FIRST REPORT SIDEBAR: Caucus calls to candidates noted
2:04 PM 5/20/01
Phil Brinkman Wisconsin State Journal
As state employees, staff members of the four political caucuses are prohibited from campaigning on state time or with state resources.
Yet a Wisconsin State Journal computer analysis of caucus telephone records for the three months leading up to the Nov. 7 election found dozens of questionable calls and faxes to candidates not yet in office and to campaign consultants. The records were obtained under the state's Open Records Law.
Capitol sources urged care in interpreting the data, noting that many of the calls may have been in response to queries from outside the office.
"Legislators and candidates, like private citizens, have the right to contact legislative offices or caucuses to request information about votes, bills and laws," said Maureen McNally, an aide to state Sen. Mary Panzer, R-West Bend, who heads the Senate Republican Caucus.
Some of the calls to campaign offices also might reflect efforts by caucus employees to make work-related calls to other staff members legally working on campaigns while on leave or vacation, she said.
In the case of the Assembly Republican Caucus, staffers are given a code to access a phone line billed to a privately funded campaign committee to respond to any "gray-area" calls to avoid charging taxpayers, said Steve Baas, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha.
The newspaper's analysis looked only at long-distance calls and didn't include calls made on staffers' personal cell phones, which are not subject to disclosure laws.
Among the findings:
Former state Sen. Alice Clausing, the most endangered Democratic incumbent lawmaker who was ultimately unseated in a highly pitched campaign, was in almost continual contact with the Senate Democratic Caucus (SDC) between August and October.
Phone records show caucus staffers made 117 calls or faxes to Clausing's office or home - sometimes four or more a day - far more than to any other legislator or candidate. SDC staffer Carrie Lynch was a key Clausing campaign worker. Clausing said the calls were related to her work as a state senator. Said Lynch: "I always return the phone calls of our senators."
Staffers from the Senate Republican Caucus (SRC) placed at least 10 calls or faxes to Clausing's opponent, Sheila Harsdorf, in September and October, although she had yet to be elected. Harsdorf didn't respond to two e-mails and a phone call seeking her response
. Other instances of caucus employees calling the offices of people not yet elected included:
Five calls from the Assembly Democratic Caucus (ADC) to Scott Woods, a Democrat from Delavan who ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn. Woods said ADC workers helped on his campaign, but he thought it mostly took place after normal work hours or on weekends.
Nine calls from the ADC to Steven J. Nass, a Democrat from Lake Mills who ran unsuccessfully against Rep. David Ward, R-Fort Atkinson. Nass, who should not be confused with state Rep. Stephen L. Nass, R-Whitewater, confirmed that he visited the ADC office for campaign help.
14 calls from the SRC to Dan Kapanke, a Republican from La Crosse who ran unsuccessfully against state Democratic Rep. Mark Meyer, also of La Crosse, for an open Senate seat. Kapanke told the State Journal that he regularly phoned SRC employees at their offices during his campaign.
Four faxes from the SDC to Meyer's campaign office. Meyer said the faxes likely were in response to requests for information about issues before the Senate he planned to discuss in a candidate debate. He contended that such requests were no different from similar requests he made of other state offices during the campaign.
Eight calls from the Assembly Republican Caucus (ARC) to Mary Ann Lippert, a Republican from Pittsville who defeated Democrat Amy Sue Vruwink for an open seat in the Assembly. Lippert did not return two messages seeking comment.
14 calls from the ARC to Dan Meyer, a Republican from Eagle River who beat Democrat Roger Weber for an open seat in the Assembly. Meyer confirmed that he often called the ARC office for help on his campaign.
On one day in August, at least 35 calls were made from the Assembly Republican Caucus to Republican candidates running in primaries for state Assembly. None of those called was a current office holder, and most were running for seats then held by Democrats.
Other findings include:
Assembly Democratic Caucus staffers called incumbent Rep. Lee Meyerhofer, D-Kaukauna, 37 times, while Republicans called his opponent, Tom Sanders, once. Meyerhofer narrowly won re-election in November after a negative advertising campaign mounted against him by an independent political group. Meyerhofer, who said he relies on the caucus for legislative research "more than probably any other member," said the number of calls would not have been out of the ordinary for him.
Assembly Republican Caucus employees routinely faxed radio stations around the state in the days and weeks leading up to the September primary. The faxes may have involved legitimate legislative business. An ARC document obtained by the State Journal, however, indicates the caucus sent out campaign faxes "almost daily." Some of the most frequent destinations for faxes were radio stations embroiled in the Meyerhofer controversy.
Employees of both the Assembly and Senate Republican caucuses also made at least 15 calls to three campaign media and polling organizations used by GOP candidates in the 2000 campaign.

State Journal reporter Dee J. Hall contributed to this report.