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leader ethics section integrity

August 16, 2022
Rusty Cunningham
Moderator
Meagan Wolfe
Administrator of the Wisconsin Election Commission
Lana Kropf
Lake Geneva City Clerk


LeaderEthics Wisconsin presents...
Gerrymandering Trends and the Future of American Democracy

A conversation with Adam Podowitz-Thomas of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project about national trends and implications for future elections. The program begins at about minutes 23:12.

The video begins with the LeaderEthics meeting and presentation of the 2022 LeaderEthics awards to Brian Rude and Jill Billings.  



On the Issues: Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe

Mike Gousha interviewed the state’s top election official, Meagan Wolfe, whose agency is tasked with administering and enforcing Wisconsin election laws. In recent months, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has come under fire from Republican state lawmakers reacting to the 2020 election cycle.

Some lawmakers have even called for the resignations of Wolfe and five of the six elections commissioners. Wolfe has said she has no plans to resign and has defended the work of the commission and local clerks during the election process. The job of elections administrator is nonpartisan. The elections commission itself is bipartisan, its members appointed by legislative leaders and the Governor. Wolfe became interim administrator in March of 2018. She was unanimously confirmed to a full four-year term by the State Senate in May of 2019.







County Leadership 
During Politically Divided Times
Moderater
Jon Smalley, retired editor, Wisconsin State Journal

Panelists
Steve O'Malley, La Crosse County Administrator
Josh Schoemann, Washington County Administrator

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John Smalley leads a conversation with experienced county leaders about navigating political divisiveness and serving the community.

Studies show that the partisan divide has grown dramatically in the last 15 years. National and state issues, from the left and the right, are surfacing as local conflicts. And the data indicate that public trust in government is diminished. Meanwhile, county leaders face the challenge of respecting diverse political views and at the same time, responding to the needs of their entire constituency.

John Smalley's career in journalism spans 39 years. He retired as Editor of the Wisconsin State Journal in 2020 after nearly 12 years in that role. He has long been a champion of engaging people to move the community forward.

Steve O'Malley has served as the La Crosse County Administrator for the last 18 years. With more than 39 years in government management, he currently serves as the President of the Wisconsin Counties Executives Association.

Josh Schoemann was elected in April 2020 as the first Executive in Washington County. A respected veteran, Josh has been active in a number of community organizations.

Program Sponsors:
- LeaderEthics-Wisconsin
- Chippewa Herald
- La Crosse Tribune
- The League of Women Voters of the La Crosse Area


PFAS UMRR Logo

Should You Drink That?
The Unfolding Story of PFAS in our Lives

On October 4, LWV UMRR hosted a panel discussion on PFAS. Their presenters helped us understand how PFAS have become a big part of our lives – present in food packaging, household products and drinking water – and what we know about how they affect our health. As awareness of PFAS contamination grows, communities are struggling to cope with tainted drinking water while engaging in advocacy to increase public awareness and bring about constructive change. Watch the video to learn what the federal government and states are doing to establish safe standards for drinking water and ban the use of PFAS in manufacturing. Most importantly, learn what you can do to help protect yourself, your family and your community.

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Ranked-Choice Voting Breakfast Briefing


Ranked-choice voting is being debated around the country and in Wisconsin. Watch an impressive panel of experts review lessons learned elsewhere to help inform policymakers and the public about how ranked-choice voting would change elections in the Badger State. The Elections Research Council at UW-Madison recorded this ranked-choice voting panel on October 7, 2021.

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Innovating Our Way Out of America's Political Quagmire

Senator Heidi Heitkamp and former RNC Chair Michael Steele discuss how political innovation can break partisan gridlock with Katherine Gehl, founder of the Institute for Political Innovation. Katherine Gehl and Michael Steele discuss their support for Final Five Voting and the National Popular Vote. Both of these alternative voting systems were topics of programs sponsored by our League last year.


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Homelessness and Housing in the La Crosse Area


On 6/21 and 6/28, the La Crosse Public Library hosted a pair of programs  focused on Homelessness and Housing in the La Crosse area. We are providing links to recordings of both programs, available on the La Crosse Public Library's YouTube channel.

The first night focused on homelessness, its root causes, the shortcomings of current approaches, and the broad outlines of what solutions can look like.

View Part 1 Here

 


The second night focused on the housing crisis, challenges in developing affordable housing in La Crosse, the difficulties of renting, and an array of solutions with real world examples of implementation.

The goal of the project was to educate the public as well as engage our city and county government.  Program sponsors hope to start a robust and long process of community input and support regarding housing, homelessness, tenancy, and development.


View Part 2 Here

The programming included previous Coulee Collaborative to End Homelessness leaders, Mark Shimpf and Julie McDermid; La Crosse's former planning department head, Jason Gilman; members of local tenant advocacy group Coulee Tenants United; and CouleeCAP's community development director Ashley Lacenski.

National Popular Vote Presentation

Panelists
Eileen Reavey, Director, National Popular Vote
Representative Gary Hebl, Wisconsin Legislature
Dr. Barbara Klein, LWVUS

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Fixing Politics... A Solution For Voters
Presenter: Katherine Gehl
Moderator: Rusty Cunningham


On April 14, Katherine Gehl, presented a program on Final Five Voting, an innovative approach to congressional elections currently proposed in a bill with bipartisan support in the WI State Assembly and Senate. Gehl is the author of The Politics Industry...How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy and co-founder of Democracy Found, a nonpartisan organization committed to promoting Final Five Voting.

Following the presentation, Rusty Cunningham, former Executive Editor of the La Crosse Tribune and an advocate for collaborative solutions in government, moderated a question-and-answer with Gehl.

Sponsors of this event include: Democracy Found, Great Rivers United Way, League of Women Voters of the La Crosse Area, La Crosse Tribune, LeaderEthics-Wisconsin, 1410 WIZM - La Crosse's News Station.

A recording of this event is available on the LeaderEthics-Wisconsin Facebook page. Scroll down to the LeaderEthics recording. The recording on WisEye requires an account and login to view.


View Here


Additional Resources for Final Five Voting: