Doyle's ties to Indian tribes raises concerns

By SCOTT BAUER

Published: Thursday, July 20, 2006 3:50 PM CDT

MADISON, Wis. - Ties that Gov. Jim Doyle and his administration have to American Indian tribes operating casinos in the state are raising concerns both with his political opponent and a government watchdog group.

The governor is responsible for negotiating with tribes to operate casinos in the state. Part of that process involves determining how much the tribes will pay the government to run the casinos.

Republicans have been critical of the deals Doyle has struck, saying the state could have gotten even more.

Mark Graul, campaign manager of Doyle's challenger, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, accused the governor of "feeding at the trough of special interests and casino money."

For his part, Doyle's campaign spokesman Anson Kaye dismissed the concerns as partisan attacks and spin that is part of the election season.

The public just wants to have faith that its elected officials are not unduly influenced by special interests and lobbyists with big money, said Mike McCabe, executive director of the nonpartisan political watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Connections that Doyle and his administration have to various tribes are raising eyebrows, McCabe said. Among those:

_ Doyle's former campaign manager Rich Judge, who stepped down in March for personal reasons, started working in May as a lobbyist for Kenesah Gaming Development. That group is working to locate an off-reservation casino in Kenosha.

_ The owner of Kenesah Gaming Development and members of his family were top donors to Doyle from 2002 to 2005, a report this week from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign revealed. They have given $236,842 over that period, the report said. Businessman Dennis Troha has partnered with the Menominee and Connecticut-based Mohegan Indian tribes to propose building the $808 million casino complex at the current Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.

_ Sean Dilweg, the chief aide to Administration Secretary Stephen Bablitch, previously worked for the Oneida tribe as a lobbyist and in his current position negotiated the state's agreement with that same tribe. That tie was reported Thursday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

_ Dilweg's brother, Rory Dilweg, is an attorney for the Menominee Tribe and Sean Dilweg would be involved in talks with the tribe should the federal government sign off on its plans for the new casino. Rory Dilweg also previously worked as an attorney for the Oneida tribe for six years.

Doyle has not said whether he supports that new casino, saying only that he will consider it when and if the proposal comes to him.

"It's pretty clear the relationships between the governor's campaign and the governor's office and gambling interests is very cozy," McCabe said. "The coziness of these relationships ought to concern people."

Sean Dilweg told the Journal Sentinel that he did not believe his ties to the Oneida tribe, for whom he worked as a lobbyist in 2000 and 2001 before moving to the state where he started working on the tribal agreements, constituted a conflict of interest.

There is no prohibition on political appointees negotiating with former lobbying clients, said Jonathan Becker, attorney for the state Ethics Board.

Jay Heck, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause in Wisconsin, defended Dilweg.

"Knowing him personally, and his work, I think he is a very ethical guy," Heck said. "It would be hard for me to believe his decisions or recommendations would be affected by that."

Dilweg did not immediately return a message to The Associated Press on Thursday. He told the newspaper the deals he helped negotiate with the Oneida and others quadrupled the amount of money the tribes were to pay the state in 2004, bringing in more than $100 million.

The Oneida alone paid the state $20 million in 2004 and in 2005, up from $4.85 million a year under an earlier deal.

This year the tribe paid an estimated $14.4 million and of 23 states with Indian casinos, Wisconsin received the fourth-highest amount, according to a report issued last month.