Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany got caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
Last July, Tiffany wrote and introduced the Wabeno Economic Development Act. The sole purpose of this bill is to allow a company, Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, to purchase 14 acres in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest adjacent to the company's current site. The land deal would also include mining rights and keep the land at fair market value.
Tony Smith, the owner of the company, wrote a letter to Tiffany asking for his help because going through proper channels wasn't fast enough, and his company was running low on natural resources needed to keep turning a healthy profit.
Tiffany, who has a long history of opposing publicly-owned land, got right to work on the bill, which passed through the House last July 410-1.
A few months later, Smith made his very first campaign contribution ever, giving $520.51 to Tiffany's gubernatorial campaign. My, what an amazing coinkydink that was!
When confronted about this by the Wisconsin Examiner, Tiffany put on an act that shows he has never stopped shoveling the shit he brags about in his ads:
In a statement to the Examiner, Tiffany’s campaign noted the bill’s bipartisan support and touted the legislation as an example of Tiffany fighting for small businesses.
“Tony’s Wabeno Redi-Mix, a small business with roughly 17 employees, contacted my office in January 2022 after years of getting nowhere with the U.S. Forest Service,” Tiffany said in a statement supplied by the campaign. “I first introduced this bill in 2024, and it has since earned strong bipartisan support, including from Wisconsin Democrats Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan. Standing up for Wisconsin small businesses when federal agencies fail them is part of my job, and I’ll continue to fight for them.”
However, Tiffany had nothing to say when asked about the money. Go figure.
Granted, we are talking about a small amount of land and a small amount of money, but if he is willing to do the pay-for-play for that little bit, how can we trust him when the big businesses with the big money come calling? Tiffany isn't fit to be a representative or a governor.
