Will Julie Pung Leschke Come Clean on Ethics Reform?

Will Julie Pung Leschke Come Clean on Ethics Reform?

OSHKOSH---On the heals of her refusal to answer a League of Women Voters survey on ethics reform, Winnebago County Democratic Party Chairman, Jef Hall, today challenged Julie Pung Leschke, the presumptive Republican candidate for the 54th Assembly district to finally state her position on ethics reform.

“She’s been running for the State Assembly for almost seven months and voters still don’t know where she stands on nearly every important issue in this race,” said Hall.

In May, Leschke recently held a fundraiser with Assembly Majority Leader Mike Huebsch, who killed Senate Bill 1, the comprehensive ethics reform bill, in the Assembly. Huebsch, who also donated $300 to Pung Leschke, is positioning himself to be the next Speaker of the Assembly.

“If you’re going to stand right next to the guy who killed ethics reform at an expensive fundraiser on your behalf, you might as well stop the smokescreen and come right out and say you oppose ethics reform,” said Hall.

The first question of Leagues’ the survey asks:

YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for bipartisan legislation (similar to 2005-2006 Senate Bill 1) to strengthen enforcement of Wisconsin's ethics code and campaign finance laws by replacing the current State Elections and State Ethics Boards with a nonpartisan and politically independent Government Accountability Board with an enforcement division with the authority and resources to investigate and prosecute violations of state elections, ethics, campaign finance and lobbying laws and regulations?

“This November, voters will have the choice of voting for a Republican who refuses to state her position on ethics reform, or Gordon Hintz, who’s been up front about his support for this important reform since day one,” said Hall.

Pung Leschke boasts her membership in the League of Women Voters on her campaign materials. However, the League of Women Voters co-sponsored the survey that Pung Leschke refused to answer, which can be found at http://www.wisdc.org/lwvquestions.php.