On Monday, January 7, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and
members of the Wisconsin State Legislature were inaugurated into their state
government positions. The date signaled a significant shift in Wisconsin’s
political climate. From 2011 through 2018, state government was under the
complete Republican control. Wisconsinites now have a Democrat in the
governor’s office and a divided government.
In November, Evers defeated Republican incumbent Scott
Walker; a victory that surprised many political spectators. His campaign
primarily centered on funding for public education and the rising costs of
healthcare.
In his inaugural speech, Evers remained focused on those
issues, stating, “[On the campaign] We
talked about how what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state. And
that means we need to fully fund our public schools at every level, so that
every kid in our state has access to a quality education… We talked about
making sure that healthcare is affordable and accessible and protects people
who have preexisting conditions.”
Evers is sure to make both issues primary tenants of his
budget bill, which will be introduced early this year. While his speech
mentioned education, healthcare, and transportation, the address largely spoke
to his desire to bring unity to Wisconsin politics and political discourse.
“Finally, [hard work] begins in these marble halls where, as
elected officials, we are reminded that our obligation and our allegiance are
to the people of this state, not any political leader or party. That is the
promise and the spirit of our service. May we dare to transcend divisiveness
and party line,” Evers told the inauguration attendees.
Evers inauguration
ushers in a new era, but significant aspects of the Walker years remain in
place. Specifically, the legislature is still controlled by Republicans, and
its longtime leaders, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader
Scott Fitzgerald, are still the heads of their chambers.
In their addresses,
both Vos and Fitzgerald stated their desire for unity and bipartisanship during
the two-year legislative session. “Let us be united by our shared vision to
make Wisconsin a better place to live, work, and raise a family,” Fitzgerald
said.
However, Vos stated
his intent to ensure the legislature is on equal footing with the new governor.
“There are some who will want us to take a backseat and allow the new governor
to drive the car alone but that isn't going to happen," Vos told the
Assembly.
Evers, Vos, and
Fitzgerald are making good faith attempts to make good on their hopes for
unity. On Tuesday, January 15, Evers will attend with a rare joint meeting of
the Assembly and Senate Republican Caucuses to discuss areas of agreement with
every Republican member of the legislature.
The next two years are sure to be interesting
and unpredictable as Wisconsin’s government and citizens attempt to navigate
divided government.
Evers Appoints DHS Secretary,
Cabinet Secretaries and Senior Staff
Since Governor Tony
Evers won election in November 2018, his transition team worked diligently to
appoint individuals to serve as cabinet secretaries in the Evers
administration. The appointments were announced slowly over the course of
December and early January. Cabinet secretaries serve as administrators of the
various state agencies on behalf of the governor.
On January 3, the
transition team announced its final group of appointments, including Evers’
choice of Andrea Palm to serve as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of
Health Services (DHS). DHS is a particularly integral stage agency and
administers several the state’s largest programs, including Medicaid.
Andrea Palm previously
served as senior counselor at the federal Department of Health and Human
Services under the Obama Administration. She also served as a senior adviser
for the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Obama administration’s
enactment of the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Palm also worked as health policy
adviser to then-Senator Hillary Clinton.
Ms. Palm was the
only secretary appointment from outside Wisconsin. Political spectators have
contemplated why exactly she decided to come to the state. While that question
remains to be answered, health care groups and advocacy groups seem enthused by
the selection.
The Evers team also
announced the following appointments:
·
Department of Revenue - Peter Barca. Mr. Barca previously served in the
State Assembly, including a few sessions as Minority Leader. He also served as
Midwest regional administrator of the Small Business Administration during the Clinton
administration.
·
Department of Workforce Development - Caleb
Frostman. Mr. Frostman
served a very short stint in the State Senate when he won a special election in
the 1st Senate District in May. He lost the seat in November. Prior to his
service in the Senate, he was executive director of the Door County Economic
Development Corp.
·
Department of Children and Families - Emile
Amundson. Ms. Amundson
served then-State Superintendent Evers as his chief of staff at the Department
of Public Instruction.
·
Department of Safety and Professional
Services - Dawn Crim. Ms.
Crim was previously the assistant state superintendent for the Division of
Student and School Success at the Department of Public Instruction.
·
Department of Administration - Joel Brennan. Mr. Brennan was the chief executive
officer for Discovery World Museum in Milwaukee. He previously served as
campaign manager for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's 2004 mayoral campaign and
led the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority
·
Department of Natural Resources - Preston
Cole. Mr. Cole has served
on the State Natural Resources Board since 2007. He was also Milwaukee
Commissioner of Neighborhood Services.
