Last week, as Wisconsin remained focused on the COVID-19 crisis, former state senate minority leader Jennifer Shilling quietly appointed Scot Ross, the former head of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. He will fill a term that expires in May 2024. The commission wields tremendous authority involving enforcement of the state’s ethics laws for public officials. The responsibility associated with the role of a Wisconsin Ethics Board commissioner is serious. But Ross is perhaps the most unserious appointment Senator Shilling could have made. Ross is unprofessional, consistently spewing vile and vitriolic comments on social media. And he is unethical himself, having contributed to the 2001 Wisconsin caucus scandal involving public officials and staff campaigning on state time. This appointment should be a scandal. Yet with the exception of the State Journal, the mainstream media has provided little but matter-of-fact analysis. Its collective decision to pretend Ross is a worthy appointment has eviscerated any shred of relevance it may have maintained.
By Wisconsin statute, the commission consists of six members, four of whom are selected by the respective legislative leaders and two of whom must have previously served as judges and are nominated by the governor and reviewed by the state senate. With Ross being appointed by the minority leader, a confirmation vote is not required. The commission possesses tremendous responsibility under state law, including the power to subpoena witnesses and demand the production of documents, to bring civil actions to require a forfeiture for the violation of ethics laws, to sue for injunctive relief, and to issue orders and promulgate rules. Commission opinions are persuasive authority for attorneys who provide advice to public officials throughout the state.
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