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| Milwaukee Art Museum |
Wisconsin always had a reputation for squeaky - clean
government, but all that changed in 2002.
A public pensions scandal began a year marked by admissions,
denials and criminal charges against some of the state's most prominent
leaders. Though the scandals came as a shock to some, others were not
surprised.
"The general tendency is for human nature to come
out, and human nature is just not better in Wisconsin than in other
states," Marquette political science professor John McAdams said.
Jay Heck, executive director of the political watchdog
group Common Cause in Wisconsin, said 2002 will go down as the most scandalous
year in state history - but it was building for some time.
"I think most people never would have thought
that this is the thing you would have seen here. In Illinois, maybe," he
said. "It was monumental in terms of reshaping the state's political
climate."
In January, Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament
resigned in January rather than face a recall election, and voters ousted seven
supervisors involved in the pension debacle. Milwaukee's mayor settled a sexual
harassment lawsuit, and a Roman Catholic archbishop admitted a secret payment
to a man who alleged sexual misconduct.
Five state legislators were charged with felonies as
part of an investigation into illegal campaigning at the state Capitol.
There was other political tumult as well:
* Lawyers for the country's longest-serving mayor,
Milwaukee's John Norquist, and a former aide who accused him of sexual assault,
reached a $375,000 settlement in April. Norquist, who decided against running
for office again, agreed to use campaign and personal money to foot the bill.
* In May, the Milwaukee Roman Catholic Archdiocese
admitted paying a man $450,000 to settle sexual assault allegations against
Archbishop Rembert Weakland nearly 20 years earlier, after the man went public.
Weakland's 25-year tenure ended as he apologized to parishioners and begged
forgiveness.
* State Sen. Gary George was removed from the
Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot in July when a college student found
errors on George's nomination papers. Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala,
a political rival, later admitted he financed the challenge.
* Five state lawmakers from both parties were charged
on allegations of illegal campaigning on state time and inside the Capital.
Chvala, a Democrat, faces 20 felonies, including extortion, and outgoing
Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, a Republican, faces three felony counts and a
misdemeanor.
* In November, Milwaukee Alderwoman Rosa Cameron
pleaded guilty to funneling federal grant money into her election fund from a
community group she founded. She agreed to quit her job.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who was
elected on a clean government platform after Ament's ouster, said citizen
involvement in the county's recall efforts helped create higher standards for
government officials in 2002.
Analysts said the scandals also factored into the
November election, in which Democrat Jim Doyle seized the governor's office and
Republicans took control of the Senate. Those who were successful played on the
political mess and encouraged people to vote against corruption, Heck said.
And scandal adds a tinge of intrigue to politics,
McAdams said.
"The notion that people are sort of goody-goody
and want politics to be dull but efficient is a bit simplistic," he said.
Unfortunately, he said, Wisconsin's scandals haven't produced many interesting
characters.
Heck cautioned a leadership change alone isn't enough
to reverse years of corruption and influence peddling in the state capital. For
that, politicians will need a change in attitude.
It's unlikely that 2003 will pack as much drama as its
predecessor, though some scandals will probably linger.
"It really does look to me to be kind of a random
draw that we got a lot of scandals in one year - sort of a full house in poker,
or maybe a full house for journalists," McAdams said.
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