One Wisconsin Now Starts Petition Drive to Convince Scandal-Plagued Justice to Uphold Pledge to Reduce Conflicts of Interest
Milwaukee – Even as she remains the focus of an unprecedented conflict of interest ethics investigation, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler is set to hear arguments Thursday in a case where she has numerous conflicts of interest. The case involves a dispute between the state and the Neenah-based Menasha Corporation.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which spent $2 million on Ziegler’s behalf in her recent election, previously filed an amicus brief siding with Menasha. In the same race, Ziegler also received a contribution from the company’s former top executive.
“If you look at who wrote checks, it’s pretty clear there’s a big conflict of interest for Annette Ziegler,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “We’ll see whether its hand-picked justice starts paying dividends for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.”
The case before Ziegler and the Court, Wisconsin Department of Revenue vs. Menasha Corporation, 2004AP3239, involves the eligibility of a business for a state sales tax exemption. The conflicts of interest for Ziegler include:
- Wisconsin Manufacturer and Commerce spent over $2 million in Ziegler’s race for Supreme Court earlier this year. WMC both filed a brief calling on the District IV Court of Appeals to rule in favor of Menasha Corporation and hailed the ruling in a January 2007 press release [Source: http://www.wmc.org/display.cfm?ID=1493, 1/25/07].
- According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s contribution database, Ziegler received a $150 contribution March 7, 2007 from Thomas J. Prosser. Prosser served as the Menasha Corporation Chief Executive Officer for two years, Chair of the Board of Directors for six years and was a Board Member for a dozen years.
“Annette Ziegler has a dog in this fight and must recuse herself from the case,” said Ross. “The reason she is the subject of an unprecedented ethics investigation is because of her actions in case after case in which she had a clear conflict of interest.”
In response to the conflict, One Wisconsin Now has begun an online petition drive calling for Ziegler to recuse herself in the case. The petition is available BY CLICKING THIS LINK.
One Wisconsin Now is a statewide communications network specializing in effective earned media and online organizing to advance progressive leadership and values.
