In short, State Rep. Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) also happens to be president of United Auto Workers Local 95. General Motors Corp. pays his salary. Sheridan helped introduce Assembly Bill 85, which would provide a $1,000 tax credit to Wisconsinites who buy or lease a new flex-fuel vehicle. The GM plant in Janesville turned out 120,000 FFV vehicles in 2007 and employs 2,600 workers. In the watchdog article, the Sentinel accuses Rep. Sheridan and bill co-sponsor Republican Rep. Eugene Hahn (Cambria) of having conflicts of interest.
Milwaukee Sentinel Excerpt:The board might be unaware of the issue, but Sheridan’s constituents aren’t. You see, what Sheridan has working in his favor is the fact that residents in his district are fully aware of his ties to GM and many have elected him because of this connection. In effect, he is doing the peoples work. It’s not like Sheridan was elected and kept his GM job a secret and then did one of those “gut checks” before he sponsored a bill favoring an undisclosed special interest. Constituents in his district know exactly what is going on.
Officials with the Wisconsin Ethics Board, which administers the state's ethics codes and lobbying laws, said they were unaware of the issue when first questioned by the Journal Sentinel.
But Sheridan has faced these accusations in the past, and I would guess that every day he hangs on to both of these positions, he knows he leaves himself open as a target to these allegations of conflict, not from inside his district, but outside. This is why I was disappointed by his response to the Sentinels article. It could have worked to his tremendous advantage by using it as a springboard to introduce legislation to raise eligibility (conflict of interest) standards for those seeking a seat on the Wisconsin State legislature. Instead he chose to view himself as a “former autoworker” and dragged in anyone else who held a job before they entered politics as equally conflicted. I hope he didn’t get this advice from the Janesville Gazette.
Of course I don’t think Sheridan sponsoring this bill is as big as a controversy as the Sentinel implied, but most fundamental Americans demand complete dedication and accountability from their elected representatives and Sheridan is no different. He must know he is walking a highwire. The last thing Wisconsinites should be ashamed of is attempting to hold the ethical standards of our civic leaders and politicians too high.
The Janesville Gazette editorialized their support for Sheridan’s sponsorship of the bill which is the only right thing to do, but they also took the side that citizens must be careful not to set the bar too high for Wisconsin politicians. This is exactly what I come to expect from the Gazette, a newspaper whose principles are guided by profits and politics, in that order.
Additional story * Committee Defends Conflicts
JS Excerpt:Memo to self: If you ever attempt to run for political office, buy stock in Wisconsin companies, particularly those residing in your district. This way, you will look smart sponsoring or voting for legislation that you not only believe in, but you have a vested interest in as well. Oooo, the web we weave.
Rep. Barbara Gronemus (D-Whitehall) said "I can't imagine why anyone would think that Rep. Sheridan was doing something that wouldn't benefit the plant and the state." "Ditto for Hahn" she said.
"That to me is no good reason to admonish . . . Hahn because he was smart enough to invest in something he believes in," she said.
1 comment:
Nice - nice post!!
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