McReynolds second job on the taxpayer's dime

Donovan Riley might not be the only candidate out there that was dumb enough to run for office with something in his past that could result in criminal charges. Racine County Executive William McReynolds might find himself facing a court battle before his campaign for the 21st State Senate District is over.

McReynolds' set up a company specifically to sell products to Racine County while he was Racine County Sheriff and continued to operate the business while he was Racine County Executive. For the first couple of years, McReynolds kept the orders smaller, most likely because he knew he had to keep them under $1,000 to be safe.

He got close to $1,000 with the first order to his company. The next couple of orders are much smaller. Why does the $1,000 figure matter so much? Anything over $1,000 triggers a competitive bid process. But then McReynolds got lazy and two orders went through that were over the $1,000 mark. Those two orders could be what sends McReynolds to court rather than the Wisconsin State Senate.

His actions have caught the eye of the local newspaper. The Racine Journal Times Editorial Board recently wrote:

But we can't believe that McReynolds doesn't see the inherent conflict over the situation that set up. No county employee - and that includes a patrol captain - should be placed in the position of having to decide on a contract knowing that the firm making the pitch is co-owned by his superior.

That is both unfair and inappropriate and we are stunned that McReynolds doesn't see it that way.

We have no problems with McReynolds setting up a business venture; he has every right to do so. But it would seem to us the first directive he would have given to his partners in such a venture would be "Don't make a sales call on Racine County."

His actions might also catch the eye of a prosecutor since both Racine County and our state have laws designed to keep this exact situation from happening.

Progressive Majority Wisconsin has more details on the transactions and the company here.