Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is refusing to hold signing ceremonies or even tell Republican authors when he is signing their bills. He is, however, holding big ceremonies when he signs Democrat-authored bills.
Gov. Tony Evers is being accused of playing politics with his bill signings ahead of this November’s gubernatorial and legislative elections. The governor has refused to hold signing ceremonies for two Republican-authored bills and didn’t even inform the authors of those bills that he was signing them.
On Friday, Rep. Barb Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) said the governor’s office never informed her that he had signed her bill allowing law enforcement officers to test drivers for multiple controlled substances. The measure passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, but Evers neither held a signing ceremony to highlight its passage nor inform anyone that he was signing it.
Last week, Evers failed to inform Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) that he was signing a major bill she authored criminalizing child grooming. The measure passed the Senate unanimously after encountering only minor opposition from six Democrats in the Assembly and was widely hailed as a massive step forward for Wisconsin. Evers, however, chose not to highlight the bill with a ceremony and kept its signing so secret that even Nedweski did not know it was signed until afterwards.
Conversely, Evers is planning major signing ceremonies next week for two Democrat-authored bills on breast cancer and post-partum care. Republicans in the Legislature couldn’t help but notice the difference in treatment, calling it obvious political gamesmanship ahead of the legislative elections this fall.
Republicans are fighting to hold a 10-seat majority in the Assembly and one-seat edge in the Senate. Evers announced last summer that he will not seek a third term. A crowded field of Democrats is vying for the party’s nomination while Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) is the presumptive Republican nominee.
