Wisconsin Elections Head Mike Haas To Step Aside

The head of the Wisconsin Elections Commission says he won’t fight a move by Republican senators to remove him as the agency’s administrator.

Mike Haas of the Wisconsin Elections Commission announced Tuesday he intends to stay on temporarily as staff counsel at the agency, but he’ll encourage commission members to hire someone else to replace him at their meeting Friday.

“I have decided not to spend additional time, effort and resources in the negative environment of litigation,” Haas said in a letter to commission members. “Leaders in our state government have clearly expressed their preference, misguided as it may be, that I not continue as administrator.”

Some commission members had argued that under state law, only they could hire and fire their agency’s leader, not the state Senate.

But Haas said that even if that argument prevailed in court, it might only be temporary.

“Even if I were to prevail, there is also the reality that the Legislature can change the law to clarify how to achieve its preferred outcome,” Haas wrote.

GOP senators voted to fire both Haas and former Ethics Commission Administrator Brian Bell because of their connections to the Government Accountability Board, an agency Republicans voted to disband in 2015 because of its role in an investigation of Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans.

The Senate’s action went against the wishes of the bipartisan board members of the Ethics and Elections commissions.

Bell already left his job after Republican senators voted against his confirmation. The Ethics Commission met Tuesday and voted 4-2 to appoint Colette Reinke as interim administrator for 90 days while it conducts a national search for a permanent new leader to replace Bell.

Board chairman David Halbrooks says Reinke will not be considered for post permanently and is not interested in the position permanently, according to The Associated Press.

Haas said he supports a motion by Elections Commissioner Dean Knudsen, a Republican appointee, to appoint Assistant Administrator Meagan Wolfe as interim administrator.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 with information on Reinke’s appointment.