Here & Now

Peg Lautenschlager Named Chair Of New Ethics Commission

THE STATE’S NEW ETHICS COMMISSION IS AN APPOINTED PANEL MADE UP OF THREE DEMOCRATS AND THREE REPUBLICANS. THIS WEEK THE COMMISSION SELECTED ITS CHAIR, CHOOSING DEMOCRAT PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER, WHO SERVED AS STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FROM 2003 UNTIL 2007. SHE JOINS US NOW FROM FOND DU LAC AND THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU, FREDERICA.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WELL, WE WANTED TO ASK YOU FIRST WHAT YOU BRING TO THE NEW ETHICS COMMISSION AS CHAIR.

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

WELL, I’M NOT SURE THAT — FIRST OF ALL, SAY THIS. I VIEW THE NEW ETHICS COMMITTEE AS BEING A GROUP OF US, SO I’M NOT SURE THAT THE CHAIR POSITION HOLDS PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE OTHER THAN SIMPLY RUNNING THE MEETINGS. THAT BEING SAID, I THINK I WAS SELECTED BY SENATOR JEN SHILLING IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCES WITHIN AND WITHOUT — AND OUTSIDE OF STATE GOVERNMENT. AS YOU PERHAPS RECALL, BACK IN THE 1980s I WAS ACTUALLY A MEMBER OF THE THEN STATE ELECTIONS BOARD, WHICH DEALT WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES WHICH ARE NOW DEALT WITH BY THE ETHICS COMMISSION. AS A STATE LEGISLATOR I WAS INVOLVED IN ISSUES INVOLVING — REGARDING THESE KINDS OF MATTERS. AND THEN AS A STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OBVIOUSLY OUR OFFICE WERE THE LAWYERS WHO WOULD REPRESENT THE ETHICS COMMISSION, THEN THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD AND BEFORE THAT THE ETHICS BOARD AND THE ELECTIONS BOARD IN COURTS OF LAW. SO I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF THE GOINGS-ON OF A BOARD SUCH AS THIS, BOTH IN TERMS OF PROFESSIONALLY AS A STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BUT ALSO AS A CANDIDATE, SOMEBODY WHO’S BEEN INVOLVED IN CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS, WHO HAS DEALT WITH LOBBYING AND LOBBYISTS. AND SO I GUESS THAT’S MOST LIKELY THE REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES I HAVE TO BRING.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

NOW, I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT IN PRESS ACCOUNTS OF THE VOTE ON THE ETHICS COMMISSION TO ELECT YOU AS THE CHAIR, THE SECOND SENTENCE IS ALWAYS HOW AS ATTORNEY GENERAL YOU HAD TO PAY A FINE TO THE PREVIOUS ETHICS BOARD FOLLOWING YOUR ARREST FOR DRUNK DRIVING IN 2004. HOW DOES THAT HELP OR HURT YOUR CREDIBILITY ON THIS COMMISSION AND AS ITS CHAIR?

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

WELL, I THINK THERE’S SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE DOUBTFUL. YOU’VE SEEN THAT IN SOCIAL MEDIA AND CERTAIN PRESS SORTS OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON. I DO THINK, THOUGH, FROM A DIFFERENT STANDPOINT, HAVING VIEWED THE SYSTEM FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE TABLE, AS SUCH, GIVES ME I THINK A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN ONE MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE. YOU KNOW, WHAT I DID I DID 12 YEARS AGO. IT WAS A NON-INTENTIONAL VIOLATION. AND I PAID THE FINE. I WANTED TO GET IT OVER WITH, QUITE FRANKLY, AT THE TIME, WAS AMAZED THAT INDEED I HAD COMMITTED THE VIOLATION AT THE TIME BECAUSE OF A MISUNDERSTANDING I HAD WITH THE LAW, NOT THAT THAT’S ANY EXCUSE. BUT THE REALITY IS IS THAT I DO THINK IT GIVES ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAN A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT BRING TO THE COMMISSION.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

GIVEN THE EVENLY-SPLIT PARTISAN MAKEUP OF THE COMMISSIONS, WHAT’S TO PREVENT DEADLOCK?

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

THERE’S NOTHING BUT THE GOODWILL OF THE COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR HOPEFULLY MUTUAL DESIRE TO HAVE GOOD ETHICS LAWS ENFORCED IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS IS REALLY WHAT AFFORDS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE FORWARD. I’VE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY OUR FIRST SEVERAL MEETINGS. WE WERE ABLE TO REACH CONSENSUS IN TERMS OF SELECTION OF OFFICERS. WE WERE ABLE TO REACH CONSENSUS IN TERMS OF THE HIRING OF AN ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE COMMISSION. AND I THINK IT’S THE HOPE OF EVERY ONE OF US, REGARDLESS OF THE NATURE OF OUR APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD, THAT WE — THAT THIS COMMISSION OBTAIN CREDIBILITY WITH THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE BY DOING WHAT IT’S BEEN TASKED TO DO AND THAT IS ENFORCE ETHICS LAWS IN THE STATE, ENFORCE LOBBYING LAWS AND ALSO LOOKING AT CAMPAIGN FINANCE MATTERS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WHEN THE SO-CALLED CAUCUS SCANDAL BROKE IN 2002, RESULTING IN CONVICTIONS OF LAWMAKERS, THE THEN ETHICS BOARD WAS THE REGULATORY AUTHORITY. BUT I RECALL AT THE TIME CRITICS MAINTAINED THAT THAT BOARD HAD NO TEETH, NO POWER AND NO MONEY TO INVESTIGATE. WILL YOUR COMMISSION?

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

WE DO HAVE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDING CERTAIN THINGS. WE ALSO HAVE SOME AUTHORITY WHEN IT COMES TO ROUTINE VIOLATIONS AND SORT OF STANDARDS THAT ARE KEPT IN TERMS OF THE VARIOUS VIOLATIONS. SO YES, I THINK THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO. THERE IS A SUM SUFFICIENT BUDGET LINE INVOLVING INVESTIGATIONS. I DON’T SEE THAT WE’RE GOING TO NECESSARILY HAVE MANY OF THEM, BUT WE HAVE IN OUR BOARD A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, FOUR OF US ARE ATTORNEYS, TWO HAVE BEEN JUDGES, SEVERAL OF US HAVE BEEN LOCAL OR STATE PROSECUTORS, FEDERAL PROSECUTORS. WE HAVE SOMEBODY WHO’S WORKED IN THE CAPITOL AS A STAFF PERSON AS WELL AS IN WASHINGTON D.C. AND FINALLY WE HAVE SOMEBODY WHO’S BEEN A LEGISLATOR. SO I THINK THAT ALL OF US COME INTO THIS WITH A DESIRE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE CAN SHOW THAT THE ETHICS COMMISSION IS GOING TO DO THE WORK WHICH IT HAS AT LEAST IN THEORY BEEN TASKED TO DO.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

ALL RIGHT. PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.

PEG LAUTENSCHLAGER:

ALWAYS A PLEASURE, FREDERICA. THANK YOU.