Tim Michels “Hopes” His Business Continues to Seek Millions in State Contracts Even If He’s Elected Governor
New reporting shows Tim Michels plans to continue his history of unethical business practices by encouraging his family’s construction business to keep seeking millions in state contracts if he’s elected governor. This despite there being a “state law bar[ring] officials from taking actions that benefit them financially,” creating “ethical challenges” for Michels.
Michels entered the Wisconsin GOP primary for governor this week after years of helping run a business with a record of being sued for shady business practices. He plans to run a “largely self-funded” campaign using the fortune he’s amassed from Michels Corp., which once scammed taxpayers by double-charging for a construction job and received millions of dollars in state contracts as Michels and his family donated thousands to former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns.
Asked whether his company would continue to seek state contracts if he became governor, Michels said, “I certainly hope so.” In an attempt to tamp down the controversy, Michels has offered up an empty solution that would do nothing to stop a Gov. Michels from sending state tax dollars into his family’s coffers.
In the nasty, crowded GOP primary, Michels’ potential conflict of interest has already become a point of attack for his Republican opponents. A spokeswoman for Kevin Nicholson slammed Michels as part of the “Madison industrial complex.”
“Tim Michels is just another self-serving politician who would put his own business interests above the needs of working Wisconsinites,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Voters deserve to know that their tax dollars won’t go towards filling the next governor’s pockets, and Michels and his fellow Republican candidates for governor can’t deliver that promise.”
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tim Michels wants his family’s construction business to keep seeking state contracts if he is governor, raising ethics questions
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