...WIND CHILL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero. * WHERE...Sawyer, Price, Iron, Burnett, Washburn, Douglas, Bayfield and Ashland Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Red Cliff Band, the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation and the Bad River Reservation. * WHEN...From 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. &&
Most of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the boards overseeing Wisconsin’s higher education systems remain unconfirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate, a move that could allow the GOP to quickly gain control of the boards if the party wins the governor’s race in November.
Five of Evers’ picks for the state technical college system board are unconfirmed, with three of them unable to serve because appointees of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker refuse to vacate their seats even though their terms expired last spring.
And while Evers’ seven unconfirmed appointees to the UW Board of Regents have been serving without the Senate’s stamp of approval, the Republican lawmaker chairing the committee charged with confirming them recently warned that some may be in trouble.
Evers, in a statement to the Wisconsin State Journal, said the individuals he appointed are doing everything that’s asked of them.
“The transfer of power is a part of our democracy, and it’s breathtaking, frankly, that Republicans have decided it’s more important to play politics than confirm appointments they know are qualified, dedicated people who want to serve our state,” he said. “It’s wrong-headed, it’s clearly political, and it’s affecting the work these boards are doing every day.”
Roth
Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, who chairs the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges, said he plans to “start moving on some” of the appointees after wrapping up hearings on some bills this month. But he also entertained the possibility of continuing to deny some appointees a vote over the next year or even booting some from their posts. Senate leadership ultimately makes those decisions, he said.
LeMahieu
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told WisPolitics last week that Senate Republicans don’t plan to take up Evers’ remaining appointees to the boards overseeing the UW System and technical colleges.
LeMahieu spokesperson Adam Gibbs later clarified that some appointees will get a vote and others will not be confirmed. He also said the caucus tends to follow the opinion of committee chairs.
Committee member Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point, said refusing to approve appointees for so long shows that Republicans are more concerned about political gain than governing.
“I don’t know what their plan is other than waiting out the next election cycle,” he said.
Technical colleges
The 13-member board that sets policies across the state’s 16 technical college districts includes five Evers appointees, three individuals who serve by virtue of their position — state schools Superintendent Jill Underly, Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek and Evers-appointed UW Regent John Miller — and five Walker appointees, including three whose terms expired in May.
Tourdot
The three holdovers are Kelly Tourdot, a Waunakee resident who is vice president of Associated Builders and Contractors; Mary Williams, a former GOP state representative from northern Wisconsin; and Becky Levzow, a dairy farmer from Rio. Meeting minutes show they have continued to vote and make motions, with Levzow even presiding as board president during a July meeting.
Their refusal to vacate their seats was first reported by WisPolitics late last month.
Williams
Williams, before being asked any questions by the State Journal, said “there’s no real story” in her refusal to make way for one of Evers’ appointees. She said she hadn’t talked to Republicans about holding on to her seat and has no problem stepping down after the Senate confirms someone to take her place. But she said she will continue to serve in her post until then because sometimes people appointed by the governor are not confirmed.
“Some people are making a bigger issue out of it than it needs to be,” she said.
Tourdot did not return a voicemail and email seeking comment.
Levzow
Levzow, almost immediately after a reporter reached her by phone, said she was at work, could not speak and hung up. She did not respond to a follow-up email.
To replace Williams, Tourdot and Levzow, Evers appointed Sara Rogers, planning analyst for Employ Milwaukee; Daniel Klecker, state education director for the Foundation of the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers Association; and Paul Buhr, a Viroqua-area dairy farmer who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for a state Assembly seat in 2018.
All three were appointed between May 1 and Sept. 7, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Meeting minutes show Rogers, Klecker and Buhr have been attending board meetings, but not voting. The three have yet to receive a hearing although Roth intends to hold them, aide Jason Vick said.
Two of Evers’ other appointees to the board — student representative Megan Bahr and Northcentral University professor Quincey Daniels, Jr. — are also unconfirmed but records show they have been participating in meetings because their predecessors vacated their seats.
Board President Rodney Pasch, who was appointed by Walker, said he had no opinion on whether the appointees whose terms have expired should step down and he is instead focused on supporting the technical colleges’ mission. Asked if he would step down when his term expires in 2023, he said that’s quite a while from now and he’d think about it when the time arrives.
