Contact: Melanie Conklin, 608-260-2409
MADISON — Michael Screnock, the ultra-right wing candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, announced his partnership yesterday with the Champion Group, a Republican consulting firm headed by Gov. Walker’s former chief of staff and campaign manager turned Foxconn lobbyist. While the February primary for the race is just months away, Screnock has refused to address major concerns of voters, such allegations that political right-wing extreme Supreme Court justices retaliated against reserve judges who raised potential conflicts of interest. Screnock has a Twitter and Facebook account in his name, yet nothing has been posted from the accounts since their formation four months ago.
“It seems like Screnock’s under the impression that he can just claim this seat without saying a word to voters because he has big Republican backers,” said Martha Laning, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “That’s not how fair elections work. The people of Wisconsin deserve to know more about Judge Screnock’s extreme stances and whether he is capable of being an impartial judge.”
Here’s what we do know about Michael Screnock:
He was arrested twice for trespassing and obstructing officers at protests at a Madison abortion clinic, years later he said “it’s not something I’ve ever regretted doing”
Screnock received a glowing endorsement from Justice Rebecca Bradley who referred to gay people as “degenerates” and said that those with HIV and AIDS “deserve none of [our] sympathy”
He was appointed by Gov. Walker to defend Walker’s devastating Act 10 law which gutted collective bargaining and workers’ rights and has led to an exodus of teachers from Wisconsin
Screnock played a role in drawing the heavily-gerrymandered, inequitable legislative district maps which are currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court for extreme partisan gerrymandering
“From what we know about Screnock, it’s clear that if elected, Screnock will aid and abet Walker’s crony capitalism and will rule with a far-right ideology rather than serving the people as an impartial justice,” said Laning. “Wisconsinites deserve to return our highest court in the state to a unbiased bench that will defend their rights, not continue it as a lapdog to do Walker’s bidding.”
