Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz has appointed himself to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Board, one of four lawmakers to serve on the panel.
The Oshkosh Dem replaces Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, who left the Legislature to run for governor. Hintz’s appointment is one of a series that has been made ahead of the board’s first meeting of the year in Madison this afternoon.
Hintz and fellow Dem leader Jennifer Shilling each get one appointment to the 18-member board, under changes Republicans made to the body during last month’s extraordinary session. The office of Shilling, the Senate minority leader, said the La Crosse Dem selected Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, to serve on the panel.
He replaces former Sen. Caleb Frostman, D-Sturgeon Bay, who didn’t win re-election to the 1st SD in November and is now serving as Department of Workforce Development secretary.
Meanwhile, the other two lawmakers who were re-appointed to the board are GOP Sen. Dan Feyen, of Fond du Lac, who was selected by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald; and Rep. Rob Hutton, of Brookfield, who was chosen by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Vos, R-Rochester, each get five appointments to the board, under the new law. The remaining six are chosen by Gov. Tony Evers, whose office didn’t return a request for the names of his appointments yesterday.
The board drops to 16 members Sept. 1 as the Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader each lose one appointment. While the board currently has the power to choose the WEDC CEO under the law, the guv’s ability to pick its head will also be restored Sept. 1.
Fitzgerald is also reappointing three members to the board: Mountain Dog Media President Randy Hopper; Rickert Industries President Lisa Mauer, who serves as the WEDC Board chair; and ABRAZO Multicultural Marketing & Communication President Nancy Hernandez, currently the board’s vice chair and secretary. Hernandez’s term expires Sept. 1.
His new appointee is American National Bank of Beaver Dam CEO John Oathout.
Vos has again named SC Johnson Global Community Affairs Director Jim Ladwig as a board member.
He also has three new appointees: Jim Peterson, of Schuette Metals; Place Perfect Realty President Mike Kunesh; and former GOP state Rep. Mary Williams, of Medford, whose term on the board ends Sept. 1.
Also serving on the board as non-voting members will be Revenue Secretary Peter Barca, who previously served on the board as a state rep, and DOA Secretary Joel Brennan.
–By Briana Reilly
WisBusiness.com
