The chair of the Republican Party of Langlade County says he disagrees with the allegations brought against the county party by the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
Terry Brand and vice chair Leonard Boltz are being recommended felony money laundering charges for their alleged role in a scheme to get around Wisconsin campaign laws.
An article from WisPolitics.com says the Langlade County GOP donated more than $44,000 to the campaign of Adam Steen, who ran for Assembly in 2022 against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
"We felt it was a negative for at least Langlade County, as well as most of the other counties, especially the northern counties, that Robin Vos was not a good influence on our Assembly people," Brand said.
Per state law, there is no cap to how much county parties can contribute to campaigns.
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission has recommended the Langlade County District Attorney investigate.
Brand, who is also the mayor of Antigo, claims they were compliant to state law in their actions.
"I feel we followed all the laws, and there just happened to be some laws that Robin Vos was part of making and I guess for the first time ever, someone else had used those laws to help a candidate challenge Robin Vos," he said.
The Ethics Commission claims those donations were in an effort to unseat Vos, and Brand claims the allegations are a scheme by Vos to send a message to the state of Wisconsin.
"If it was something that was that important, don't you think they would have dealt with it back in November of 2022, or sooner than now? But I think he's delayed this to push it out so it's right before campaign season and election season as a distraction. He wants to make sure everybody in the state gets the message, 'Don't mess with Robin Vos,'" he said.
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission denied an interview request.
