The Effects of Wisconsin's Imbalance of Power on its Conservation of Natural Resources by Susan Johnson

        Those of us who watched Governor Evers deliver his budget proposal address this week on February 15, 2023 witnessed the effects of Wisconsin’s highly gerrymandered legislative districts.  One section was visibly smaller in number than what it would have been with democratically-drawn representative districts, and one section was much larger than it would have been with democratically-drawn representative districts. 

       The Wisconsin League of Women Voters is very clear on its stance regarding apportionment and redistricting in a democratic society.  According to its website, it adheres to all the traditional redistricting principles such as district maps must uphold “population equality . . . with consideration of the compactness and contiguity of districts.”  Districts must meet the requirements of the Voting Rights Act, and guarantee fair representation for diverse populations. Communities of interest must be respected “as defined by town, village, city, county, or ward boundaries, and major geographical considerations.”  Beyond these traditional redistricting practices, the League fully supports having an independent commission to draw up a state’s legislative and Congressional district maps.  Of central importance to the League is transparency with “citizen participation and access at all levels and steps of the process.”

       The district maps Wisconsin uses currently after the 2020 Census, adhere closely to those drawn in 2011.  The process used in 2011, however, did not resemble the League of Women Voters’ recommended practice in the least.  After Republicans won the Wisconsin elections in 2010, Scott Fitzgerald, Senate Majority Leader, and his brother Jeff Fitzgerald, Assembly Speaker were setting the agenda for the state legislature.  According to Episode 2 of the Wisconsin Public Radio podcast entitled, “Mapped Out,” the Fitzgerald brothers hired a private law firm across the street from the Capitol building to “help with the map-drawing.”  Their law office became “the map room.”  Adding further layers of secrecy, this law firm hired another law firm to help with the process, and the Senate Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker required each Republican legislator to sign a “confidentiality agreement” before viewing the map, even for their own district.  Not one Democratic legislator participated in the process, or even saw the map until the entire State Legislature was introduced to the Redistricting Bill on July 11, 2011.  

There was only one opportunity for the public to voice its opinion on the maps, and it happened after the fact on July 13.  In 2011, Wisconsin redistricting definitely lacked the transparency and citizen involvement at all levels that the League of Women Voters recommends and seeks.        

       Not surprisingly, the district maps drawn in 2011 have resulted in an imbalance of power throughout the state of Wisconsin.  For example, in the 2012 election, Republicans won 60 out of 99 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly and preserved their majority in the state Senate, despite receiving fewer than 50 percent of the total votes,   This pattern has repeated itself every election cycle up to our present day.  

       This imbalance of power has effected all aspects of life in our state, but none more profoundly than the conservation of our natural resources.  This was the theme of a forum held virtually on January 10, 2023, organized by Robin Schmidt, President of the League of Women Voters of the Lacrosse Area, and the Chippewa Valley League, and co-sponsored by the LWV of Janesville, along with several other Leagues throughout our state.  In addition to her League involvement, Robin Schmidt is currently on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Green Fire organization, and worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for over 30    years.  The forum panel included: Fred Clark, Executive Director of WI Green Fire, and former forester with the WI DNR; Paul Heinen, Policy Director for WI Green Fire, and Legislative Liaison for the WI DNR for over 34 years; and Mark Thimke, of the UW-Madison Law School, who worked as an environmental lawyer from 1979-2021.

                  Fred Clark reminded everyone that we have three branches of government; executive, legislative, and judicial, each of which are supposed to have equal power, and therefore, balance one another out.  This is the core principle of the United States Constitution, and every state constitution, including Wisconsin’s, reflects this foundation.  However, given the imbalance of power inherent in the 2011 maps, the balance of the three branches was also thrown into imbalance after the election of Tony Evers as Governor in 2018.  

       The state legislature quickly passed bills, which changed the Administrative Code, and reduced the power of the Executive Branch, including the Governor’s Office, and that of the Attorney General.  To our present day, the state legislature has not confirmed 180 of the Governor’s appointments left over from his first term.  This number includes two women, Sharon Adams, whom Evers appointed to the Natural Resources Board, and Sandra Dee Nass, who has not been allowed to take her seat on the NR Board because Fred Prehn did not leave his seat until the end of 2022.  We don’t know if the Senate will confirm Nass.  They could claim she is not qualified, even though she has served on the Conservation Congress.  Changes in the Administrative Code affected the way the agencies do their work.  Previously, agencies held more authority over their own offices.  The state legislature now functions as a micro-manager, which makes agencies less flexible, when issues come up that might require adaptations.

       The imbalance of power in the state has also resulted in loss of another core principle once held dearly by all Wisconsinites; adherence to local control.  The ideal that local areas know their people and issues best is foundational for democratic (small d) government.  Since the 2011 maps were drawn, local municipalities and counties have lost power to the state in many areas of government.  In terms of our natural resources, this reduction has meant less power to regulate CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, which some call factory farms, because the DNR defines them as industrial operations with at least 1,000 cows), frac sand mining, and shoreland zoning in their local areas.  

       Today, Wisconsin has 331 CAFOs (WI Public Radio, Dec. 23, 2022) concentrated primarily in nine counties, which produce massive amounts of manure for disposal.  This number includes large hog farms, each with at least 3,000 hogs.  Combined with an over-abundance of fertilizer used to produce the state’s crops (primarily corn and soybeans), the resulting nitrogen and phosphorus  concentrations have polluted more than 1500 miles Wisconsin streams and rivers, and thirty-three lakes with toxic blue-green algae as assessed by the Environmental Working Group and the Midwest Environmental Advocates.  The latter group is a nonprofit legal center helping communities resolve environmental justice issues and protect the rights of all people to healthy air, water, and land.  The former group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a mission to help all people live their healthiest life.

       Without local control, the people have little power over important issues like public health, clean water to drink, and clean air to breathe.  Corporate profit-making, and the state’s economy take top priority.  Look at the situation in our neighboring state of Iowa, which has 10,000 hog-feeding operations.  (WI Public Radio, Dec. 23, 2022)  Iowa is saturated with manure, and cities, and towns are left to deal with their contaminated water on their own without the necessary resources to do much about it.  With so many CAFOs located so closely together, there are also concerns of biosecurity, and the potential for diseases and pathogens to spread quickly across the state.  Wisconsin, too, is heading for a public health crisis, if the people cannot regain control over their own communities.    

           

       What can the public do about the power imbalance in Wisconsin?  Educate themselves more about democratic government, and what is happening around their state, and in their local areas.  Get involved publicly, if you are not yet active, and stay involved, if you are already active.  Attend public meetings and hearings to know what is being discussed.  If your representatives are not dealing with issues important to you and your local area, let them know.  Voice your opinions to your representatives at meetings, hearings, and in your local news media, and social media.  Register to vote, and vote in every election to hold your representatives accountable.