Democrats poised to take control of Wisconsin Senate

Talk about it

Republicans say they won’t stand in the way of Democrats as they’re about to take control of the Wisconsin Senate.

The transfer of power will take place as early as Wednesday, when the state Government Accountability Board plans to certify the results of the final recall election from June 5.

Republican Mike Ellis of Neenah is still the Senate’s president. And technically, the GOP will still control the Organization Committee that makes important administrative decisions, including when the Senate will meet.

Democrats want a floor session to name one of their own members, Madison’s Fred Risser, as the new Senate president.

Ellis says he and other Republicans will support that change. Ellis says the presidency belongs to the majority.

Democrats will be in control at least through the November elections, when about half the Senate seats are up. Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he’s confident his party will regain control in November.

For now, he says, the GOP will not block Democrats from adopting their own housekeeping rules for the Senate.

Except for some spending approvals by the Finance Committee, legislative activity is expected to be virtually nil until after November.

Democrats secured their new majority Tuesday, after Racine Republican Van Wanggaard said he would not file a lawsuit to challenge his recall election defeat to Democrat John Lehman.

Former Gov. Doyle will teach at Harvard

Former Gov. Jim Doyle will be a resident fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics this fall.

The prestigious Massachusetts university says Doyle will lead study groups each week on a wide variety of issues. He’ll also take part in the intellectual life of the Harvard community.

Several other fellows will join Doyle. They include Fortune magazine’s senior editor, Nina Easton, and Brett O’Donnell, a political strategist who worked on John McCain’s White House campaign four years ago.

Doyle, a Democrat, has kept a very low profile ever since he left office a year and a half ago, after eight years as Wisconsin’s governor. He has made only rare public comments on issues, most recently after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Democrats’ national health care reform law.

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