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Andy Gronik is a Milwaukee businessman who might run as a Democrat against Republican Gov. Scott Walker.(Photo: Stage W)

Democratic businessmanAndy Groniksays he hasn't even decided whether he wants to run against Gov.Scott Walkernext year, but the state Republican Party is already in attack mode.

On Thursday, Mark Morgan, executive director of the state GOP, filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission alleging that Gronik had violated state election laws by setting up a politically focused nonprofit called Stage W and commissioning a political poll without registering a formal campaign committee with the state.

The complaint assertsStage W, which says it iscommitted to "bridging the political divide," appears to operate "as a campaign committee in waiting for Mr. Gronik." Gronik, 59, is president of the nonprofit, which he founded in May 2016.

Earlier this week, Gronik confirmed that he paid for a voter survey to help him decide whether he should challenge the second-term Republican governor in 2018.

The poll, which incorrectly referred to state residents as "Wisconsinians," asked respondents to compare Gronik with two other possible Democratic gubernatorial candidates and quizzed them on such issues as Act 10, which dramatically curtails collective bargaining for most public employees, and the state's school voucher program.

RELATED:Andy Gronik polls on run for Wisconsin governor

The GOP complaint charges the survey was "unquestionably done" to help Gronik run for governor. Morgan asked the Ethics Commission to determine if the Milwaukee businessman or Stage W underwrote the cost of the poll.

In a statement, Morgan saidGronik owes"Wisconsinians" an explanation as to why he has already started his bid for governor without registering with the state.

By intentionally circumventing public scrutiny and the law with this secretpoll on top ofoperating a shadowy organization like Stage W he is showing right out of the gate that hard-working Wisconsin families can't trust him," Morgan said.

Gronik did not return calls.

Earlier this week, he said he paid for the poll to help him "take a very strategic and careful look at Wisconsin" on key issues. He said he also wants to "understand the path to victory what that looks like."

Gronik, who has not previously run for public office, declined to say where he stood on such issues as Act 10 or school vouchers. He said he hopes to make an announcement soon on his political plans.

Other Democrats considering a possible run for governor include state Sen.Kathleen Vinehoutof Alma, Rep.Dana Wachsof Eau Claire andJefferson County District AttorneySusan Happ.

Also being mentioned in political circles as a possible candidate is Daniel Speckhard, a Wisconsin native who is president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief in Baltimore. A former U.S. ambassador to Greece and Belarus, Speckhard did not return a call or email.

Conservative talker Mark Belling of WISN-AM (1130) discussed Speckhard's possible candidacy on his show earlier this week.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 ordbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBiceor on Facebook atfb.me/daniel.bice.

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Bice: Wisconsin GOP accuses Democrat Andy Gronik of campaign violation - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Jon Ossoff, a Democratic candidate in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, will face Republican Karen Handel in a June 20 runoff, after winning the most votes in the April 18 special election but failing to reach the 50 percent threshold. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Democrat Jon Ossoff didn't win a special election for a Georgia congressional seat on Tuesday night. But he'll live to fight another day specifically in a June runoff against former GOP secretary of state Karen Handel.

It's not the Cloud Nine scenario that some Democrats had hoped for in this uber-hyped special election. But that a Democrat made it this far in Republican territory he was the top vote-getter out of 18 mostly GOP candidates is an impressive political feat.

And as much as we can extrapolate from one single Atlanta suburb, Ossoff's near-win portends Democratic strength going into the 2018 congressional midterms. If the stars align for them even close to how they did in this district, Democrats could take back the House of Representatives. They'll need the help of traditional Republicans and a liberal base not thrilled with President Trump, but those were both factors in this Georgia congressional race.

Democrats don't even really need to win this June runoff, held to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, to take back the House. In 2018, Republicans will be defending 23 seats that Clinton won. If Democrats can net 24 seats, they would recapture the majority.