UW Regents
Seven of Evers’ nine appointees to the 18-member UW Board of Regents are unconfirmed, including four who have been serving unconfirmed for more than 20 months, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Roth declined to specify which appointees whose confirmation he would support or oppose but noted his disappointment in the Regents’ recent decision to increase the salary ranges for top University of Wisconsin System administrators by as much as 32%.
“It’s not lost on the Legislature that this is one of the first big acts by the Evers Board of Regents,” he said in an interview. “I think I can get there on some (appointees) and not on others.”
The board’s Dec. 20 vote to increase salary ranges for top leaders was unanimous and had the support of Walker appointees. Board members said the increases — which affected salary ranges, not current salaries — were necessary to bring compensation in line with market demand and ahead of two major searches, both of which are expected to conclude in the first half of 2022.
UW Regents increase salary ranges for top leaders amid 2 major searches
Roth said he wants to see recognition from Regents that they’re willing to make changes, such as the ones he outlined in a committee report last spring. The report called for reducing and streamlining administrative costs to increase instructor pay, grouping all but the Madison campus into four regions and expanding online courses.
“I’m not sure the Board of Regents is up to that,” he said. “That’s the question that myself and senators want answers to before we’re willing to confirm them.”
Roth said the board’s work “does not have to be line-for-line from our report” but said boosting administrators’ salary ranges goes in the opposite direction his committee has recommended.
“I’m not quite sure we’re seeing that leadership right now,” he said.
Gov. Tony Evers appoints new UW Regents, securing control of board long led by GOP appointees
Interim System President Tommy Thompson, a former four-term Republican governor, said he hasn’t heard whether Republicans plan to confirm Evers’ appointees. Asked if the GOP should, he deferred to the Legislature.
“That’s out of my ballpark,” Thompson said in an interview.
Regents President Ed Manydeeds, one of the few Evers appointees who has been confirmed by Republicans, said the board wants to “avoid unnecessary disruptions” so it can stay focused on its responsibilities.
“Our board governs best for its students and universities when it is both collaborative and empowered to act,” he said in a statement.
‘All eyes are on us:’ UW Regents to vote for their next leader in contested election
Manydeeds narrowly won the presidential post in a rare contested election last summer that came just a few weeks after Evers’ appointees gained a majority on the board.
In the lead-up to the election, Roth had encouraged Evers’ appointees to continue the tradition of electing the board’s vice president, who happened to be a Walker appointee, as the board’s next president. The senator’s suggestion led some appointees to fear that voting the “wrong way” could threaten their confirmations though Roth denied any connection between the two.
Other delays
This is far from the first time that gubernatorial appointments have been bottled up by the opposing political party.
Most recently, Fred Prehn, a Wausau dentist appointed by Walker to the Natural Resources Board, has refused to step down since his term expired May 1, denying Evers’ appointee Sandra Naas a seat and maintaining a 4-3 majority for Republican appointees.
Citing a 1964 Supreme Court ruling, Prehn maintains he does not have to leave until Naas is confirmed by the Senate, but Republicans have made no move to set a hearing.
The GOP also hasn’t confirmed several of Evers’ Cabinet nominees.
Judge dismisses AG’s attempt to oust Natural Resources Board chair
Democrats, too, have held up gubernatorial appointments.
When the party controlled the Senate in the early 2000s, it declined to act on Thompson’s nominations to the UW Board of Regents for so long that even after he left to become secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services his picks remained held up for the entirety of his Republican successor’s two-year tenure.
When Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was elected, he withdrew the Republican appointees and replaced them with his own.
