Evers failed to lead, was largely absent from any actual work on the issue

September 6, 2018

[Madison, WI] — Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke weighed in on Tony Evers’ false claims that he led the way on law changes that would reinforce his authority to keep predatory teachers out of our schools – like the one he failed to remove in Middleton. He has falsely claimed that he couldn’t act because the law wouldn’t let him, and then falsely claimed that he “fixed” the problem. However, his claims couldn’t be further from the truth.

Check out Senator Fitzgerald and Representative Steineke’s remarks in the news:

From the Cap Times: Two Republican leaders in the state Legislature said Wednesday that state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers — a Democrat challenging Republican Gov. Scott Walker in November — didn’t take the lead on urging lawmakers to pass legislation making it easier to revoke the licenses of teachers who behave inappropriately. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, told reporters there is no evidence that Evers made an effort to change the standards for license revocation, as Evers has said he did.

From the Associated Press: Republican Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke says Evers never visited lawmakers to ask for their support. The bill had no Democratic co-sponsors but the Legislature passed it unanimously. Evers did not testify at the public hearing, but a representative of the agency he leads did. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says Evers was “hiding in the shadows” because the teachers’ union didn’t want the bill.

From Wisconsin Public Radio: “I think the lack of Democrats on this bill goes to prove that he did little to nothing in leadership on this bill,” said Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna. “If Tony Evers were truly leading on this issue and pounding the pavement, there would have been Democratic co-sponsors on this piece of legislation.”

From WisPolitics: The GOP call came on the heels of Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign releasing its first attack ad of the race, hitting Evers on the agency’s failure to revoke the license of a Middleton teacher caught viewing pornography at school and making inappropriate comments about female students.