Here & Now

Elections Comm. Michael Haas Faces Calls For His Resignation

Frederica Freyberg:

In our closer look tonight, an interview with a state official who accuses Wisconsin's Republican leaders of slander and wants them to, “Stop trashing his name and reputation.” Here’s the background. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos say they’ve lost confidence in the directors of the state Elections and Ethics Commission because of partisan influences when they worked for the former Government Accountability Board. This follows a scathing report from the state Attorney General over how the GAB handled the now-closed John Doe investigation into Governor Scott Walker’s campaign. The AG described the GAB as, “weaponized by partisans in furtherance of political goals.” The Republican leaders call for the Ethics and Elections Commission administrators to step down and if they do not, Senator Fitzgerald has set a January 23rd Senate vote to reject their confirmation. Fitzgerald says he won’t hold a public confirmation hearing and adds, “It has become abundantly clear to me that as appointees, Administrators Michael Haas and Brian Bell will never receive the votes necessary for Senate confirmation, which has been the case throughout their tenures. Any leftover remnants of the partisan GAB will never have the confidence of the public to ensure complete, non-partisanship in the administration of elections or the oversight of government ethics.” For his part, the chairman of the bipartisan Elections Commission this week called Senator Fitzgerald a bully and a coward. This is tough stuff. And Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas is in the middle of it. Thanks for being here.

Michael Haas:

Thank you. Good to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

How have Republican leaders slandered you?

Michael Haas:

Well, I’m an attorney. I know what it means when somebody says that there’s potential criminal activity. And what was said was that there was not confidence in our agency or me as an administrator and that there should not be people leading the agencies who — I think the phrase was who are candidates for criminal charges or something to that effect, implying that I had something to do with some type of criminal activity within the state agency. That’s just offensive. That’s ridiculous. It’s completely false. And I think it’s beneath an elected official to make allegations like that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do you deny their allegations about the Government Accountability Board and indeed yourself being partisan?

Michael Haas:

Absolutely. Unless people looked at the evidence in the investigations that the Government Accountability Board reviewed and its investigators reviewed, they don’t have any idea of what the judges on the board looked at when the judges authorized preliminary investigations. And beyond that, my focus has been on administrating elections. I was first staff attorney, but then elections division administrator since 2013. It’s been a focus on administering the laws that the legislature passes, whether it’s photo ID or any other election-related law. And nobody can point to any decision or action of myself or the GAB or the current Elections Commission that’s been based on partisan motives.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what is your reaction to being told to resign?

Michael Haas:

Well, I answer to our commission. Our commission’s made up of three Republicans, three Democrats. They’ve unanimously supported me. They unanimously appointed me. And recently have reaffirmed that and asked for a public hearing. Senator Fitzgerald, Speaker Vos and many other Republicans told me that they supported my appointment when I was first appointed in 2016. So I don’t think it’s true that the votes were never there. And I'm confident that there is support amongst the Senate for my confirmation.

Frederica Freyberg:

And what is your response to apparently not getting a public hearing?

Michael Haas:

Well, it’s frustrating. I think it’s unusual. I mean, we have a little bit of a unique appointment structure because it’s not a gubernatorial appointment. It’s by the commission. And then advice and consent to the Senate. I think there would be two positive things to come out of a public hearing. Both myself, commissioners and the public could let the Senate know what they think of the direction of the agency and senators, if they have concerns, they can have their questions answered. I’ve been told that there’s a lack of confidence amongst the public. We would know if that were the case. We would be getting phone calls and emails. That’s not the case. I’ve asked legislators if your constituents have concerns, let me help you answer their concerns. Nobody has offered up any specific concern of any member of the public that we could address.

Frederica Freyberg:

I should add here that we did ask Senator Fitzgerald to join this conversation and he declined that. What remedy do you have if your confirmation is rejected?

Michael Haas:

Well, I think that’s a little bit of uncharted territory. Right now we’re focusing on making the case to the Senate that my confirmation should be–my appointment should be confirmed. So if the vote is not to confirm, then I think we will try to deal with those issues at the time.

Frederica Freyberg:

You know, given the fact that the Government Accountability Board was disbanded in 2015 and neither you nor Mr. Bell have yet been confirmed, I mean, did that spell some trouble?

Michael Haas:

Well, not for me, because I was checking in with Senator Fitzgerald's office regularly. I would say, are there any concerns? Are there any Senators you think I should talk to? I was always told, no, we think everything’s fine. We’ll let you know. So I was surprised to get a letter, frankly, requesting my resignation.

Frederica Freyberg:

What do you think happened?

Michael Haas:

Apparently there was a caucus amongst the Senate Republicans ironically on the same day that Senator Fitzgerald's staff said they were scheduling a meeting for me with Senator Fitzgerald. They said they’d be happy to set up a meeting the following week. That was after Senator Nass had asked for our resignations. But since that time, they’re frankly just not answering my phone calls.

Frederica Freyberg:

Michael Haas, thanks very much.

Michael Haas:

Thank you.