Ethics, elections boards were never asked the right question about Walker ride

OK, I'm sure you're tired of the hoopla about whether it is ethical for Scott Walker to give $19,000 worth of free tickets to the news media, or whether there is an ethics problem with the media accepting them. I say both.

But let's set that aside for now. (This is long, but stick with me.)

Let's talk for a minute about the freebies that Walker, a candidate for governor, gave to people who were not in the news media, during his now-famous Harley tour of Wisconsin media markets last month.

Walker's main defense has been that the whole trip was to promote Milwaukee tourism, not his campaign for governor, and that he was giving free tickets to the news media to help bring tourists to Milwaukee County. He also pointed out more than once that the county and state ethics boards and state election board had told him it was OK.

The ethics and elections boards signed off on the premise that the tickets were going to the media. But what about the non-media tickets? Who got them? Was that OK, too?

Let's start with who got free tickets, from documents released in an open records request:

Kutter Harley-Davidson, Janesville -- 8 NASCAR, 4 Summerfest, 6 State Fair, 2 US Bank golf championship.

Kegel's Harley-Davidson, Rockford -- 6 Art Museum, 4 Mexican Fiesta, 12 NASCAR, 5
Children's museum, 6 State Fair, 2 Irish Fest, 10 Indian Summer, 2 Pettit Ice Center.

Kathy Kopp, executive director, Platteville Chamber of Commerce -- 10 Indian Summer, 4 Pettit Ice Center, 4 Art Museum, 4 Zoo, 5 Children's Museum.

George Krueger, Platteville Area Industrial Development Corp. -- 4 NASCAR, 2 State Fair.

St. Paul Harley-Davidson -- 10 Indian Summer, 2 US Bank golf, 8 Parks, 5 Children's Museum, 4 NASCAR, 2 Mexican Fiesta.

GM Tomahawk Plant -- 4 NASCAR, 2 Summerfest, 2 US Bank golf, 2 Indian Summer.

OK, those are not media outlets, agreed? Some are listed as businesses. But people -- owners or employees, probably -- not businesses, ended up with the tickets.

Did any agency ever tell Walker it was OK to give freebies to people (if they live in Wisconsin, the term would be voters)?

Well, no, because he didn't ask them that question.

Walker's June 21, 2004 letter from the county Ethics Board Chairman John C. Carter, which seemed to give clearance for the ride, was based entirely on what Walker told Carter about the event. "You have determined this tour to be county business," Carter wrote before giving it a green light. There was no mention of any ticket giveaways in Carter's letter.

This year, when Summerfest Board Chair Howard Schnoll wrote Walker to make sure the ride had a clean bill of health, Walker replied, in a May 17, 2005 letter, that "the ... facts are very similar to those of last year's Ride, wherein the Ethics Board determined no violation would occur, and therefore the Ethics Board has no current plans to submit this matter to the full board for an opinion."

Walker's letter to Schnoll does not mention ticket giveaways, either.

Rather, like the 2004 letter to Carter, it focuses on whether it is OK for Walker and other county employees to get reduced hotel room rates.

When the Green Bay Press Gazette blew the whistle on the giveaways, it asked state regulators whether the ride or giveaway broke any rules or laws. The paper reported:

Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the state Elections Board, said his office regulates such matters only in terms of how campaign funds are spent.

“From our standpoint, what we regulate is where the money is being used for political activities,” said Kennedy. “But, if his purpose is to promote Milwaukee — and in this case it clearly is — then that really becomes an issue for the taxpayers and the ethics board in Milwaukee.”

Representatives of the Milwaukee County Ethics Board did not return phone calls. But a Milwaukee County Elections Commission assistant said the county ethics guidelines are identical to the state’s rules governing campaigns. [The state ethics board says it doesn't regulate campaigns.--Xoff.]

R. Roth Judd, executive director of the state Ethics Board, said the incident involving Walker is a campaign issue and not an ethical one. “Certainly the ethics code doesn’t address this,” he said.

So the ethics and elections boards pass it around like a hot potato. But the issue was not as clear-cut as the Elections Board's Kennedy described it, "clearly to promote Milwaukee."

The real issue is whether it is permissible for a candidate for governor to give something of value -- perhaps worth hundreds of dollars -- to a prospective voter. Not a media outlet, a voter.

No one has asked Kennedy that question yet. But maybe someone should. I am pretty sure, from past experience, that I know the answer to that one. Let's see if Kennedy agrees.