·
Department of Corrections - Kevin Carr. Mr. Carr was the U.S. Marshal for
Wisconsin's eastern federal district. He previously spent 30 years in the
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.
·
Department of Tourism - Sara Meaney. Ms. Meaney was the chief marketing and
development officer at Milwaukee Film. She has an extensive background in
advertising and marketing.
·
Department of Transportation - Craig
Thompson. Mr. Thompson
served as executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Development
Association, which advocates for "development and maintenance of a strong,
interconnected transportation network."
·
Public Service Commission - Rebecca Cameron
Valcq. Ms. Cameron Valcq was
an attorney with Quarles & Brady law firm, who worked in the Energy,
Environment & Natural Resources Practice Group. She previously served as
in-house regulatory counsel for WE Energies.
·
Department of Agriculture, Trade, and
Consumer Protection - Brad Pfaff. Mr. Pfaff served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Wisconsin Farm Service Agency executive director under the Obama
administration.
·
Office of Commissioner of Insurance - Marke
Afable. Mr. Afable was the
chief legal officer for American Family Insurance.
·
Department of Veterans Affairs - Mary Kolar. Ms. Kolar served as the District I
Supervisor for the Dane County Board of Supervisors. She spent twenty-eight
active duty service in the U.S. Navy.
·
Department of Financial Institutions - Kathy
Koltin Blumenfeld. Ms.
Blumenfeld served as the executive vice president of special operations for
Total Administrative Services Corporation.
·
Department of Administration, State
Budget Office - Brian Pahnke. Mr. Pahnke served as the assistant state superintendent for finance
and management at the Dept. of Public Instruction.
·
Department of Public Instruction - Carolyn
Stanford Taylor. Ms. Stanford
Taylor served as the Assistant State Superintendent.
Each
appointee must be confirmed by the State Senate. They will likely be confirmed
in the coming weeks.
In
addition to cabinet secretary selections, the Evers also announced senior staff
positions in the Governor’s Office, which are as follows:
·
Chief
of Staff: Maggie Gau
·
Deputy
Chief of Staff: Melissa Moore Baldauff
·
Deputy
Chief of Staff: Kara Pennoyer
·
Deputy
Chief of Staff: Barbara Worester
·
Chief
Legal Counsel: Ryan Nilsestuen
·
Policy
Director: Jenni Dye
·
Director
of Constituent Services: Margie Berkowitz
·
Legislative
Director: Stephanie Hilton
·
Deputy
Communications Director: Britt Cudaback
·
Operations
Director: Royce Kim
·
Director
of Appointment for Board and Commissions: Cassi Fenili
·
Scheduling
Director: Elsie Raymer
·
Outreach
Director: Jamie Kuhn
Legislature
Addresses PreExisting Conditions
On
Tuesday, January 15, the Assembly Committee on Health held a public hearing on
Assembly Bill 1. The bill, which seeks to guarantee health care coverage for Wisconsinites
with preexisting conditions, passed the Health Committee on a X to X vote on
Thursday, January 17.
Authored
by Republican Representative Kevin Petersen and Republican Senator Andre
Jacque, the bill only takes effect in the event the Affordable Care Act should
cease to be federal law. The ACA already guarantees coverage for Americans with
preexisting conditions, and federal law takes precedent over state law.
Petersen and Jacque told the Health Committee they wanted to ensure
preexisting condition requirements remain in place in absence of a federal
law, should that occur in the future.
During
debates and discussion at the Assembly Health Committee's public hearing, there
was no real opposition to the bill as a concept. Democratic members of the
committee stated more than once they're in favor of coverage for preexisting
conditions and supportive of the bill, in general, due to its similarity in
language to the Affordable Care Act.
However,
Democratic lawmakers were concerned that if current federal law ceased to
exist, Assembly Bill 1 would not have the effect its Republican proponents say
it would. Democratic lawmakers said that without additional state legislation
mirroring the ACA's requirements for protections against lifetime limits and
mandating essential benefits, a law requiring coverage for preexisting
conditions would not necessarily result in what the Democratic committee
members deem proper coverage.
The
bill's authors signaled they would be open to a discussion on further legislation
regarding health care coverage but stated their bill specifically and solely
spoke to preexisting conditions.
Now
that the bill has passed the Assembly Health Committee, it will likely head to
the Assembly floor. To become law, it would need to go through the Senate
committee process and receive a vote in that house as well, and ultimately it
would need the approval of Governor Tony Evers.
On
Wednesday, January 16, Governor Evers sent a letter to Republican legislative
leaders inviting them to meet with him on Friday, January 18 to discuss
preexisting conditions. The letter signaled Evers is interested in addressing
the issue but may not necessarily be interested in Assembly Bill 1.