Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he wants Michael Gableman’s review of the 2020 election to be complete with a final report by the end of February.
“I’ve been very clear with Justice Gableman,” Vos said on WISN’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. “I want to have legislation on the floor to be able to pass no later than the end of our session which concludes in March. So that means I really need his report by the end of February for us to be able to utilize that as part of the evidence we present to the people of Wisconsin as to why we need to make the changes that are necessary.”
Vos told WISN’s Matt Smith he routinely updates former President Donald Trump on the investigation.
“Oh yeah, I’ve talked to him,” Vos said. “I wouldn’t say on a regular basis, but half-a-dozen times just to keep him up-to-date to make sure he understands what’s happening but to know we are doing our very best.”
Vos also weighed in on several new legislative proposals, including one that would dissolve the Wisconsin Elections Commission and put the secretary of state in charge of election administration.
Vos said he doesn’t support the idea.
“I don’t like the idea of saying we’re going to have a partisan elected official in charge of elections,” he said.
And the Republican leader appeared to double down on the push by Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling to criminally charge five of the six commissioners on the WEC, including Vos-appointed Republican Dean Knudson.
“Well that will be up to the district attorney,” Vos said, referring to Knudson. “He made a decision. He has to stand by that decision. On the tape, on the video he actually shows where he says I think this is wrong, it’s probably illegal for us to do that. That’s up for somebody else to decide. I’m not the judge, the prosecutor or the jury, but I certainly do think if you choose to break the law, you have to pay a price.”
Also on the program, the president of Milwaukee’s teachers union took direct aim at city leaders as students in the state’s largest school district won’t return to in-person learning until Jan. 18.
“The commissioner continues to say she doesn’t have the authority to enact a citywide mask mandate, which is ridiculous and untrue,” Amy Mizialko told “UpFront” host Adrienne Pederson.
Mizialko is president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association.
“MTEA has been asking for a mask mandate for five months,” she said. “We’re seeing mounting pressure from multiple organizations and leaders across the city for a mask mandate, but the commissioner makes every excuse under the sun saying she doesn’t have the authority. And city leaders have hid behind her inaction.”
Milwaukee’s Public Safety Committee approved a mask mandate 3-0 Friday. The full Common Council will debate the measure in the coming days.
Pederson asked Mizialko whether the union was considering action similar to that in Chicago, where teachers have refused to show up to schools, essentially shutting down the district.
“It is our utmost first intention to be in-person with students,” Mizialko said. “Being virtual is draining. There’s no question about that. It’s draining for students. It’s draining for staff.”
Meantime, a number of restaurants in Milwaukee and Madison have started requiring proof of vaccination to dine in.
“I think all options are open right now for restaurants,” Arthur Ircink, creator and executive producer of “Wisconsin Foodie.”
Ircink said the biggest challenge facing restaurants is a worker shortage. Pederson asked whether a citywide vaccination mandate, like in places like Chicago and New York City, is a solution.
“That’s a tough question,” Ircink said. “If it was up to me, personally, I would love to see something like that happen. But I think the public is still kind of all over the place, and I would hate for the restaurant industry to lose business because of it.”
See more of the program:
http://www.wisn.com/upfront
