Although I had decided to take a break from blogging for the day, I couldn't help but notice the news vans gathering around the Capitol as I walked out of the Walgreens on the Capitol Square, equipped with a 12-roll package of toilet paper. With no shame, I walked into the House of the People, hoping to catch a glimpse of some legislative drama.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any. However, I did run into Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee), who told me that his chamber would be taking up the contracts at around 7:30, and that rumors that Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker was AWOL were untrue. And I also ran into a Democratic Assembly staffer who told me the party really had no idea whether it had the votes for the contracts or not.
Best of all, I ran into Jessica Arp from Channel 3 news outside. She told me it was likely that Jeff Wood, who had been given a day pass from jail to vote, would be the deciding man in the Assembly.
Her prediction was true. He was the deciding vote on 16 of the 17 contracts approved by the Assembly, all of which passed 48-47.
Peggy Krusick, a conservative Dem from Wauwatosa, voted against all but one of the contracts. Which makes me wonder: If Wood, who is a lame duck, had not been released from jail, would the Democrats have been able to pressure Krusick into voting with them?
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