Contact: Brad Bainum, bradb@wisdems.org

MADISON — This morning’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing on the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King audit report is a chilling reminder of the disastrous neglect and malfeasance that can happen if Kevin Nicholson and Leah Vukmir are entrusted with looking out for Wisconsinites.

The well-documented neglect of Wisconsin veterans that occurred at King can be traced directly back to both Nicholson and Vukmir:

–Kevin Nicholson was supposed to be looking out for veterans living at King as a member of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Board of Veterans Affairs, but Nicholson skipped a July 2016 VA board meeting at the King facility and he failed to “respond to emails with concerns about the home” from as far back as February 2013.

–Senator Leah Vukmir, for her part, sat on the Joint Finance Committee as she championed budgets from Gov. Scott Walker that slashed state funding and, as implemented, ultimately led to tens of millions in funding being siphoned away from the Veterans Home at King — including $12 million in 2016, alone.

“When it really, truly mattered, Kevin Nicholson and Leah Vukmir weren’t there for Wisconsin veterans at King,” said Brad Bainum, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson for the 2018 Senate race. “As Nicholson and Vukmir scramble to compete for campaign dollars from out-of-state special interest megadonors, Wisconsin voters of both parties would do well to remember Kevin Nicholson and Leah Vukmir’s failure to fulfill their obligations to our veterans living at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email