Three GOP holdovers on Wisconsin technical college board resign 20 months after terms expired
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Three Republican holdovers who refused to step down from the state Technical College System Board after their terms ended nearly two years ago recently resigned.
Kelly Tourdot and Mary Williams resigned Dec. 30, and Becky Levzow resigned Dec. 31, roughly 20 months after their terms expired in May 2021. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed the three to the board overseeing policy for the state's 16 two-year technical colleges.
Williams is a former GOP state representative from northern Wisconsin. Tourdot is a vice president at Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, a nonprofit based in Madison. Levzow is a dairy farmer in Rio.
In their resignation letters, none of the women addressed their decisions to stray from the overwhelming majority of political appointees who step down at the conclusion of their terms. Instead, they talked about their accomplishments on the board and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve.
Tourdot said she worked "hard as a voice to showcase and improve apprenticeship for thousands of individuals," while Levzow said she "elevated the awareness and opportunities for the agriculture sectors of Wisconsin." Williams said she "truly enjoyed my time spent on the board with many other dedicated board members" and hopes "the board will keep the system the best place to get a quality (education) at a reasonable cost."
Williams, Levzow and Tourdot's resignation letters were submitted a few days after Fred Prehn stepped down. Walker appointed Prehn to the Natural Resources Board in 2015, and the Wausau dentist similarly disregarded his term's end date in 2021.
Prehn's squatting led to a lawsuit, which ended this summer when the conservative-controlled state Supreme Court ruled that it's all right for political appointees to continue serving beyond their terms because the expiration of a term doesn't create a vacancy until the state Senate holds a confirmation hearing. Two of the board's four conservative members have ties to Walker.
Prehn remained on the board to prevent a Democratic majority from forming. He cast the deciding vote to increase the quota for the state’s wolf hunt and to scrap limits of so-called forever chemicals in groundwater.
Williams, Tourdot and Levzow's decisions to stay were less consequential, with the overwhelming majority of the board’s votes unanimous. It's unclear why the women chose to continue serving and what Republicans gained from their decisions.
“All you have to do is see what the Supreme Court did,” Williams said, shortly before telling the Journal Sentinel not to call her again.
Tourdot hung up when a reporter called. Levzow didn't return multiple requests for comment.
Their resignations make way for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' appointees to begin serving. His picks have sat on the sidelines of many board meetings, listening but unable to vote.
Evers' appointees are Sara Rogers, planning analyst for Employ Milwaukee; Dan Klecker, field manager for Automotive Service Excellence; and Paul Buhr, a Viroqua-area dairy farmer who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for a state Assembly seat in 2018.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 17 at the system board office in Madison.
Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin technical college system appointees resign from board
