State changes law that forced alderman to resign

The state law that forced former Racine Alderman Pete Karas to resign is close to being changed. The Senate passed Assembly Bill 500 this week that would allow local elected officials to recuse themselves from a vote involving liquor licenses, if they do business with clients who have liquor licenses. Under the old law, city alderman could not serve in local government if they had clients with liquor licenses.

Karas, an insurance broker and risk manager, abruptly resigned from the council last year after learning about the Prohibition-era law. He has clients with liquor licenses.

The bill is awaiting Gov. Jim Doyle's signature, which should come without question.

Here's a press release from Rep. Louis Molepske, Jr. on the bill:

Assembly Bill 500 passes Senate

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin State Senate voted to pass Assembly Bill 500, a bill which provides some much needed balance between the high ethical standards that local elected officials considering alcohol licensing requests must abide by and the reality that some of these very officials may have long-standing businesses that sell products to the license applicants or license holders.

The bill now awaits Governor Doyle’s signature before becoming law. Under a little-known state law, no member of a municipal governing body is permitted to sell to anyperson holding or applying for a retail liquor license “any bond, material, product, or thing that may be used by the licensee in carrying on the retail business.”

This extremely broad Prohibition-era regulation was originally enacted due to the fact that municipal governing bodies are responsible for granting retail liquor and wine licenses. The law’s authors were concerned that this process could create the potential for private business to unduly influence governmental operations, or vice versa.

As the issue has gained publicity in recent months (the bill was recently featured in USA TODAY ), a number of alderpersons in municipalities across the state have struggled with the decision of whether or not they need to resign their seats. Assembly Bill 500 addresses these concerns by replacing current law with a revised version of the well-established Code of Ethics for local public officials.

More specifically, under Assembly Bill 500, rather than being forced to resign his or her seat, if a local government official is presented with a situation in issuing or denying a retail liquor license that the official thinks or knows will violate the Code of Ethics, the official should recuse himself or herself from the vote on the license.

“Assembly Bill 500 will ensure that municipal officials are subject to the same ‘pay to play’ regulations as other public officials, but at the same time, they will not be prohibited from simply making a living or partaking in public service,” said Molepske. “Being an alderperson is generally not a full-time job, meaning that alderpersons often have other forms of employment to supplement their income. Assembly Bill 500 helps to ensure that our elected officials will come from diverse backgrounds, both personally and professionally.”

UPDATED: Karas resigns from Racine City Council

UPDATE: Karas offered these comments in response to his resignation:

** I have a rare opportunity to step back and reflect on the direction I wish to take in the future. I have not decided what I am going to do next. It may be a few days or few weeks before I decide if I will run for my old seat, do something else, or if “I’m gonna cut the soles off my shoes, sit in a tree and learn to play the flute.” (Anyone who knows where that reference came from is as strange as I am – no google searches allowed!)

** Generally, I would be at the Council meeting on Tuesday night to say a few words, but since my son Brad also has a jazz band concert at UW-Parkside that night, I will not be attending the council meeting.

** Please do not take my non-attendance as anything except my having a schedule conflict. I appreciate all who I have worked with and will at some point convey those thoughts in person.

** In my resignation letter, I asked that the City Council pass a resolution supporting AB-500. I would very much appreciate it if this could be brought forth as soon as possible and passed under a suspension of the rules, and sent to the leadership in both the Senate and Assembly.

** This weekend, I have heard of several rumors flying around that are so ludicrous that I will not repeat them. I resigned for two reasons: I discovered that serving was in violation of State law and I had to protect my insurance license and thus my livelihood. If you should happen to hear of any “ulterior motives,” or future “devious plans,” please take them for what they are – laughable rumors without any merit. If anyone has questions about the truth of what they may hear, they are free to give me a call at any time.

A sincere thank you to everyone who has expressed their kind words via email and phone calls the last few days. Your concern and personal support has been both comforting and heartwarming.

ORIGINAL POST:


Alderman Pete Karas abruptly resigned from the Racine City Council Friday after learning about an archaic state law that prohibits municipal officials from selling anything to businesses with liquor licenses.

Karas, who represents the city's 9th District, sells commercial insurance and is a certified risk manager. His clients include restaurants and stores that sell alcohol.

The law came to light on Friday after the Wausau Daily Herald wrote a story about a Stevens Point vacuum cleaner salesman who had to resign his elected position because he made sales to taverns.

State legislators, including State Rep. Bob Turner and State Sen. John Lehman, both D-Racine, are working to change the law.

In the meantime, Karas said he had to resign to avoid losing his insurance license with the state.

"It would financially ruin me," Karas said about losing his license.

Karas and his supporters spent Thursday and Friday making calls through the state trying to learn more about the law. No one could promise Karas that he was safe from criminal prosecution.

State statute 125.51 (1b) reads: "No member of the municipal governing body may sell or offer to sell to any person holding or applying for a license any bond, material, product or thing that may be used by the licensee in carrying on the business subject to licensure."

The law was passed in the 1930s to prevent elected officials from selling liquor licenses at the end of Prohibition.

A public hearing was held Thursday on changing the state law to allow officials like Karas to stay in office.

Karas resigned Friday because, under city ordinance, if a City Council seat is vacated before Dec. 1 a special election has to be held the following April to fill the seat. If the seat is resigned after Dec. 1, the mayor can appoint a replacement to fill the seat through 2009.

In theory, Karas could run for his seat in April if the state changes the law before the election.

Karas, a member of the Green Party, was elected to the City Council in 2003 and is serving his third term in office.

Karas wants citywide focus on recycling

Racine Alderman Pete Karas is pushing for a renewed citywide focus on recycling.

Karas met with representatives from the City of Racine, the Civic Center, The Oasis, Racine County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Downtown Racine Corp., and others to discuss improving recycling rates, which are at a 10-year low.

“We concurred that this program needs more study and public awareness to ensure success, instead of instituting new government regulations and mandates at this time," Karas said. "Education of the public is going to be the first step towards success.”

The city parks and public works departments are testing a program that would make recycling containers more available throughout the city. They will be monitored to see if they're used.

More important, however, is voluntary involvement. Cuts in city spending mean more businesses and residents will have to take the lead on recycling.

“For this program to succeed we need the people, groups, and businesses of Racine to buy in with their voluntary participation,” Karas said. “With the City’s recycling coordinator position eliminated in 2004, the City does not have the staff or money to aggressively provide additional recycling education, making the public’s voluntary involvement essential."

Karas will start the public information campaign with a website, www.RacineRecycles.org. The site is expected to be running by mid-November. Anyone interested in helping with the site, or suggesting possible content, should write to: Recycle@RacineRecycles.org