New State Supreme Court Candidate Has Old Ties to Gov. Walker’s Political Machine

MADISON, Wis. — Rebecca Bradley may be a newly minted State Supreme Court Candidate but she has long ties to Gov. Scott Walker’s political machine. Not only was Bradley appointed to the bench in Milwaukee County in 2012 by Gov. Walker, she had Walker’s gubernatorial and presidential campaign chair Michael Grebe chair her 2013 re-election bid. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said the close association with Walker raises serious questions about her independence.

“We’ve seen how poorly served Wisconsin has been by the the cronyism and corruption of Scott Walker’s administration,” commented Ross. “A hand-picked crony whose past campaigns have been closely overseen by Walker’s political machine seeking more power raises all kinds of red flags for those concerned about an impartial state high court.”

In a 2013 press release, Bradley touted the support of Michael Grebe as her campaign co-chair. Grebe has served as a campaign chair of Scott Walker’s gubernatorial bids and currently chairs his 2016 Republican presidential nomination effort. In 2010 Grebe headed up the Walker transition team to hire staff for his state administration.

Bradley’s 2013 race to defend the spot on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court to which she was appointed by Walker was overseen by a former Walker campaign staffer and gubernatorial aid.

In addition to his campaign activity, Grebe leads the $800 million plus right-wing funding behemoth the Bradley Foundation. From his perch he underwrites a vast network of groups promoting right wing propaganda, junk science and even virulently Islamophobic foreign policy.

Research from One Wisconsin Now has shown how Grebe’s Bradley Foundation financed a $31 million propaganda campaign to attack public education and advance a radical privatization agenda, attempted to secretly underwrite racist voter suppression efforts, promoted the wrong for Wisconsin right to work law that will cut the average Wisconsin family’s income by $5,000 per year and subsidizes right wing groups that both protect Walker’s political interests and attack his opponents.

Ross concluded, “Scott Walker’s political machine has an agenda and works aggressively to install loyal cronies in positions of power. Rebecca Bradley owes the public straight answers about her past connections to Scott Walker’s political machine and where her loyalties would lie on the state Supreme Court.”