Photos of the year: A look back at the Wisconsin State Journal’s top photos of 2021
YE_2021_Hart_03-12232021160111
Updated
Jennifer Mallon guides eight dogs along a walkway adjacent to Warner Park during an outing with the pets of clients of the Ruff Trails canine hiking and training enterprise in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Along for the outing are Penny, Bo, Greta, Coconut, Torks, Baxter, Toby and Rishi. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_02-12232021155440
Updated
Genevieve Faucher kisses her son, Atlas, 5, who was diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare disorder, at the age of four months, at their home in Oshkosh, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Wisconsin has approved adding Pompe to its newborn screening program but hasn’t started testing for the condition yet. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
ye_2021_kayla_09-12232021152037
Updated
A group of friends sing and play following the Eid Al-Fitr prayer held at Olin Park in Madison, Wis., Thursday, May 13, 2021. Eid Al-Fitr is a Muslim religious holiday that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_04-12232021155440
Updated
Jase Frost-Ohlsen, 12, uses a rope swing he made with his brother to dangle over the Yahara River in Madison, Wis., Monday, May 3, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_10-12232021160111
Updated
Artist Angele Nyberg assembles elements of her environmental art installation, “To Hold You,” at James Madison Park in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. The piece was commissioned through the Madison Arts Commission’s BLINK program and will offer visitors to the opening the opportunity to weave reclaimed, naturally dyed strips of fabric into the upright hammock wall. An interactive work, the assemblage tilts back slightly, allowing participants to lean into the weaving while gazing along the shores of Lake Mendota. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_05-12232021155440
Updated
Peyton Hein, left, a senior at Waunakee High School, and Jacky Duarte, a senior at Sun Prairie High School, watch Sun Prairie’s season-opening spring football game against Verona from a parking lot outside the new Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie, Wis., Friday, March 26, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_04-12232021160111
Updated
Visitors to Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ GLEAM nighttime art exhibit explore “Tesseract,” a light and sound installation by Madison, Wis. artists Brett Adams and Bo Raasch Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. The annual event features large scale light installations created by local, regional, and international designers displayed throughout the gardens’ 16 acres. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_01-12232021160111
Updated
As hot, humid weather settles into the region, Ilona Steigerzat, 14, generates their own breeze during a swing at Yahara Place Park Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_01-12232021155440
Updated
Members of DanzTrad, including Yuriza Leonperalta, at right, perform traditional Mexican dance during the Shifting Gears Bike Path Dance Festival at Olin Park in Madison, Wis., Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
ye_2021_kayla_10-12232021152037
Updated
Storybook Ballet founder Meredith Mast makes adjustments to the form and posture of the ballerinas during class in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Kayla Wolf
YE_2021_Arnold_08-12232021155440
Updated
Two-year-old triplets, from left, Aiya, Blaire and Charlotte Cahoon, from Madison, feast on strawberries as their mom, Autumn, grandma, Julie Stough, of Seattle, at left, and sister, Grace, 4, fill the basket with their pickings during a visit to Carandale Fruit Farm in Oregon, Wis., Wednesday, June 16, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
ye_2021_kayla_07-12232021152037
Updated
Francesca Hong kisses her son George Morris goodbye on his first day of kindergarten at Lapham Elementary School in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_06-12232021155440
Updated
Jen Korz, executive director at Heartland Farm Sanctuary, tries to get the attention of Maxwell, a Yorkshire pig, on the farm in Verona, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
ye_2021_kayla_08-12232021152037
Updated
Brothers Tom and Mike Duerst harvest corn on their farm off of Schaller Road in Verona, Wis., Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. The United States Department of Agriculture reports harvest of corn for grain across the state is 61 percent complete, which is 10 days ahead of the 5-year average. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
ye_2021_kayla_05-12232021152037
Updated
Kari Oates, right, and her husband Donald walk through what was the entryway of their home before an F-3 tornado swept through Boscobel, Wis., Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_10-12232021155440
Updated
Amber Dolphin reads a book to her daughters, Ivy Moechnig, 1, and Maya Moechnig, 5 (not pictured), in the children’s section of the newly reopened Pinney Library in Madison, Wis., Monday, May 24, 2021. Madison’s libraries reopened Monday after being closed to in-person visits for 15 months. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
YE_2021_Hart_05-12232021160111
Updated
Members of UW-Madison’s Class of 2021 revel in the chance to do one last “jump around” during the 2021 Spring Commencement at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. Saturday, May 8, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_11-12232021155440
Updated
