Three months ago, I broke the story that Scott Walker had asked that the disability rights advocacy group Disability Rights Wisconsin be investigated for violating the laws regarding patient confidentiality.Last week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the group was found to have violated the law but that it did not rise to the level of them being stripped of their authority to be the state advocate for the disabled.
However, buried at the end of the story - where the corporate media giant likes to put stories that they really don't want people to know about but do want to be able to claim they reported it - is the news drop that people should be aware of (emphasis mine):
On Friday, Walker announced his final two appointments to the new Mental Health Board.What the paper doesn't report is that Kimberly Walker was fired from her corp counsel job for her incompetence and lack of ethics. Kimberly Walker was the person who gave Emperor Chris Abele advice on how to circumvent open records laws. Not only was her advice unethical and illegal but it was also faulty in that her advice wouldn't work.
They are Lyn Malofsky, who will represent consumers of services, and Kimberly Walker, a legal representative.
Malofsky served as executive director of Warmline Inc. and helped establish La Linea de Apoyo for the Spanish speaking. She co-founded the Crisis Intervention Team.
Walker is executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and previously served as corporation counsel for Milwaukee County.
Illegalities and ethics never bothered Scott Walker and he is no stranger to cronyism, so this was a slam dunk decision.
Isn't it nice to see that Abele and Scott Walker can show such "bipartisanship" to reward another crooked crony? I'm sure that if Scott Walker ever needed the favor, such as giving Tim Russell a job, Abele has got it covered.
And isn't it nice to know that this whole scheme regarding Milwaukee County's mental health system had nothing to do about politics or profiteering?
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I don't want to cast aspersions on Ms. Walker, but if I were on the Mental Health Board, I'd have serious concerns about having a former Corporation Counsel as a peer.
ReplyDeleteShe could (knowingly or unknowingly) carry liability about current Milwaukee County cases. IANAL, but could her presence on the board be the appearance that transfers that liability to the board?
Five years down the road, are folks scouring the minutes of the Mental Health Board's meetings to see what Ms. Walker said, or didn't say?
How can her presence on the MH board be seen as other than to protect the interests of the last two County Execs?
The fact that Gov. Walker missed his deadline and appointed her last does not inspire optimism. Per the legislation, it's my understand that the MH Board's tenure has already started. They're already in charge (legally responsible) for the train loads of serious problems which they didn't create. If other MH board members raise questions about her qualifications, could Gov. Walker and Mr. Abele replace them?
She might also have a conflict with her job running Legal Aid. Ms. Walker would be in a position at Legal Aid to know of potential suits against the Mental Health Board by Legal Aid clients. That puts her in a real awkward position w/r/t Legal Aid and the Mental Health Board. Lose lose.
My guess is the Republicans are at least considering grooming her for an eventual run at the State Supreme Court. That's not consistent with the overlap in these
responsibilities. Even if she is acting independently and in good faith and in the best interests of the public and the patients, regardless of what she says or does, it appears pretty easy for a smart attorney to use her resume to misconstrue that.
This goes to show that Scott Walker and Chris Abele may be members of different political parties, but they are allies working for the same cause in pushing forward this Greater Milwaukee Committee/Smart Government Inc. agenda. I'm sure Kimberly Walker knows all about it and is a trusted ally.
ReplyDeleteIf Abele claims to be a Democrat, he sure doesn't know how to act like one. He, like SKW, know who they have in their pocket to get their schemes through.