Cronyism and the Wisconsin protests
Well the State Patrol of Wisconsin has been called out to find the Democratic lawmakers that refuse to show up in Madison. But you know what’s funny?
The Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Speaker are brothers and their father is head of the State Patrol.
Steve Fitzgerald, the father of the top two Republican lawmakers in state government, will lead the Wisconsin State Patrol, Gov. Scott Walker’s administration announced Tuesday.
Fitzgerald beat out five other candidates for the appointment, which carries an annual salary of $105,678. He is scheduled to start Monday.
Fitzgerald said his sons, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, had nothing to do with him getting the job. “I have my own focus and my own agenda and they have theirs,” Fitzgerald said.
His new position leading the 638-member State Patrol deepens the growing power of the Fitzgerald family. His two sons began their new leadership roles in January after sweeping victories in the November elections gave Republicans control of the Senate and Assembly.
Scott Fitzgerald said he wasn’t consulted “in any way” about his dad’s application and didn’t ask to be. “Frankly, this doesn’t change anything for me,” he said. “I’m still going to drive the speed limit and buckle up, same as I’ve always done.”
But the Democratic Party of Wisconsin questioned whether cronyism played a role in the decision and accused Walker of showing preferential treatment to friends in the past.
“We question whether best practices were followed,” party spokesman Graeme Zielinski said. “There’s just a lot of power concentrated with very few people.”