Legislature approves Tony Evers transition budget
State lawmakers have approved a $94,600 budget for Gov.-elect Tony Evers’ transition team.
Also Tuesday, state Assembly Democrats met for the first time since the election and re-elected Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, as minority leader.
The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee approved the Evers request without objection Tuesday. The funding is for Evers to begin hiring staff and prepare to take office in January.
Former Gov. Jim Doyle got $87,500 for his transition into office in 2002, and Gov. Scott Walker got $82,723 for his transition in 2010. Legislative Fiscal Bureau director Bob Lang told lawmakers Evers’ request is comparable to previous ones when inflation is taken into account.
This was the first election cycle in which Hintz, who became assistant minority leader in 2017, oversaw Assembly Democrats’ campaign efforts.
Democrats gained one seat in suburban Milwaukee’s 14th Assembly District, which will be represented by Rep.-elect Robin Vining, of Wauwatosa. They remain heavily outnumbered in the chamber, with Republicans holding a 63-36 edge.
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Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, acknowledged Democrats had hoped to gain more seats in what was otherwise a good election for their party. But Neubauer, who nominated Hintz to return as minority leader, said “I believe Gordon did everything he could for our candidates.”
In addition to re-electing Hintz, Assembly Democrats re-elected Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, as assistant minority leader in a contested race against Rep. David Crowley, D-Milwaukee.
Evers announced Monday that JoAnne Anton, who has worked in various roles for former Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, will lead his transition team.
Maggie Gau, who managed Evers’ campaign for governor, will be his chief of staff.
Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy is one of the five co-chairpersons of Evers’ transition team.
The others are:
Chuck Pruitt, co-managing director of ABD Direct, a Milwaukee fundraising-services company, and former president of the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents.Amy Traynor, an Eau Claire middle school teacher and 2013 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher of the Year.Jan Allman, Marinette Marine CEO.Veronica Gunn, CEO of Genesis Health Consulting.