You can’t run the state and do business with the state

Tim Michels says if he is elected Governor of Wisconsin, he wants to turn Madison upside down. But the way things are working now has been pretty good to Michels. Michels is co-owner, along with his siblings, of Michels Construction Company. Throughout the campaign, Michels has boasted of his successful family business, and rightfully so. The company has grown from a few hundred to over 8000 employees. But much of the wealth Michels and his family have accumulated has come through big contracts with the state to build roads. Since 2014, the Michels Corp. has been granted more than $1 billion in state contracts by the State Department of Transportation. And Michels has just landed another rich state contract for his pipeline company, which earned a bid to build an Enbridge pipeline through the state. There is nothing illegitimate or illegal about any of this. But what if Michels is elected Governor, and continues to own this company that relies so heavily on state contracts? He has been very vague about that. The laws however are clear. Public officials cannot use their political office to benefit themselves or immediate family members. Michels needs to come clean with Wisconsin taxpayers, before next week’s election, and make clear how he would balance his role as Governor with his role as the owner of a business rich in state contracts.