Jill Uhe attends a Memorial Day service with her children, Brianna, 8, and Benny, 11, at right, at the Wells – Davis – Young – Neal American Legion Post 209 Memorial Park in Orfordville, Wis., Monday, May 31, 2021. Many residents of the small village remembered Cpl. Benjamin Neal, a 21-year-old Orfordville resident who died in Afghanistan in 2012 when he was 21. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
YE_2021_Arnold_12-12232021160111
Updated
Madison firefighter Bree Bower, left, shows Sienna Tadych, 8, of Madison, how to work a fire hose for CampHERO, a partnership between Madison Area Technical College and Wisconsin Badgerland Girl Scouts to give girls in kindergarten through high school hands-on experience in protective services at the college’s Protective Services Building in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 30, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
ye_2021_kayla_06-12232021152037
Updated
Nurse Teeney Beidel, center, puts on personal protective equipment to assist a team of nurses rotating a patient on a ventilator at the Aspirus Medford Hospital in Medford, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_02-12232021160111
Updated
Numbered swatches of fabric, each representing a death from COVID-19 in the state, hang as part of a memorial display at Trinity Methodist Church in Madison, Wis. Thursday, March 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_09-12232021160111
Updated
Friends of three senior high school students killed in a vehicle crash grieve at the site along Mineral Point Road in Veronal, Wis., Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The students, Simon Bilessi, 17, Evan Kratochwill, 18, and Jack Miller, 17, were killed when their vehicle was struck from behind by a motorist who is facing charges of multiple counts of homicide in the incident. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
ye_2021_kayla_11-12232021152037
Updated
UW-Madison sophomore and Army ROTC cadet Sydney Bobolz plants an American flag on the lawn of Bascom Hill as part of a Veterans Day program held by the Wisconsin Union and University Veteran Services in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
ye_2021_kayla_12-12232021152037
Updated
Oregon and Sun Prairie line up to sing the national anthem under a rainbow at the Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field in Sun Prairie, Wis., Thursday, May 6, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_03-12232021155440
Updated
Confetti falls from the ceiling as Wisconsin players celebrate after defeating Nebraska to clinch share of the Big Ten volleyball title at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis., Friday, Nov. 26, 2021.AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
YE_2021_Hart_08-12232021160111
Updated
Fans of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrate during the fourth quarter in the “Deer District” outside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., Tuesday, July 20, 2021. The team earned a 105-98 win over the Phoenix Suns to win their first NBA Championship title since 1971. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
ye_2021_kayla_02-12232021152037
Updated
Milwaukee Bucks Grand Dancer Juju Gramms hands out “Fear the Deer” towels to fans gathered at the Deer District in Milwaukee, Wis., Wednesday, July 14, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_07-12232021160111
Updated
Waunakee’s Sarah Bova, left, and Chloe Larsen, right cross the finish line of the girls 400 meter dash as the event’s winner, Brooklyn Sandvig of Chippewa Falls falls to a first place finish in the event during the WIAA Division 1 state track and field championships at UW-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., Saturday, June 26, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
ye_2021_kayla_04-12232021152037
Updated
Lions running back D’Andre Swift (32) jumps over Packers cornerback Kevin King (20) during the second half at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF STATE JOURNAL
091121_uweasternmichigan_05kw
Updated
Wisconsin Badgers running back Jalen Berger (8) is brought down by Eastern Michigan Eagles defensive back T.J. Peavy (8) and Eastern Michigan Eagles defensive back Mark Lee Jr. (17) during the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_09-12232021155440
Updated
Wisconsin forward Maddi Wheeler (28) celebrates her goal with teammate defenseman Grace Bowlby (13) and defenseman Mayson Toft (14), at left, in the second period of a women’s hockey game against St. Cloud St. at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis., Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
YE_2021_Hart_06-12232021160111
Updated
New Glarus-Monticello’s Darris Schuett (13) is tackled by Belleville’s J Jay Wenger (3) and Tyler Fahey (5) during the first half of a game between the teams at New Glarus High School in New Glarus, Wis. Friday, May 7, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Arnold_07-12232021155440
Updated
DeForest’s Jocelyn Pickhardt hugs teammate, Alexys Scheuerell, front, after crossing the finish line and qualifying for state in the girls 800 meter relay during the WIAA Division 1 track and field sectional at Mansfield Stadium in Madison, Wis., Thursday, June 17, 2021. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
AMBER ARNOLD
YE_2021_Hart_11-12232021160111
Updated
Waunakee’s Max Brud celebrates with his coach, Betsy Zadra, after holing a 98-yard shot for an eagle on the 13th hole of the WIAA Division 1 state golf championship in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
YE_2021_Hart_12-12232021160111
Updated
Snow and frost hold to the branches of trees along University Bay Drive on the campus of UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
JOHN HART STATE JOURNAL
This article originally ran on madison.com.
(Copyright © 2022 APG Media)