Madison – Representative Shae Sortwell (R-Gibson) released the following statement today regarding Governor Evers’ hypocritical election year spending towards safer communities:
“The governor made a trip to the Green Bay Police Department this afternoon as part of his
announcement of spending $50 million in ARPA funds towards criminal justice initiatives,
pretending that he is concerned about public safety despite his record.”
Following the shooting of Jacob Blake, which led to the Kenosha riots, Governor Evers stated that multiple people are “mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state.” He then later refused federal assistance from President Trump to respond to the riots, letting Kenosha burn.
“Not only does Evers have a history of inflammatory remarks about Wisconsin’s law
enforcement, but he has also vetoed legislation and rejected requests to provide resources to the men and women protecting our communities that need help due to surges in crime.”
Governor Evers has vetoed multiple bills that would have assisted local law enforcement,
including Assembly Bill 240 and Senate Bill 119. Assembly Bill 240 allocated ARPA funds to
develop NextGen 911 emergency services. Senate Bill 119 protected police budgets from being slashed by local governments. Furthermore, he rejected a letter last summer from legislators representing Brown County, asking him to hire additional staff in the State Public Defender office to help expedite the backlog of cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.
“The governor has shown a disrespectful attitude towards Wisconsin’s law enforcement. He does not stand by them. But now, he will act like he cares as he seeks to buy a win with federal dollars during an election year. Wisconsin deserves better leadership.”
Representative Sortwell is available for comment.
