3 GOP appointees resign from tech college board nearly 2 years after terms expire

Last week, WTCS Board members Becky Levzow, Kelly Tourdot and Mary Williams all submitted their letters of resignation, with effective dates of Dec. 30 or Dec. 31.

The 13-member WTCS Board sets policies for the state’s 16 technical college districts.

Gov. Scott Walker appointed Levzow, Tourdot and Williams in 2016. While their terms ended in May 2021, they continued to vote and make motions on the board through at least September, board meeting minutes show.

In June 2022, Fred Prehn, a Walker appointee to the state Department of Natural Resources policy board, won a lawsuit in which the conservative-controlled state Supreme Court ruled political appointees don’t have to leave until the Senate confirms their successors.

Last month, Prehn announced his intent to leave, effective Dec. 30, nearly two years after his term concluded. In his resignation letter, Prehn said, “It is time for the state legislators to act” in confirming his replacement to the board.

Gov. Tony Evers, who won a second, four-year term in November, has appointed five people to the WTCS Board, none of whom have been confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Two of Evers’ appointees are currently serving, as their predecessors previously stepped down.

In their resignation letters last week, none of the three WTCS Board members mentioned their refusal to leave their seats after their terms expired.

Williams previously dismissed questions about her refusal to step back, telling the Wisconsin State Journal, “There’s no real story,” before saying she would continue to serve until the Senate confirmed her successor.

The three Evers appointees who have only been able to attend meetings as observers are Sara Rogers, a planning analyst for Employ Milwaukee; Dan Klecker, state education director for the Foundation of the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers Association; and Paul Buhr, a Viroqua-area dairy farmer who unsuccessfully ran for the State Assembly in 2018 as a Democrat.

Klecker said after attending all of the meetings either in person or virtually since he was appointed that he’s ready to join the board.

“I looked at it as an opportunity for training, to understand what the board is about. So I must say I do feel like I’m prepared and ready to … help guide the technical college system,” Klecker said.

Buhr called the situation frustrating, as he chose not to attend the meetings because he didn’t want to cost the state hundreds of dollars in travel and room reimbursements while not serving. Buhr added that he had spoken with Levzow, who held his seat as the agricultural representative, and couldn’t understand her thought process.

“It was a very, very uncomfortable time,” Buhr said. “I couldn’t believe that citizens that were good enough to take those positions would then desecrate the position by doing that.”