GOP leaders rip Evers’ administration for recording COVID-19 meeting
Republican leaders ripped Gov. Tony Evers’ administration on Wednesday for recording a meeting on the state’s COVID-19 response without their knowledge. A spokeswoman for Evers said they recorded the meeting for taking notes and won’t do it again.
Evers met with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, on May 14, the day after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s safer-at-home order on the potential for a state rule addressing COVID-19.
Melissa Baldauff, an Evers spokeswoman, said staff recorded the meeting to inform note taking and next steps. She said the goal was for both Republicans and Democrats to discuss a potential rule and that they wanted to ensure any plan reflected the conversation.
“This was not intended for release to the media or anyone else,” Baldauff said in a statement. ‘However, we were obligated to comply with the open records law to release these records once they were requested.”
Baldauff said Evers wasn’t aware the conversation was recorded and has since directed staff to not have it happen again.
Evers’ administration rescinded the scope statement for a COVID-19 response rule after Whitewater Republican Sen. Steve Nass, the chair of the committee overseeing the process, demanded its withdrawal.
Fitzgerald called the recording one of the “most brazen examples of unethical, unprofessional conduct” he’s seen in his 26 years in the Legislature. He accused Evers of making “secret Nixonesque recordings.”
Fitzgerald also said the Department of Health Services is in “complete shambles,” citing questions about the departure of leaders in the department this spring.
“Legislating in divided government is dependent on trust,” he said in a statement. “Secretly recording members of the opposite party sets a dangerous precedent, and will completely erode our ability to work together for the foreseeable future.”
Vos called the recording “unprecedented and clearly outside the norm.”
“It’s shameful,” Vos said in a statement.
During the meeting, Evers asked Republicans what they’d like to see in the rule.
Fitzgerald expressed an interest in regulation helping with hotspots, supporting nursing homes and supporting schools as well as colleges and universities reopening.
Vos questioned the need for the rule and what local health officials couldn’t do that state officials could.
Ryan Nilsestuen, Ever’s chief legal counsel, said they’ve heard a need from local health officials for a unified approach and that a rule would help with a coordinated response across different departments.
Evers also said there’s an advantage for those traveling between different cities and towns, which might develop different guidelines that could be confusing.
Fitzgerald said the Badger Bounce Back plan, as well as reopening plans proposed by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, are “behind us.”
“We’re open,” he said. “I would hope that this scope statement would be based on moving forward.”
Evers said that in a “perfect world,” bars would have reopened with some parameters. He referenced photos of “bars absolutely bursting at the seams” after the court’s decision.
That made Fitzgerald question when the last time Evers had visited a Home Depot or a Walmart on a Saturday.
“Are you kidding me? You’re not being serious right now, are you?” Fitzgerald asked. “Those places are bursting at the seams every weekend.”
Evers said he’s driven by lines of people waiting outside to get in.
Fitzgerald dismissed that, noting that the Costco in Sun Prairie is “out of control” every weekend.
“I know what you’re saying, but I don’t buy it,” he said.
Evers questioned what authority the state should have in case there’s a “catastrophic increase” in numbers.
“Do we just say the hell with it?” he asked.
“No, somebody should call Barry Alvarez and say is, ‘There going to be football in Camp Randall starting in August?'” Fitzgerald replied.
Vos agreed with Fitzgerald that the focus should be on moving forward.
“The chance of us adopting a rule that would say, ‘We’re going to close all bars again,’ is very remote,” he said.
Vos said he agreed with Evers about having some way of helping local health officials coordinate in case of a large, regional outbreak.
“I agree that’s a problem that I would like to have us look at, to say there has to be a broader response if there is a multi-jurisdictional outbreak,” he said. “That is something that I think is reasonable.”
Maggie Gau, Evers’ chief of staff, said that they’re already doing that, noting that the National Guard and the Department of Health Services were aiding officials in Vos’ district.
“We are coordinating across jurisdictions,” she said. “When there is an outbreak, we are addressing it.”
She questioned whether Vos was asking for putting in place a rule that would handle outbreaks.
“I guess what I’m getting at is I’m trying to understand the need for the rule and where there are holes that we need to fill in,” Vos said.
Vos said the reason for the outbreak in his region is because of “a large immigrant population where it’s just a difference in culture where people are living much closer and working much closer.”
Vos’ comment drew rebuke from Darryl Morin, president of Forward Latino, who asked for an apology and told the Journal Sentinel that members of the Latinx community are contracting COVID-19 at higher rates because they’re essential workers, not due to their culture.
Milwaukee Democratic Rep. Jonathan Brostoff called Vos’ comment “racist as hell and totally unacceptable.” He demanded that Vos “step down from his position immediately.”
See notes from governor’s office on the recording
Listen to the recording:
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