By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel
Oct. 13, 2011
Madison - Alongside an attempted recall of Gov. Scott Walker, both Republicans and Democrats will likely seek in coming weeks to recall state senators in a contest for control of that legislative house.
Following this summer's recall elections, Republicans run the Senate by a 17-16 margin. Next month, a new set of senators will be eligible for recall, opening the possibility that Democrats could flip the chamber or Republicans could add to their majority.
A new round of recalls would ensure legislative proceedings remain politically charged and would likely lead to legal wrangling. Republicans in charge of the two houses this year drew new legislative maps for the regular fall 2012 elections that favor Republicans, and at issue is whether the old or new maps would be in effect for any recalls before then.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said he expected his party to help run recall efforts against GOP senators along with its attempted recall of Walker announced Monday. He called capturing control of the Senate at least for a time a "very real possibility."
"It would be irresponsible of the party to not jump on that opportunity," Tate said.
The wave of recalls this summer, unprecedented in the state's and nation's history, resulted from a fight over the GOP governor's legislation repealing most union bargaining for most public employees in Wisconsin. Others active in Democratic politics said they expected another spate of recalls, as did those in Republican circles.
Asked about trying to recall Democratic senators, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said, "I haven't ruled it out, that's for sure."
State elections officials are still researching how much these possible recalls might cost - it would partly depend on whether they were held at the same time or separately. The nine Senate recall elections this year cost the state and local governments an estimated $2.1 million.
For their part, incumbents facing recall will be able to raise unlimited sums for certain expenses while signatures are being gathered and the question of whether to hold a recall election is being decided.
Under state law, elected officials can be recalled from office after they have served a year of their term. That made all the members of the Assembly and half the senators immune from recall attempts this year because they were elected in November 2010 and sworn-in in January.
Eleven Republicans and six Democrats become eligible for recall in November. In addition, two more Republicans and four Democrats could face a second recall attempt after opponents failed to collect enough signatures this year to force recall elections.
Senators who have already survived a recall election cannot face another recall during their terms of office.
Fitzgerald said he would consider trying to recall nearly all of the Democrats who are eligible. He called Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) the most vulnerable and said Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) was a likely target.
Republicans tried to recall Lassa this year but did not garner enough signatures. Vinehout said she saw an attempt to recall her as nearly inevitable.
"There's going to be retaliation, and I'm going to be on the top of the list," Vinehout said.
Fitzgerald raised the possibility of going after Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona). Miller lives in a heavily Democratic area, and his opponents failed to get signatures to recall him this year.
Fitzgerald said he likewise expects Democrats to try to recall him, although his district is strongly Republican.
"It's all about resources," Fitzgerald said. "It's about making people spend money where they don't have to. That's what this game has boiled down to."
The recalls could complicate state officials' efforts to jump-start the state's economy and work on other priorities.
Gov. Scott Walker has said he'll remain focused on creating jobs despite a recall effort against him. On Thursday, spokesman Cullen Werwie had no comment on whether that might be harder to do if legislators also become embroiled in recalls.
Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) said he opposed recalling senators from either party and that doing so would complicate the remaining legislative session.
"It's pretty hard to work together when everybody's throwing cans of gas at each other," Ellis said.
3 in GOP targeted
Democrats are targeting three Republicans for recall - Sens. Pam Galloway of Wausau, Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls and Van Wanggaard of Racine - but they said they could go after others as well.
"I think the public isn't ready for another round of recalls," Galloway said. "They're tired of the negativity."
Recall organizers in November can start gathering signatures, which would have to be submitted in January. They would need to collect signatures equivalent to 25% of the total votes cast in those districts for governor in November 2010 - 15,000 to 20,000 signatures in most Senate districts.
Walker wasn't eligible for recall this year because he had just started his term. Organizers have said that on Nov. 15 they will start gathering the more than 540,000 signatures needed to recall him.
This year, enough signatures were collected to hold recall elections for six Republican senators and three Democratic senators. Two Democratic challengers defeated Republican incumbents, and the remaining seven incumbents held on to their seats.
A second set of recalls would put the Senate up for grabs for most of 2012 - first during the recall elections and then during the November election that will feature half the senators.
New legislative maps that favor Republicans have been drawn for the regular fall 2012 elections. When Republicans drew those maps, they wrote state law to say recall elections conducted before then would be run under the current maps.
But Republicans on Thursday pointed to a 1982 opinion by then-Attorney General Bronson La Follette that said recall elections would be conducted under new legislative maps. They said that opinion and others trumped the recent language in state law that says the new maps don't take effect for elections until fall 2012.
That language was tucked into the bills that established the new maps, and it remains unclear why Republicans wrote them that way. They paid Michael Best & Friedrich and the Troupis Law Office $400,000 in taxpayer money to write those bills.
The dispute over the maps for recall elections sets up a potential legal battle between Republicans and Democrats. That issue is crucial because the new maps are dramatically better for Republicans. A group of citizens, including former Democratic lawmakers, has filed a federal lawsuit arguing they are unconstitutional.
The state Government Accountability Board, which oversees state elections, is researching which set of maps would apply for a new round of recalls, said board spokesman Reid Magney.
Regardless of which maps are used in any recall elections, the new ones would be used for the regular fall 2012 election, giving Republicans the advantage and making it harder for Democrats to hang on to any gains they might make in recalls.
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