Legislature Spends First 100 Days in a Stall on Campaign Reform

May 9, 2001

Madison - In the first 100 days of the 2001-02 legislative session, both houses of the state legislature have refused to act on comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation that does what voters overwhelmingly called on their elected representatives to do, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said today.

State Lawmakers Get Huge Reelection Boost at Taxpayers’ Expense

May 2, 2001

Madison - Nearly $470,000 in state tax dollars are spent annually on the care and feeding of each state legislator in Wisconsin, creating an enormous electoral advantage for current office holders, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported after analyzing the almost $62 million budget for legislative expenses for the 2000-01 fiscal year as well as spending trends in specific expense accounts.

April 23, 2001

Madison - Joint Finance Committee members who are reviewing the proposed 2001-03 state budget have accepted more than $2 million in campaign contributions from special interests, according to a report released today by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

State’s Leading Democrat Boasts Most Fat Cat Donors; Seven Top Givers Exceed Legal Contribution Limit

April 9, 2001

Madison - About five dozen individuals and families representing four-tenths of 1 percent of donors made 11 percent of the total large individual campaign contributions to legislative candidates and statewide officeholders in 1999-2000, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported today.

Party ‘Issue Ads’ Establish Disturbing New Trend

March 29, 2001

Madison - Spending by outside interests in the state school superintendent race will easily surpass the previous record and includes a new campaign finance abuse in the form of phony "issue ads" run by a state political party, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported today.

Donations Yield Breaks for Big Suds, Tourism Holiday, Biz Tax Write-offs and Lotsa Concrete

March 26, 2001

Madison - Special interests who contribute thousands of dollars a year to the governor and legislative leaders are again seeing their investments pay off through millions of dollars in tax breaks, state funded projects and other proposals in the proposed 2001-03 state budget, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said today.

Financial Disparities in State Politics Mirror Major League Baseball’s as Most Candidates Stand No Chance Against Well-Heeled Insiders

March 5, 2001

Madison - The economics of Wisconsin politics is as screwed up as the economics of major league baseball, with current office holders and favored insiders virtually assured of victory while their rivals are out of contention due to the grotesque imbalance in financial resources, a new Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

February 28, 2001

Madison - The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign today asked Governor Scott McCallum to pledge to sign any campaign finance reform legislation that reaches his desk and agree not to use his partial veto authority to alter any bipartisan agreement reached by state lawmakers.

Members From Both Parties & Both Houses Introduce ‘Voters First’ Bill

February 13, 2001

Madison - The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign lauded today’s announcement that a group of legislators from both political parties and both houses of the legislature is coalescing behind the Voters First campaign finance reform legislation.

Independent Spending Balloons 134% to $2.5 Million

February 8, 2001

Madison - Legislative candidates spent $7.1 million and special interests blew a reported $2.5 million to set new spending records in election year 2000 and send the cost of one senate race soaring to at least $1.7 million, not counting hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional unreported spending on phony issue ads, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis released today.

February 6, 2001

Madison - Gov. Scott McCallum’s campaign fund accepted special interest campaign contributions faster than the record-setting snow fell in December, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis released today.

WTMJ Fell Far Short of National 5-Minute Standard, Devoted Less Air Time to Candidates than Stations Nationwide

February 5, 2001

Madison - WTMJ Channel 4, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, aired just over a minute of candidates talking about issues each night in the final month of the 2000 campaign, according to a new national study released by the Alliance for Better Campaigns.

January 17, 2001

Madison - A $10,000 investment a year ago in one of the most profitable stocks on the market - Genstar Therapeutics - would be worth $162,500 today, a 1,525% gain. That’s a lucrative return, but it’s not nearly the bang for the buck that special interests received from investing in state policymaking.

Air Time Devoted to Candidates Discussing Issues Up Tenfold Over April Election,
But Still Far Short of National 5-Minute Standard

December 12, 2000

Madison - Local television stations devoted an average of more than a minute and a half a night to statements by candidates for national and state office in the 30 days before the November 7 election, an analysis of evening newscasts in the Madison market shows.

November 5, 2000

Madison - Republican challenger Sheila Harsdorf has spent nearly $300,000 so far this year in her bid to win the hotly contested 10th Senate District seat, bringing total spending in the race to at least $1.6 million, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported.

Independent Spending Tops $2 Million, Nearly Double ’98

November 2, 2000

Madison - Legislative candidates spent a record $3 million in a two-month period that ended late last month, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis released today.

Independent Electioneering by Special Interests Already Past $1 Million Mark, But Likely is ‘Tip of Iceberg’

October 31, 2000

Madison - With the crucial final days leading up to the November 7 election still ahead, special interest groups led by the state teachers union already have spent more than $1.1 million to influence the outcome of the 10th Senate District race, according to an analysis of the latest campaign finance reports by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Nearly $2 Of Every $3 Not From Constitutents

October 27, 2000

Madison - About $2 of every $3 in large individual contributions accepted by legislative candidates through Aug. 28 came from outside of their districts, compounding the impact of special interests who are rifling out big money donations at a record pace, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis released today.

Candidate-to-Candidate Giving Up More Than 300% Since ’96

October 17, 2000

Madison - Campaign contributions among candidate committees are skyrocketing and are being used by legislative candidates to launder special interest money and fuel the spiraling cost of campaigns, according to a report issued today by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Milwaukee CBS Affiliate WDJT Becomes Third Wisconsin Station to Commit to 5-Minutes-a-Night Standard

October 9, 2000

Madison - WDJT-TV Channel 58, the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, has committed to air five minutes of political candidates discussing issues every night in the month before Wisconsin’s November 7 general election, the Alliance for Better Campaigns-Wisconsin reported today.

WFRV Commits to 5-Minute Standard for TV Election Coverage

September 29, 2000

Madison - WFRV-TV Channel 5, the CBS affiliate in Green Bay, has committed to air five minutes of political candidates discussing issues every night in the month before Wisconsin’s November 7 general election, the Alliance for Better Campaigns-Wisconsin reported today.

September 25, 2000

Madison - Campaign contributions to Wisconsin legislative candidates and the governor from employees of Texas and Wisconsin rent-to-own companies during the first six months of 2000 rose sharply (Chart 1) at the same time that legislators were considering a bill supported by the industry, according to a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis.

Internet site to help citizens talk back to local television stations profiteering
on democracy while ignoring public interest

September 14, 2000

Madison - With the television industry on a record-breaking pace to take in up to $1 billion from campaign ads this year, the Alliance for Better Campaigns today launched GREEDYTV.ORG, an interactive web site that will let citizens track how much stations take in from political ad sales and how little they air candidates discussing issues, and allow visitors to the site to sound off to local broadcasters by e-mail or fax.

Incumbent Warchests Up 68 Percent, Fundraising Up 60 Percent From ’98

September 14, 2000

Madison - As races enter the homestretch in the 2000 general election, legislative candidates are vacuuming up cash as quickly as special interests can drop it. The incumbents’ campaign war chests totaled $3.4 million at the end of the latest "pre-primary" reporting period in late August, a 68 percent increase over total campaign cash balances for the same period in the 1998 election season, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.

Milwaukee ABC Affiliate Becomes First Wisconsin Station to Commit to Air
5 Minutes of Candidate Discourse Nightly

September 7, 2000

Madison - WISN TV 12, the ABC affiliate in Milwaukee, has committed to air five minutes of political candidate discourse - in the form of mini-debates, one-on-one live or taped interviews and other reporting formats - every night in the month before Wisconsin’s November 7 general election, the Alliance for Better Campaigns-Wisconsin reported today.