MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Scott Walker’s transportation secretary has decided to quit ahead of what is expected to be a bruising budget fight with state lawmakers over road funding.
Walker announced Tuesday that Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb has offered his resignation effective Jan. 6. The governor said he has appointed former Superior Mayor Dave Ross to replace him. Ross is currently serving on Walker’s cabinet as secretary of the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Walker’s news release didn’t offer any explanation for Gottlieb’s resignation. Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said in emails to The Associated Press that Gottlieb decided to retire so he could spend more time with his family. DOT spokeswoman Patricia Mayers said Gottlieb, 60, wasn’t available for an interview and referred questions to Walker’s office.
The resignation comes as Walker is preparing for what promises to be a punishing fight with his fellow Republicans in the state Assembly over how to fund roads in the upcoming 2017-2019 state budget.
The state’s road fund faces a $1 billion shortfall due largely to flat gas tax revenue as people drive less and use more fuel-efficient vehicles. Walker has said his executive 2017-2019 budget will delay major projects and borrow $500 million over the next two years to fill the hole. He has refused to raise the gas tax or vehicle registration fees without a corresponding decrease in taxes elsewhere in the budget.
Republican leaders in the state Assembly, most notably Speaker Robin Vos and Rep. John Nygren, co-chairman of the Legislature’s powerful budget committee, have criticized that plan as a short-sighted political solution. They say all funding solutions should be on the table, including increasing the gas tax.
Gottlieb told the Assembly’s transportation committee earlier this month that the percentage of Wisconsin roads in poor condition would double to 42 percent over the next 10 years, projects could be delayed for decades and incoming revenue won’t keep up with inflation. But he defended Walker’s plan.
Walker is expected to formally introduce his budget in February. The budget committee will spend the next few months revising the document before forwarding it on to the full Legislature for approval. The transportation fight figures to dominate the deliberations.
Gottlieb is a former state representative from Port Washington and served with Vos in the chamber for six years. Walker plucked Gottlieb from the Assembly to serve as transportation secretary after he won his first term as governor in 2010.
Vos issued a statement Tuesday saying Gottlieb’s “expertise and candor” will be missed during the budget discussions.
“Wisconsin is losing one of our most hardworking and articulate public leaders,” Vos said.
Ross served two terms as mayor of Superior and was self-employed for more than 20 years in an upholstery business, Walker’s news release said. He’ll start his new job on Jan. 7.
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