MADISON, Wis. – Yesterday, David Crowley hosted a press conference in Madison to announce his anti-corruption policy platform which focuses on accountability, transparency, and restoring public trust in government. During the press conference, Crowley highlighted four key policies that aim to limit regulators from using their positions of power to profit on the taxpayer dime.

“State elected officials—whether they be governors, legislators, or regulators—are there to do public service, not sit in public office,” said Crowley. “They are there to use their offices to help people. What it should not be is a vehicle to get rich by gaming the system. We see that running rampant in Washington right now, while Wisconsinites are facing higher costs on everything from gas to groceries to healthcare. While we suffer, they profit. While the majority in Congress has failed to hold the President or Washington accountable, we can demand transparency and accountability from our state government. That’s why, as the next governor of Wisconsin and as part of my very first state budget, I will include four measures that stop elected officials from profiteering off their office and instead focus on public service.”

What They’re Saying

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Crowley proposes limits on elected officials’ stock trading

  • Democratic candidate for governor David Crowley unveiled a package of proposals aimed at combating corruption, including plans to create a firewall between elected officials and the stock market and improve access to lawmakers’ public records.
  • Crowley said at a Sept. 14 news conference in Madison that those in public office should not use their positions to get rich.
  • “They are there to use their offices to help people. That could be anything from helping get a pothole filled to securing legislation for a new health care facility,” Crowley said. “What it should not be is a vehicle to get rich by gaming the system. We see that running rampant in Washington right now, while Wisconsinites are facing higher costs on everything from gas to groceries to health care.”
  • He added, “While we suffer, they profit.”

Wisconsin State Journal: Governor candidate Crowley pitches anti-corruption policies

  • Crowley said he would bar state utilities and energy companies from hiring elected officials or members of the state Public Service Commission for two years after the individual leaves office.

Wisconsin Public Radio: David Crowley proposes plans to tackle government corruption

  • “Wisconsinites, the people who pay their public officials’ salaries, they deserve transparency. They deserve accountability for how their money is being spent,” he said. “They see politicians across the state and in Washington doing better than them. They’re doing fine, and in many cases, they’re thriving. And how can that be when diesel right here in the state of Wisconsin is nearly $6 a gallon?”
  • The proposals include banning elected state officials from participating in prediction markets. They’d also be banned from trading stocks, and would instead have to place investments in diversified funds or blind trusts.
  • And Crowley said he’d end a little-known caveat to Wisconsin’s open record laws. Whereas government agencies must retain records, individual lawmakers don’t have to. They can, for example, delete emails sent to their offices.

Wisconsin Examiner: Crowley proposes ban on stock trading, prediction market participation by public officials

  • “We have seen lawmakers try to hide how they spend taxpayer dollars on things that absolutely in no shape or form serve the public,” Crowley said.
  • Crowley said the proposals would help restore trust in the government.
  • “We need these laws on the books because the system as it is today does not work for working Wisconsin families,” Crowley said.

CBS 58 Milwaukee TV: Candidates for governor detail different paths to fighting government corruption

  • “Prediction markets should be used for things like sports, not profiting off of our politics,” Crowley said.

Badger Herald: David Crowley announces anti-corruption policy plan, highlights government accountability, transparency

  • “I want everyone to know, you may not always agree with me, but as governor, I will always do what I think is best for the great state of Wisconsin,” Crowley said. “And that starts by making sure that everyone who serves in this building right behind me, and in our state government, is held to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.”