Law Judge position half the state away paying $54,000 a year? [Gableman DA Salary; Gableman ALJ Salary]

At the time he resigned as DA, Gableman refused to comment when asked by the press to explain his decision. Since Gableman was selected as judge apparently without any application, basic background check or letters of support, these questions surrounding his resignation remain unanswered.

# # #

As A Project Of A Better Wisconsin Together, We're Fighting For A Wisconsin With Equal Economic Opportunity For All