Depending on what data you use, there are some 70 to 90 congressional districts considered more competitive for Democrats. Tuesday's special election didn't even make a list of 60 that the House Democrats' campaign arm said earlier this year it wanted to target.

But it jumped on the map in a big way thanks to a fired-up liberal base. Ossoff was practically carried by anti-Trump, grass-roots momentum both inside the district and outside it. When he entered the race in January, he was an unknown, 30-year-old Democrat with no legislative experience. By the end of the race, he was a much better-known 30-year-old with no legislative experience who had raised an insane $8.3 million.

The fact he was even competitive is mind-blowing to Washington Democrats. Republicans have held this seat for 37 years. Price won it by 24 points just a few months ago.

Even in our wildest dreams in August of last year, I don't think anyone thought that Tom Price's House district was up for grabs, Neil Sroka, spokesman for the progressive Democracy for America, said earlier this week.

Democrats scrambled to provide the infrastructure to help Ossoff to his near-win, an early test for their party unity and organization. The proof will be in how many voters they turned outwho didn't show up in November. But early signs are good: Ossoff exceeded their off-the-record expectations of capturing 40 to 45 percent of the vote. He got 48 percent of the vote, almost exactly the share of four of the top GOP candidates combined.

Speaking of Republicans, let's talk about a potentially disenchanted minority that this race may have pulled back the curtain on. We definitely learned that Republican voters in this suburban, educated, wealthy district are very wary of Trump. Or rather, this race underscored that.

The district went for Mitt Romney in 2012 by more than 20 points, but for Trump by a little more than a percentage point. With regard to Tuesday's special election, most voters in a special congressional election are thinking big picture rather than granular, so an average vote could be considered a repudiation on the direction of the country so far as much as for a candidate.

I think it's pretty clear, nonpartisan elections analyst Stuart Rothenberg said earlier this month, Republicans in this kind of district are uncomfortable with Donald Trump.

It could be that this district is naturally trending away from a Trump-era Republican Party. Butit seemed to be aperfect test ground to witness what afired-up minority and a disenchanted majority can do against the backdrop of an unpopular first-term president. If that comes together for Democrats elsewhere in the country, well, that'sthe stuff wave elections are made of.

Here comes the giant, hulking caveat to every word above: There are still more unknowns than knowns in the battle for the House. The 2018 election is 567 days away, which might as well be a century in politics. Trump is historically unpopular, but that could change. Republicans can't get their act together to repeal Obamacare like many voters in this district conceivably want, but that could change.

There are also race-specific factors that make Democrats' performance less sterling than they might make it out to be. The Republican field might as well have been a field of a million there were 11 candidates, some of whom had their own high-profile supporters back in Washington. When voters in this district are faced with just one Democrat and just one Republican, will they really choose the Democrat?

Maybe, say Democrats. And they're not out of place to hope. As we learned in a special election in Kansas last week, and again on Tuesday, anything's possible for Democrats, even/especially the inconceivable. And Democrats capturing the House majority is much more conceivable than being competitive in this race was just a few months ago.

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Democrats didn't win outright in Georgia. But here's why they're still celebrating. - Washington Post

(1 of ) President Donald Trump walks along the West Wing Colonnade at the White House in Washington, Friday, April 21, 2017. Young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children can "rest easy," the president said Friday, telling the "dreamers" they will not be targets for deportation under his immigration policies. Trump, in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, said his administration is "not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals." (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

JULIE PACE

ASSOCIATED PRESS | April 21, 2017, 12:37PM

| Updated 9 hours ago.

HOUSTON Young immigrants protected by executive action from deportation say they won't "rest easy," even if President Donald Trump says they should.

Several "dreamers" told The Associated Press on Friday that they were not comforted by Trump's pledge, in an AP interview, that he wouldn't target the almost 800,000 people brought to the U.S. as children and living in the country illegally under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program enacted by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump told the AP that his administration is "not after the 'dreamers,' we are after the criminals."

