LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) – The La Crosse Tea Party has filed a complaint with the state's Government Accountability Board against La Crosse County Administrator Steve O'Malley.
The complaint, filed by Greg Luce, Mike Tellier, Steve Gores, Carl Wiggert and Jerry Every, alleges that O'Malley violated state law by soliciting a $5-thousand dollar campaign donation on company time for the advocacy group Administrator YES!
The Administrator Yes group campaigned for the creation of a La Crosse City Administrator position ahead of a referendum in April.
The County's Ethics Board ruled earlier this month that O'Malley did nothing wrong in using his office and position to solicit the donation, after the County Administrator said that getting involved in the campaign was part of his job.
O'Malley said he believed an administrator would lead to a more efficient city government – and that in turn would make his job easier at the county level. O'Malley said campaigning for the administrator position was not comparable to campaigning for a political party or an individual candidate for office.
But the Tea Party's Greg Luce said the County did not look into whether or not O'Malley violated state law.
Luce said the Government Accountability Board received the newest complaint, which cites various emails O'Malley sent on company time, on Monday.
Luce said the Tea Party's Attorney believes the GAB should issue some sort of response within 20 days.
He added he does not know if any state action would have been taken against O'Malley, which is why he and the Tea Party decided to file the complaint.
"Nothing was happening since the hearing," Luce said. "It's frustrating."
