Republicans, though, were quick to call the exchange a quid pro quo and lobbied Evers to hold a special election.
This post originally appeared at https://reforminggovernment.org/wisconsin-secretary-of-state-acknowledges-mistakes-settles-open-records-lawsuit/
WILL and IRG hailed the agreement as a win for Wisconsin’s open records law.
“The policy change achieved as a result of this settlement agreement is a victory for transparent government and ensures accountability when our institutions act unjustly,” they said in a statement.
Godlewski’s office told the Wisconsin State Journal in an emailed statement that “The office has and will continue to follow open records law.”
Godlewski did provide emails from November 2022 through March 2023 that La Follette had sent to her using his personal email account, [email protected], according to the settlement.
The agreement requires that the Legislature’s Republican-led Joint Finance Committee approve the settlement terms for the court to consider the agreement valid.
Gov. Tony Evers appointed Godlewski to the position after La Follette, 82, won his election in November 2022 and then resigned in March the next year, an appointment Godlewski has called a “complete surprise.”
Godlewski, who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race before the 2022 primary, has repeatedly denied accusations that Evers awarded her the position because she ended her campaign and endorsed her party’s frontrunner in the Senate race, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who ultimately lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.