Fred Wade's campaign just announced an endorsement from former State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager. For Wade, whose campaign is largely focused on promoting the rather unsexy issue of gubernatorial vetoes, the endorsement from a prominent state official sends a much-needed message of legitimacy to other politicos and voters.
"We need more representatives in the Assembly who understand how laws should be drafted, administered and enforced. Fred's SEC experience includes participation in the drafting of the Insider Trading Sanctions Act. His work contributed to the development of legislation that gives the SEC broader enforcement authority, and to an agreement with the Government of Switzerland that permits the SEC to obtain evidence from Swiss banks in insider trading cases.
Wonky stuff. Ironically, Peg Lautenschlager did very well in Dane County in the Democratic primary that she lost to Kathleen Falk four years ago. Her statewide total was 47 percent, while on Falk's home turf she took 60 percent. Apparently the supreme irony of an attorney general getting caught for OWI did not bother voters in these here parts as much as in other areas of the state.
However, that may highlight the number of friends and connections Lautenschlager has in the state's capital. So maybe an endorsement from her is not just a weak response to the support Falk gave to candidate Brett Hulsey.
