Last Friday, April 16, Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Brett Davis send out an absurd claim about the role of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin executive director Steve Hiniker in his role as a member of the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force.
Here are the facts:
- General Motors had a member on the Governor’s Task Force. GM said that it was flying its lobbyists to Madison to present to the Task Force on the California Car issue – to persuade the Task Force to reject the California Car standards as a part of the Task Force report.
- Task Force member Hiniker asked if the state could help fund the airfare of a California regulator (not an advocate or a lobbyist) who is an expert on the issue. General Motors representative John Pearse supported Hiniker’s request so that the best information would be available to Task Force members.
- California Air Resources Board director Tom Cackette received compensation from the state of Wisconsin to help cover his travel costs.
- That’s it. No hidden agenda. Just a request for help from the state that General Motors supported that led to a good discussion at the Task Force.
- Unlike some politicians, the representatives at the Task Force were doing their best to get as much information as possible to make their decisions.