Senators eye Decker for Chvala's post
11:10 AM 10/17/02
Scott Milfred and Tom Sheehan State government reporters

Sen. Russ Decker of Schofield, an easygoing bricklayer and experienced state budget negotiator from central Wisconsin, emerged Thursday as the leading candidate to succeed embattled Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala of Madison.

But Sen. Rodney Moen, D-Whitehall, a retired naval officer from western Wisconsin, hadn't ruled out challenging for the post.

Democrats, who hold an 18-15 majority in the Senate, plan to pick a leader to replace Chvala at 2 p.m. Monday at the Capitol.

"Unless people are voting twice, I think (Decker) has got the majority" and will become the next Senate leader, said Sen. Robert Wirch, D-Kenosha, who organized Monday's meeting.

Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, also predicted Decker would win the post.

"He's trusted, and he will be respected by everyone in this institution," Jauch said. "Putting him in this position allows us to move in a direction to restore integrity and confidence."

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said Decker is "very much his own person" despite his close relationship with Chvala. Decker and Chvala are hunting buddies, and Chvala's wife works for Decker as a legislative aide.

"Russ is a team player who would delegate authority and bring more people into the mix," Erpenbach said.

Yet Erpenbach thinks Moen would have "the inside track" on the job if he pursued it. Moen is currently the No. 2 Democratic leader behind Chvala, and "he's respected on both sides of the aisle," Erpenbach said.

Decker did not return phone calls Thursday left at his office and home in Marathon County, about 140 miles north of Madison.

"Sen. Decker is the front-runner at this point," Moen acknowledged. "I basically said (to Decker in a conversation Thursday) I want to know what your head count is (on Friday) and take it from there. It's all in a state of flux right now."

Whoever is picked must set a different tone than Chvala's aggressive, authoritative style, several senators said.

Chvala is "a bulldog in getting accomplishments with the administration," Jauch said. "They feared dealing with him because he was so aggressive. I'm not saying that was bad. It's just that it's going to be different."