Brown says he is “humbled and honored by the opportunity that he has in front of him.”
Gov. Scott Walker’s office recommended that a recent law school graduate with little experience be interviewed to direct the state’s consumer protection efforts, a division with 140 employees and an annual operating budget of $14.4 million.
Isthmus reported in February that Sheila Harsdorf, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), appointed Sean Brown to oversee the division of trade and consumer protection’s three bureaus — trade practices, consumer protection, and weights and measures. A May 2017 graduate of Marquette University Law School, Brown had worked less than a year as an attorney.
It was unclear how someone with no background in trade policy or consumer protection, and no experience supervising people or multi-million-dollar budgets, came to be interviewed for — or appointed to — the post, which pays $99,590 a year. Bill Cosh, the department’s communications director, told Isthmus in February that Brown “expressed interest in the job.”
But documents obtained through an open records request from the agriculture department show that Brown had one big feather in his cap: a recommendation from Gov. Walker’s office for the job.
In a Dec. 13, 2017, email, Jack Jablonski, deputy chief of staff to Walker, emailed Keeley Moll, deputy secretary of the agriculture department. The subject line was “resume” and Brown’s resume was attached. “Give me a call on this, as a follow up to our discussion yesterday,” Jablonski wrote. “I think you should reach out to him to talk about that position. Thanks. Jack.”
Jablonski has been Walker’s deputy chief of staff since December 2017. Before that he was the governor’s communications director; he also served as chief of staff to Harsdorf, when she was a state senator.
A spokesperson for Walker did not respond to questions about Brown’s relationship to Jablonski or Walker, or on Brown’s qualifications for the job.
According to the documents, Christine Stamm, executive staff assistant to Harsdorf, emailed Brown on Jan. 9, inviting him to interview for the division administrator position. Brown emailed back a few hours later and the next day Stamm confirmed an interview appointment. She offered complimentary parking in the visitor’s lot and also noted the building was “located high up on the hill” separate from two state lab buildings. Brown was instructed to bring one copy of his resume and contact information for three professional/business references.
On Jan. 26, Brown sent an enthusiastic email to Stamm: “First, I want to say thank you to not only you, but to the rest of the front office for having me in. I appreciated the opportunity to both learn about the position, and learn how to drive all the way to the top of the hill!”
Brown also asked if there was any update on the hiring process or if anything more was needed from him. None of the records provided indicate a response to these questions.
It appears that Harsdorf offered Brown the position in a phone call on Feb. 5. Brown wrote the secretary on Feb. 6: “First, I would like to say thank you for enduring what I like to think was the worst cell phone service moment of my entire day yesterday!” He expressed his “sincere gratitude” and accepted the offer. Because of the “three, choppy breaking up phone calls” he also asked to confirm the details of his salary, which he got correct, down to the penny: “$47.88/hr” or “$99,590.40 annually.”
DATCP executive staff believed that the governor’s office would initiate paperwork for the appointment, perhaps because Brown’s name had been forwarded by Walker’s deputy chief of staff. On Feb. 8, Stamm emailed Daniel Sievert, Walker’s appointments director. “Would you please send a copy of Sean Brown’s appointment letter for the Administrator position for the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection?” she wrote.
“We generally do not originate appointment letters for administrators,” Sievert responded. “Is this perhaps something that would be drafted by the Secretary? If not, I’ll take a look at my records.”
Harsdorf announced Brown’s appointment to division staff in a Feb. 12 email. Among other things, she noted he performed “General Counsel legal duties for the Division of Industry Services” within the Department of Safety and Professional Services, where he worked as an attorney shortly after graduating from law school. According to the department records, Brown was a limited term employee at the time. His salary was $30 an hour.
A source familiar with the Department of Safety and Professional Services, who requested anonymity, says the agency is a “testing ground for appointees for Walker. You’ve got either interns or children of someone — they just drop in and vet them here.”
The department was formed through Walker’s 2011-2012 budget, a result of merging the Department of Regulation and Licensing with the Department of Commerce.
In 2011, before the merger, Brian Deschane, then in his late-20s, was appointed administrator of environmental and regulatory services at the Department of Commerce, at an annual salary of $81,500. According to reporting by the Wisconsin State Journal, Deschane had been chosen over a former Department of Regulation and Licensing secretary to replace a 25-year veteran of state service.
Once it was reported that Deschane, the son of a prominent lobbyist and supporter of Walker, had no college degree, little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions, Walker sent him back to the Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Division administrator positions like the one Deschane held briefly, and what Brown now occupies, are political appointments. It is unclear whether the positions are ever advertised; Stacy Rolston, deputy administrator for the division of personnel management, did not return several phone calls asking for clarification.
According to Cosh, two other applicants “were considered” and interviewed for the division administrator position at DATCP. Cosh says that there are no documents related to how any of the applicants were evaluated. “The evaluation materials were their resumes and an oral interview.”
Adam Schrager, a reporter and anchor at WISC-TV, says that he was invited by the secretary’s office to interview for the post. He assumes it was because of the consumer protection-related stories he worked on with former division administrator Frank Frassetto and his predecessor. Eduardo Negron, director of school safety and security for Milwaukee Public Schools, also interviewed for the position. Negron declined to comment.
Cosh declined to respond specifically to questions about Brown’s qualifications for the job, emailing instead a statement: “Sean is an attorney with a strong background in mediation, negotiation and administrative rule experience. Sean has regulatory experience from his work at DSPS.”
Brown commented through Cosh: “Sean is humbled and honored by the opportunity that he has in front of him. He looks forward to continuing the great work we do for Wisconsin consumers and businesses.”
Rep. Cindi Duchow (R-Town of Delafield), chair of the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, declined through an aide to comment on Brown’s appointment. Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison), who is also on the committee, says she can’t remember an appointment “this outrageous,” but says it fits with the governing philosophy of the Walker administration. “They do not believe government should be in the business of regulating the marketplace, whether in consumer protection or anything else,” says Berceau. “It really is buyer beware. They just don’t believe that business should be regulated.”
Eileen Harrington, a former executive director of the Federal Trade Commission, worked in the field of consumer protection as an attorney and manager for more than 25 years. After retiring in 2012, she returned to her home state of Wisconsin.
Harrington calls Brown’s post the “key consumer protection position in the state of Wisconsin.” The administrator should have “considerable experience working in enforcement and in policy development in the consumer protection arena,” she says. “That person should be able to oversee and supervise other lawyers and paralegals in conducting investigations; in putting cases together to take to court to enforce the law. And [he] should also have a pretty solid grounding in regulatory development and policy in the area of trade practices.”
To Harrington, the hiring of Brown is another example of how far Wisconsin’s once-stellar reputation for consumer protection has fallen. Wisconsin is one of the very few states whose attorney general does not have responsibility for enforcing consumer protection law.
She says the news releases posted on DATCP’s website show just how little the agency focuses on consumer protection; a review of the 276 releases posted since June 16, 2016, finds just two that relate to enforcement actions — announcements on settlements involving billing and cancellation issues with DIRECTV on March 14, 2017, and Sprint on March 30, 2018. The other releases promote trainings and services for farmers and dairy producers, tips on cyber security and driver safety, among other things.
There was no news release announcing Brown’s new job.
Brown’s appointment, says Harrington, “is just the latest insult to Wisconsin citizens and consumers,” she says. “This state has completely sold out to business interests.”
