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Whoever wins the Nov. 3 election to become Wisconsin’s next governor — whether it be Republican Tom Tiffany or Democrat David Crowley — will inherit a state whose long tradition of open government is replete with opportunities for improvement. 

With that in mind, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council last month sent questionnaires about government transparency to both candidates. Crowley answered our questions while Tiffany did not. 

Here’s a roundup of where the candidates stand when it comes to your right to know, drawn from Crowley’s responses and from what he and Tiffany have said on the campaign trail.

Let’s begin with common ground. Both Crowley and Tiffany say they support ending a legal loophole that exempts state legislators from record retention rules that are in place for all other state and local government officials. This loophole presently allows elected members of the state Assembly and Senate to delete emails and other files at will to prevent their release, absent a pending records request.

Crowley and Tiffany also say they oppose nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and local governments.

In his response to our questionnaire, Crowley said his administration would post commonly requested information online, monitor records processes across agencies and review records request procedures at least annually. He would also require that appointees receive training on the public records and open meetings laws and “make sure the agencies responsible for public records and open meetings compliance have the funding and staffing they need to do that work well.”

Asked about potential changes to the public records and open meetings laws, Crowley said he supports increasing the location fee threshold — a provision in the law allowing custodians to charge location fees only when they are $50 or more — which has not been updated since 1981.

Although Tiffany did not respond to the council’s questionnaire, he has made several campaign promises related to government transparency. Tiffany said he would improve a state data portal to “make it easier for taxpayers to search and understand state spending.” He promised to create agency dashboards that would show “taxpayers where their money is going, what services agencies are providing, and the results taxpayers are receiving.” Tiffany’s spokesperson also said that Tiffany, if elected, would “set clear response-time standards for open records requests.”

As a state senator, Tiffany in 2015 voted for a proposal that would have made it easier for lawmakers, the governor and other agencies to withhold records from the public. The measure was rescinded after intense public outcry. (Tiffany later apologized for his vote, saying “Quite honestly, I am embarrassed by the event.”)

Beyond the public records and open meetings laws, Crowley supports legislation targeting strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), used to retaliate against individuals and news outlets for engaging in protected activities. The state Assembly in February passed an anti-SLAPP bill, but it died in the Senate. Wisconsin is one of just 10 states without such protection.

Crowley also supports spending taxpayer dollars on WisconsinEye, a public affairs network like C-SPAN, as it works to find a sustainable funding model. “Having served in the State Legislature and now as County Executive, I’ve seen firsthand how important it is for Wisconsinites to have direct access to their government — it strengthens both transparency and public participation,” Crowley said.

Tiffany did not answer our questions on these topics.

Like government transparency, the values of press freedom and free expression are pillars of the broader project of representative democracy. On Sept. 24, Tiffany’s staff blocked two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters from a campaign event alleging bias in coverage. Afterward, he insisted, “I’ve always had an open policy in regards to the media.”

Read Crowley’s full response to WISFOIC’s questionnaire here.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Jonathan Anderson is the organization’s treasurer. 

Your Right to Know: Contenders for governor weigh in on open government is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Requesting public records in Wisconsin can sometimes mean waiting weeks, months and even longer for government officials and agencies to respond. What could help speed things along?

At the state Department of Justice, which has recently come under scrutiny for its own delays in releasing records, Attorney General Josh Kaul says the agency he leads needs more money.

“Additional resources could help the DOJ reduce response times to public records requests,” Kaul told the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, in advance of the Nov. 3 election for attorney general. The council sent questionnaires about government transparency to Kaul, the Democratic incumbent seeking a third term, and his Republican challenger, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, who narrowly lost his previous bid to unseat Kaul in 2022.

Kaul answered our questions; Toney did not, despite multiple emails and a call to his campaign.

In addition to responding to requests for its own records, the DOJ is empowered to interpret and enforce the public records and open meetings laws. Both Kaul and Toney said in 2022 that one of the biggest challenges to enforcing these laws was a lack of funding. This time around, we asked both candidates what has been done to close this gap and what more needs to be done.

Kaul, in his reply, said his administration sought 2.6 positions in the 2025-27 state budget for DOJ public records staffing, but these positions were ultimately cut from that budget. “The addition of those positions would have resulted in more DOJ staff time being available to promote and obtain compliance with the public records and open meetings laws,” Kaul said.

He added that his administration has made the same funding request for the 2027-29 state budget.

Toney told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this year that he would prioritize staffing in the DOJ.

We further asked the candidates whether the DOJ should take a more active role in enforcement of the public records and open meetings law.

Kaul said the DOJ should address enforcement on a case-by-case basis to balance compliance efforts with the agency’s limited resources. He said the DOJ should continue to offer guidance and training and to seek volunteer compliance for unintentional violations. “In a case involving an egregious, intentional violation, an enforcement action should be considered,” Kaul wrote.

Although Toney did not respond to the council’s questionnaire this year, he said in 2022 that he would, as attorney general, “apply sufficient resources and prioritize the proper administration and enforcement” of the public records and open meetings laws. Toney added that because the laws also allow for private enforcement, he would emphasize the DOJ’s role in issuing legal opinions, informal guidance and training.

“When elected, openness and transparency will be a priority for my office,” Toney said in 2022.

Asked what changes should be made to the state’s sunshine laws, Kaul said they “should be modernized to account for technological developments that have occurred since the laws were enacted.” He also said members of the state Legislature should no longer be exempt from record retention rules. (The removal of this exception has also drawn support from the two candidates for governor, Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany. That race will be the subject of an upcoming Your Right to Know column.)

Finally, Kaul said agencies should follow the DOJ’s practice of proactively releasing information about public records responses. The DOJ posts on its website a “snapshot” of pending records requests and reports detailing response times and other activities by the Office of Open Government.

The election is Nov. 3.

Read Kaul’s full response to WISFOIC’s questionnaire here.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Jonathan Anderson is the organization’s treasurer.

Your Right to Know: More money is needed for records access, Attorney General Josh Kaul says is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.