"Here is what they can hear: The 'dreamers' should rest easy," Trump said. "OK? I'll give you that. The 'dreamers' should rest easy."

It was Trump's latest statement expressing support for immigrants in the program, even as his administration broadly cracks down on illegal immigration. U.S. officials have promised to speed up and widen deportations, and threatened local governments that don't cooperate with federal immigration agents.

"Obviously actions speak louder than words," said Saba Nafees, a 24-year-old 'dreamer' who is a graduate student at Texas Tech University. "His actions are pretty terrifying. What I've seen across the country, it's unbearable for all of these families."

Juan Escalante, a 28-year-old who came to the U.S. from Venezuela at age 11, said he was "not comforted by the president's words."

"He has said he will treat us with 'heart' and to 'rest easy,' and it just seems so general," Escalante said.

Some young immigrants pointed to the case of Juan Manuel Montes, a 23-year-old whose attorneys say is the first person enrolled in the DACA program to be deported. After initially denying Montes was covered by DACA, federal authorities said this week that Montes had violated the conditions of the program.

Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, which is representing Montes, said Trump was trying to have it both ways.

"This is a president who is saying, 'I love dreamers and I care about them as children,' and yet is turning around and traumatizing them and their families," she said.

The program granted work authorization to certain immigrants brought to the U.S. before their 16th birthday. The young people who benefit are called 'dreamers' because the program mimics versions of the so-called DREAM Act, which would have provided legal status for young immigrants but was never passed by Congress.

Trump has left Obama's program in place, and he said before his January inauguration that people protected under DACA would "end up being very happy." A month later, he called the program "a very difficult thing for me as I love these kids."

Rafael Robles, 26, and two of his siblings have relied on the program for years to go to school and work in the U.S. Their parents brought them to the Chicago area from Mexico as young children on visitor visas, which they overstayed.

"In a weird way it does put my mind at ease because at least there is something to bring forward if he were to change his mind," said Robles, who works at a real estate development company. "It sort of sends a message that they are having conversations about 'dreamers.'"

But Greisa Martinez, an immigrant in the program who is also advocacy director for the group United We Dream, said Trump could push Congress to give 'dreamers' permanent legal status if he wanted.

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President Trump says immigrant 'dreamers' not deportation targets - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

CARSON CITY Senate Democrats rolled back collective bargaining reforms Friday on party-line votes, approving two bills that Republicans argued gut bipartisan changes enacted two years ago.

Senate Bill 356 reinstates so-called evergreen clauses that allow existing agreements to remain in effect during negotiations after contracts expire. It also allows public employers to grant leave to employees for union activities, and eliminates restrictions on arbitration.

The bill passed 12-9, with independent Sen. Patricia Farley of Las Vegas joining with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, the architect of the existing law, said SB356 is the gutting of very good collective bargaining reform passed in 2015.

He said Senate Bill 241 of the last session was a compromise endorsed by both labor and management that set strict time frames for the collective bargaining process.

It required both sides in the negotiations to come to the table, have a certain number of meetings within a certain time period, Roberson said.

Farley said while she supported the bill two years ago, the law had unintended consequences. During testimony in hearings, critics said some workers were denied raises they were entitled because government employers stalled negotiations.

As a legislator, we should be willing to say we made a mistake, and make adjustments, she said.

Roberson objected to her characterization and said the impetus behind the law was stall tactics used by unions.

Because there were evergreen clauses in contract, it gave an incentive to several organizations to stall and delay and not come to the table, he said.

I worked with union leaders across the state on this bill, he said of the 2015 effort. In fact, just about every major labor organization in this state came to the table, (and) publicly supported this bill in committee.

Now to say two years later, never mind, unintended consequences I dont buy that, Roberson said.

Money matters

Another bill, Senate Bill 469, lowers how much of a local governments ending fund balance is off limits to collective bargaining in time of fiscal emergencies. It also passed on a 12-9 vote.

