Green Bay mayor refuses to participate in Wisconsin election hearings
(The Center Square) – One day after Republican lawmakers in Madison said they expected everyone invited to their hearings into last year’s elections would willingly answer questions, the head of that panel says they have their first refusal.
Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Wednesday said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich has refused to tell lawmakers what happened in his city’s election office leading up to the April and November elections.
“I called Eric and left him a message inviting him to speak,” Brandtjen said. “As he was a former colleague in the Assembly, I wanted to give him a chance to explain these 2020 elections. I was more than disappointed when he refused.”
Brandtjen said Genrich’s decision is “very hypocritical.”
Green Bay is at the center of the Assembly’s election investigation.
A report at Wisconsin Spotlight broke the news the city essentially handed over its election operation to outside political activists. The Assembly has already heard testimony those activists tried to control the vote count and had insider access to sensitive voter data.
Brandtjen said there was other testimony that showed just how far Mayor Genrich went to control the election process in his city.
“Perhaps the scathing testimony of former Brown County Clerk Sandy Juno has Mayor Genrich rethinking,” Brandtjen said in a statement. “Juno testified that Genrich suppressed voters and made unnecessary COVID-19 risks in the April election. Further, she had harsh words for how Genrich edged out Green Bay’s clerk in exchange for a Mark Zuckerberg funded advisor.”
Brandtjen said Green Bay’s city attorney Vanesa Chavez has offered to testify instead of the mayor.
Lawmakers on Tuesday took the first step toward their formal investigation into 2020’s elections. That is also the first step toward possible subpoenas in the case. Brandtjen is not saying if her committee is looking to subpoena Mayor Genrich at this time.
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