Robo-Calls Lead Up To Mining Hearing Friday

Something's smelly in Wisconsin, and it's not blue cheese or smoked fish.

Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) says people around the state are receiving automated phone calls from a political action committee that is misinforming residents about his role in the legislature's mining bill process.

The calls are being made by the “Wisconsin Club for Growth,” Jauch says, and the robo-calls say he is “opposed to the mining project” and then urge the recipient to call Jauch's office and urge his support for the mining bill. Along with robo-calls, advertisements are being run in certain areas of the state.

“Certain Republican districts are targeted with an ad that states that mining bill is being opposed by one liberal Senator and that citizens should call their Senator,” Jauch says. “They obviously imply that their Senator is 'the liberal Senator' in question.”

Jauch says that the timing of the ads is no coincidence given the announcement from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald to dissolve the Senate Select Committee on Mining and move ahead with the Assembly mining bill in the Joint Finance Committee on Friday.

Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) says the situation doesn't pass the smell test.

“The Assembly version of the mining bill disregards the rights of the public to participate in mining decisions and adversely affects Wisconsin's air and water quality,” Risser says. “The corporate special interests that wrote and passed the Assembly mining bill were apparently afraid of Senate review of their bill.”

Only after Fitzgerald's announcement to dissolve the senate committee did robo-calls begin, Jauch says.

“Ever since the Supreme Court Citizens United decision there has been a nauseating escalation of misleading political advertisements that jeopardize our democratic process. The Majority Leader needs to condemn these calls and the organization which is making them for this all out assault on our democratic process,” Jauch says. “Failure to condemn the organization for misleading the public will amount to an endorsement of this outrageous practice.”

Jauch says he has been working toward a bipartisan mining legislation that is fair, flexible, and protects the public interest.

“If it looks and sounds like a duck, it is a duck. Every indication points to coordination between this special interest Political Action Committee and the Majority Leader’s office,” Jauch says. “While they seem to have known about the Senate Majority Leader’s decision to abruptly eliminate the Senate Mining Committee that he created the citizens of Wisconsin were blindsided by the announcement.”

State Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland) called Fitzgerald's actions a “slap in the face” for Northern Wisconsin residents and a “confirmation of the feeling that the majority party in Madison doesn't really care about them or their opinions.”

Anne Sayers of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters urged senators to reject the fast-tracked mining bill process and find a different way to address the legislative issue.

“Senator Fitzgerald’s irrational snap decision has put a stop to any genuine discussions about compromise on mining in Wisconsin by forcing it to a premature decision point,” Sayers said.

A majority of those people who took part in Assembly public hearings registered or voiced negative reactions toward the Assembly mining bill. This legislative report is available online and attached below.