The bill reduces the percentage to 16.67 percent from 25 percent. The bill states that amount is not subject to negotiations and cannot be considered by an arbitrator when determining if a local government has the ability to pay compensation or other contractual monetary benefits.

Republicans opposed the bill.

Sen. Ben Kieckhefer R-Reno, said it discourages local governments from saving money for bad times.

Sen. Julia Ratti, D-Sparks and a former Sparks councilwoman, said ending fund balances are not rainy day funds to be tapped in emergencies. She said the set-aside amount is for cash management and gives local governments two months in reserve to pay immediate bills.

Both bills now go to the Assembly.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.

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Democrat bargaining rollback guts 2015 laws, Roberson says - Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Chris Mattei has been trying to raise his profile since leaving the U.S. attorneys office.

Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor who helped send former Republican Gov. John G. Rowland back to prison, opened an exploratory campaign Wednesday, becoming the second Democrat in 24 hours to begin testing his viability in the open race for governor in 2018.

With a subtle nod to the anti-Trump resistance now energizing Democrats, Mattei cast himself as a career public servant, a prosecutor of corrupt public officials, Wall Street financiers, investment advisors and gun traffickers ready for a campaign of citizen engagement.

This is a time for citizenship, Mattei said in an announcement video. And, what I believe is that if we are to resist whats happening in Washington, that work starts right here.

Mattei joins Jonathan Harris, a former state senator, top Democratic Party official and commissioner of consumer protection, in filing exploratory papers Wednesday. Harris announced his plans Tuesday evening after stepping down as commissioner.

It was no surprise that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, decided against seeking a third term, but his announcement last week was earlier than expected, leaving some better-known Democrats unprepared to take the first formal steps toward entering what is likely to be a crowded race in both parties.

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, a Democrat, opened an exploratory committee in January. Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo is expected to soon follow, with state Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. among the list of other potential Democratic candidates.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Attorney General George Jepsen have not ruled out running for the Democratic nomination. Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, who returned to office in 2015, recently asked the State Elections Enforcement Commission if his felony conviction would bar him from the states public financing program should he run.

By entering politics via a statewide race, the 38-year-old Mattei is following a difficult path typically taken only by wealthy self-funders. He will test the appeal of an outsider to Democratic delegates in a time when Republicans will work to tie Democratic candidates to the unpopular Malloy.

What we need now more than ever is a peoples campaign built by us for us in every city and town in this state, Mattei said. If we are willing to work for it, we can build a just and growing economy. We can create jobs that last and pay a decent wage. We can create an open and effective government that puts the interests of average, working families at the center of every decision we make.

Mattei, who is married and the father of three, lives in Hartford. Since leaving the U.S. attorneys office as the chief of its financial fraud and public corruption unit in 2015, he has been in private practice with Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder.

In 2014, he helped convict Rowland ofconspiring with Lisa Wilson-Foley, a congressional candidate, and her husband, Brian Foley, to violate campaign finance laws.

Another corruption case may have left him with enemies in Democratic circles: He helped oversee an investigation that derailed the 2012 congressional campaign of former state House Speaker Chris Donovan, D-Meriden.

Donovans campaign manager pleaded guilty and another top aide was convicted at trial on charges related to a conspiracy to bribe Donovan with illegal campaign contributions.

Donovan was not charged and was never shown to have knowledge of the scheme.

A half-dozen Republicans have formed exploratory or candidate committees.

Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, R-Glastonbury, has raised $138,944 since forming a candidate committee in December. Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti formed a candidate committee two weeks ago.

Republicans with exploratory committees include: Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, making his third attempt; Tim Herbst, the Trumbull first selectman and 2014 nominee for state treasurer;Peter Lumaj, the 2014 nominee for secretary of the state; and Steve Obstinik, the 2012 nominee for Congress in the 4th District.

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Mattei becomes 3rd Democrat to explore run for governor - The CT Mirror