Janesville, Wis. (October 26, 2026) – Janesville for Responsible Development (JVL4RD) registered Monday as a referendum committee with the Janesville city clerk’s office, before reaching the spending level that requires registration under state law.
The group supports the GM/JATCO site referendum, which will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. If approved, it would require a citywide vote on any development agreement, project, sale or lease at the former site with project costs over $450 million. Projects below that amount would go through the City Council as usual. The group says it does not oppose development at the site. It wants residents to have a say in the largest, most impactful projects that could be proposed for the publicly owned site.
JVL4RD acknowledges that reporting requirements depend on a committee’s activity and state thresholds. Its decision to register reflects its commitment to transparency as it approaches the relevant threshold. When groups spend extensively to influence local public decisions, residents deserve to know who’s paying.
“We’ve been open with our neighbors about who we are. We are grateful for the trust and backing the Janesville community has given us in these conversations, and we don’t take it lightly,” said Alyssa Capozziello, President of JVL4RD. “We hope every group weighing in on this decision will be just as open. If we are serious about growing our community responsibly, people deserve to know where the money behind referendum advocacy comes from.”
On Oct. 1, JVL4RD filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission asking it to investigate whether Grow Janesville Responsibly failed to register as a referendum committee and disclose its campaign finances. The complaint followed an inquiry to the city clerk’s office about registration and reporting requirements for groups advocating on referendums. The complaint is pending.
Grow Janesville Responsibly, which opposes the referendum, has flooded the Janesville community with mailers, radio spots, television ads, social media promotions, and billboards in recent weeks. As of October 26, 2026, the group had not registered with the city clerk or filed campaign finance reports.
