(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers’ office and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. have not released records related to an early April trade trip to Europe.
Evers and WEDC officials went to Germany and France and took part in Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade show.
The trip included visiting Hannover, Hessen, and Berlin in Germany and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France.
Former WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes traveled to Europe for the trip along with WEDC Vice President of Global Trade and Investments Micah Oge as well as other WEDC staff.
The Center Square filed public records requests with both Evers’ office and WEDC regarding expenses shortly after the trip and has not received a response for five months as of Sept. 29. That included a follow-up from The Center Square asking for a status update on the requests on Sept. 18, which received no response from either office.
Public funds are often used for official economic development trips. WEDC and Evers’ office also did not respond to requests for further detail on who went on the trip or the costs associated with the trip in early April.
“We’ve seen growing delays from state agencies over the last several years,” Attorney Tom Kamenick, President & Founder of The Wisconsin Transparency Project, told The Center Square. “It’s important for the public to be able to monitor government expenses, especially when officials are spending our money taking trips to foreign countries.
“But journalists can’t report on such things in a timely manner when those same officials delay providing records for months and months. Evers’ administration has to do a better job responding promptly to record requests.”
Hughes has since resigned from her post, as of Sept. 19, and announced on Monday morning that she is running for governor.
Evers’ administration is searching for a replacement, according to a press release. Evers has announced he will not seek reelection.
