Evers Goes Organic

On the campaign trail Gov. Tony Evers vowed to eliminate the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), a public-private partnership that provides economic assistance to help businesses keep and grow jobs in Wisconsin. After the election, Evers said he’d defund the agency in his first budget.Well, he didn’t, and the full flop must have made the governor dizzy. Instead of eliminating the agency he called inefficient and ineffective, Evers has replaced WEDC’s chief executive, a man who spent 40 years as banking executive, with, wait for it …. A lawyer for an organic farming cooperative.

Missy Hughes, chief mission officer and general counsel for Organic Valley/CROPP cooperative, will serve as the next secretary and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.Hughes earlier ticked off the Organic Consumer Association when she lobbied Congress to override state laws requiring companies to label food containing genetically modified ingredients.That move earned her the scorn of liberal groups like Food Democracy Now!, Center for Food Safety, and Food & Water Watch.

No word on whether Hughes backs Evers’ plan to raise taxes on farmers and manufacturers by capping the state’s manufacturing and agriculture tax credit, but we do.The credit has led to the creation of at least 42,000 jobs in Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study.