Epic expansion contractor withdraws from WMC; J.P. Cullen & Son’s CEO resigned from the business group’s board
Wisconsin State Journal, June 28, 2008
By Mark Pitsch
The contractor for Epic Systems Corp.'s $200 million expansion in Verona has withdrawn its membership in the state's largest business lobby, and the company's leader has resigned from the business group's board of directors.
The June 9 decision by David Cullen, chief executive officer of J.P. Cullen & Sons., of Janesville, to withdraw from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce came after Epic decided to work only with vendors who don't support the business lobby.
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now this year launched WMC Watch, which monitors the business lobby's political activities and seeks to show the financial impact on the state of the policies WMC supports such as tax cuts for corporations and environmental deregulation.
Cullen wouldn't address questions about whether his resignation from WMC's board was related to Epic's decision. Epic officials also wouldn't comment.
But James Buchen, vice president of government relations for WMC, said he believes Cullen and his company wouldn't have pulled out of WMC if the contractor hadn't been working for Epic. He said the lobbying group will continue its political activities, including spending up to $1 million on unregulated political ads in state legislative races this fall.
"There clearly is an organized campaign to go after our board, but the board at the last meeting unanimously reaffirmed the fact that the organization should be committed to speaking out on policy and politics as it affects the business community," Buchen said.
"Given their enormous influence and the cost of their corporate agenda to the people of Wisconsin, it's essential this information finds the light of day," said Scot Ross, executive director of OWN.
No companies doing business with Epic other than Cullen have resigned from the business lobby, he said.
In a June 9 letter to WMC, Cullen said "corporate restructuring and analysis" required him to step down from the WMC board and to withdraw his company from the group.
Cullen, a frequent contributor to political campaigns, mostly to Republicans, added he still sup-ports "the ideals of the organization to promote a healthy business climate for Wisconsin" and that he will continue to "advocate for sensible public policies that will benefit both the businesses and people in our great state."
The company had more than $112 million in revenue last year, according to the Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee.
In a statement this week, Epic officials said they decided to work only with companies that don't support WMC after the business group spent about $1.8 million on unregulated political ads in support of Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman. Gableman, a Burnett County judge who ran as a law-and-order conservative, won a narrow election over Justice Louis Butler, who was appointed in 2004 by Gov. Jim Doyle.
The company made the decision about a month ago, before Cullen's letter to WMC, Epic said.
Epic, which had more than $500 million in revenue last year, issued another statement Friday, saying that the decision was made by a diverse group of people with varying political viewpoints.
"The outcome of the election was never the issue," the statement said. "The issue was the process, which lacked integrity. This is an ethical decision, not a political decision."
Liberal criticism
Epic's decision not to work with supporters of WMC comes as liberal groups have stepped up their criticism of the business lobby over its political activities, which include repeated calls for lower taxes and unregulated ads for conservative candidates like Gableman.
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now this year launched WMC Watch, which monitors the business lobby's political activities and seeks to show the financial impact on the state of the policies WMC supports such as tax cuts for corporations and environmental deregulation.
"Given their enormous influence and the cost of their corporate agenda to the people of Wisconsin, it's essential this information finds the light of day," said Scot Ross, executive director of OWN.
Paul Soglin, a consultant and Madison's former mayor who also worked at Epic for four years, has been trying to get businesses to withdraw from WMC. He said he met with Cullen in recent months to discuss that possibility for J.P. Cullen.
"Epic did not coerce or bully Cullen out of WMC," Soglin said. "Cullen was ready to jump. What Epic did was highlight the issue. My guess is there's a lot of other companies ready to do the same thing."
