GOP Fires Evers Appointees, Including Former WEAC President Terry Craney

Wisconsin Senate Republicans fired eight more of Governor Tony Evers’ appointees on March 12, bringing the total to 21, including former two-term WEAC President Terry Craney.

Craney was a member of the Deferred Compensation Board, a body that administers a retirement savings plan for retired educators and other public employees. The Senate voted on Craney’s firing without debate, and Republican Senate leaders have not responded to press inquiries asking for an explanation.

“It is clear that Terry Craney and the rest of these public servants were fired simply for doing their jobs and doing them well,” WEAC President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen said. “This looks like a new low, and a move that could have a chilling effect on future appointees. Students who look to elected officials to demonstrate leadership, integrity and the unself-interested use of power, unfortunately, should not look to our state’s Senate majority.”

In addition to Craney, the Senate fired a member of the governor’s domestic abuse council, two University of Wisconsin regents, and four judicial watchdogs. Governor Evers said in a statement Tuesday that he was “apoplectic” that Republican senators keep firing his appointees without justification. He attributed their actions to “exacting political punishment.”