KAPANKE SETTLES IN PUBLIC RECORDS SUIT BROUGHT BY DEMS

TAXPAYERS ON HOOK FOR $38,000 IN PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEYS' FEES

WE PAY FOR DEFENSE ATTORNEY AS WELL 

SENATOR, A CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS, TAKES RESPONSIBILITY "FOR ANY FAILURES"

He's a Marine!

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com 

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-32nd) has signed a "Release and Settlement Agreement" [pdf] in Dane County Case 09-CV-3928, a mandamus action brought by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin relative to Kapanke's office's failure to provide public records requested by the party.
The agreement was finalized this morning, Friday, September 11th, 2009, with the signature of Hon. Richard G. Niess [Duke U '78] of the Dane County Circuit Court. 

Among the provisions of the settlement: 

• Kapanke will pay the Democratic Party a sum of $100 as damages.
• Taxpayers will pay the party's legal counsel -- Michael S. Maistelman [Franklin Pierce '94] and David R. Halbrooks [UW '87] -- the sum of $38,000 for their work on the case.
• The Democratic Party "shall be deemed prevailing parties" in the case. 
• Kapanke will issue a public statement.[See below]

CASE COSTS TAXPAYERS $38,000 IN LEGAL FEES

That's right -- taxpayers will be liable for the attorney's fees, since the action was brought against Kapanke in his capacity as a State Senator, and not individually. Taxpayers also paid for Kapanke's defense, which was provided by the office of the Attorney General by Jennifer Sloan Lattis [UW '89]. 

The Democratic Party, in a statement, said:
“The taxpayers of Wisconsin should not be expected to pay the price for Dan Kapanke’s illegal activities,” said [Chair Mike] Tate. “If Dan Kapanke and his campaign have any respect for the citizens of this state, he will refund each and every dollar that has been spent to expose his violations of the law.”
KAPANKE'S STATEMENT


"On June 5 and June 8, 2009, my office received public records requests pursuant to the Wisconsin Public Records Law from Jason Stephany and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) regarding two economic forums paid for by my campaign account. My office responded to the public records request on or about July 30, 2009, indicating that our search had not uncovered any responsive documents. A subsequent search by my office and the Legislative Technology Services Bureau, revealed we had overlooked or failed to search all relevant databases for responsive documents in our initial search. These were provided to Mr. Stephany and the DPW as a result of the lawsuit. 
I take responsibility for any failures by my office in responding to the public records request, and intend to take steps to prevent any similar occurrences in the future."


WILL GAB INVESTIGATE? 

Although the court case has been settled, the Milwaukee World Hound Dog has been scratching at the door of the state Government Accountability Board since Kapanke's campaign finance report for July, 2009, should have, but did not include the revenues and expenditures of the two economic forums held by Kapanke which he admitted were:

                  " paid for by my campaign account."

in the statement quoted above.

Becker's response to the Milwaukeeworld request for information follows:

Dear Mr. Horne -- I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail.  Pursuant to §§5.05(5s) and 12.13(5), Wis. Stats., the Government Accountability Board is prohibited from disclosing information related to a possible investigation or prosecution under chs. 5-12, subch. III of ch. 13, or subch. II of ch. 19, Wis. Stats.

Please be assured that the G.A.B. regards any allegation of a possible violation of law as a serious matter and it will receive the attention it is due.  Thank you for providing us with your concerns.

Jonathan Becker
Administrator, Division of Ethics and Accountability
Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
Jonathan.Becker@Wisconsin.gov

So, that appears to be a "stay tuned" scenario.
Kapanke is a candidate for the seat in the U. S. Congress held by Democrat Ron Kind. 
See previous Milwaukeeworld posts:
http://www.milwaukeeworld.com/blog/2009/08/dems-sue-kapanke.html
www.milwaukeeworld.com/.../more-hanky-kapanke-behind-senators-econ.html - 

Here is the Associated Press coverage of the settlement.