Evers vetoes bill that would have limited his appointment power

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a Republican bill that would have taken away the governor’s sole power to appoint people to fill top executive branch vacancies.

The veto stems from a dispute between Evers and Republicans that began when Doug La Follette abruptly resigned as Wisconsin secretary of state, and Evers appointed new Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to replace him.

The bill approved by Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature would apply to secretary of state vacancies and those in other constitutional offices as well, including Wisconsin’s attorney general, treasurer and the superintendent of public instruction.

Typically, those positions are elected statewide, but the governor can choose a replacement when vacancies arise because of circumstances like a resignation or a death. The governor may choose to call a statewide special election to fill the vacancy, but is not required to do so.

The legislation approved along party lines, however, would have put a check on that gubernatorial power.

Depending on timing, the bill would have required a replacement to be chosen by voters in a special election or by the governor with state Senate approval. 

GOP backers cited the case of La Follette, who spent more than four decades in the role.

La Follete won reelection in November 2022, but he retired last March while only a few months into his latest four-year term.

Evers chose not to call a special election, and appointed Godlweski to replace La Follette. Godlewski previously served as state treasurer and ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S Senate in 2022.

When the GOP bill was working its way through the Legislature, Rep. Gae Magnafici, R-Dresser, said Evers had brought an “unelected bureaucrat” into the position.

“This action not only bypasses the electoral process but undermines the democratic ideals that form the bedrock of our governance structure,” Magnafici said at a public hearing last year.

But, in his veto message released this week, Evers raised concerns that the bill could cause key statewide positions to be vacant for extended periods of time.

He described the bill as “political retribution” in response to his appointment of Godlewski, and accused Republicans of “continued, widespread efforts to infringe upon executive branch authority.”

Republicans are short of the legislative super-majority that would be needed to override the governor’s veto.

The rejected bill is part of an ongoing political tug-of-war between Wisconsin’s Democratic governor and it’s GOP-controlled Legislature.

Republican state senators still hold the power to reject other Evers appointees to offices like the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents or the state’s Natural Resources Board.

Since Evers took office in 2019, Republican state senators have rejected 22 of his appointments to various state boards and commissions.