MADISON, Wis. – Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez plans to continue her gubernatorial campaign despite firing her campaign manager Kara Spencer over the weekend over allegations of campaign finance errors.
“I’m not waiting around here. If I were trying to hide something, I wouldn’t be here today telling you about it,” Rodriguez told reporters July 13, while also calling the situation a “breach of trust”.
Rodriguez says she first became aware of problems July 7, when previously announced television advertisements did not start running. The next day, Rodriguez says her media team told her an invoice had not been paid. By July 9, Rodriguez said she determined the total cash was “hundreds of thousands of dollars” less than was expected.
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission has been made aware of the situation, according to Rodriguez. There has been no indication of any criminal activity thus far.
Records reviewed by WTMJ showed at least 119 unique contributors that appeared more than once in reports submitted in January. That report was filed two hours after a January 15 deadline and amended twice after its initial submission.
Rodriguez said Spencer’s previous work in compliance was why she was tasked with handling the responsibility of filing finance reports even though that work is usually done by outside firms.
Rodriguez said he still plans to air the previously scheduled ads next week, but that she has $200,000 in the bank. She did not give an exact date for when the ads are expected to start.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Sara Rodriguez fires campaign manager over campaign finance reporting issues
The timeline identified by Rodriguez indicates she became aware of issues one day before Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out of the race, and two days before Crowley endorsed Rodriguez at a press conference. A spokesperson for Crowley did not respond to a request for comment.
Fellow Democrat candidates Joel Brennan and Kelda Roys released statements criticizing Rodriguez July 13.
“Sara Rodriguez failed to answer many serious and mounting questions about her campaign’s mismanagement and, more importantly, failed to take responsibility for what unfolded on her campaign,” said Brennan. “If Sara Rodriguez can’t answer basic questions about her campaign, what answers does she have for people who are hurting in Wisconsin?”
“The public is getting far too familiar with hearing Sara Rodriguez apologize,” said Roys in her statement. “This recurring pattern shows that Rodriguez is unprepared for the rigors of a general election or governing.”
Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes and Assemblywoman Francesca Hong did not publicly comment on the matter.
Republican frontrunner Congressman Tom Tiffany posted on X that “voters deserve a full explanation of what the ‘inaccuracies’ were and how they happened.”
The next round of campaign finance filings covering the period from January 1 to June 30 are due July 15.
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