Rebel with a Cause

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How do you run a successful campaign to become president of the State Bar of Wisconsin?

For attorney Douglas W. Kammer, it meant entering the race late, avoiding public appearances and campaigning on one issue.

The issue? That Wisconsin should have a voluntary bar and 1,871 attorneys supported Kammer.

“Almost 2,000 people said they don’t want to be forced to be part of the bar and that was the only thing I campaigned on,” said Kammer.

The Portage plaintiff’s attorney edged State Bar-selected candidates Kenneth A. Knudson of Superior (1,764 votes) and Thomas W. Bertz of Stevens Point (1,646).

Whether Kammer will be able to convince more than the 35 percent of voters who elected him to publicly support his initiative remains to be seen.

The mandatory State Bar survived a similar challenge when attorney Steven A. Levine was elected in 2005. In addition to promoting a voluntary bar, Levine also promoted elimination of diploma privilege and increased representation of State Bar members who live and work outside of Wisconsin.

Unlike Levine, Kammer is solely focused on abolition of the mandatory bar. He hopes the narrowness of his initiative will prompt more attorneys to voice their support, especially since more than 15,000 did not cast ballots in the election.

“Either they didn’t want to rock the boat, or they are so dissatisfied with the bar they didn’t even want to check a box,” said Kammer. “That’s the problem though. If people were not even willing to open an envelope and put an ‘X’ in a box, I don’t know if they will speak up.”

No Specific Plan

Kammer said he does not have a specific plan on how to overcome the issues Levine faced on the Board of Governors, but he will be “flexible and resourceful” in his efforts to recruit attorneys to publicly endorse a voluntary bar.

He also hopes the Supreme Court will be receptive to the change.

“The court could sure use 20,000 allies and not 20,000 adversaries when running for re-election,” said Kammer.

Levine, whose term on the board expires on July 1, said Kammer may have a slightly better chance at promoting change, but he is still only one vote.

Combining forces and petitioning the court on the grounds that two of the last four president-elects have favored a voluntary bar is also a potential avenue, according to Levine.

Long term, Levine said supporters could form their own party and elect members to the Board of Governors.

“We could get really serious about this and organize a voluntary State Bar party,” said Levine.

If anything, Kammer hopes the Board of Governors will consider a referendum on State Bar membership policies, something which Levine did not accomplish during his term.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask an organization to find out what members think of that organization,” said Kammer.

‘One Trick Pony’

Current State Bar President Thomas J. Basting, Sr., criticized Kammer for his narrow focus.

“He apparently could care less about what the bar does for the court or the members of the bar and the public,” said Basting. “He’s a one-trick pony, and fortunately it is the Board of Governors who will dictate the policies of the bar, not Mr. Kammer.”

Bertz, who favors a mandatory bar and is a member of both the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee, said the composition of both is similar to when Levine presented the idea.

The initiative garnered little momentum among board members during Levine’s term, but Bertz did not know how it might be received, if and when Kammer presents a plan.

Kammer said one alternative to a voluntary State Bar, is to reduce bar dues to zero.

“If people want to continue bar programs, they should be the ones to pay for them, not everybody,” said Kammer.

Election Standards

One change Basting hopes the State Bar might make soon is how it conducts elections, given this year’s split results. Even though only 225 votes separated the first and third place candidates, Basting said Kammer’s win furthered a disturbing trend in State Bar elections.

Kammer, a petition candidate and self-described “rebel” because he favors change, won with only 35 percent of the vote, much the same way Levine did in 2005.

“Sixty-five percent of the voters did not want Mr. Kammer elected as president,” said Basting. “The process, in my opinion, is flawed.”

Basting suggested the State Bar adopt a “run-off election” whenever there are three or more candidates. Choosing between the two highest vote getters would assure a president would be elected by more than 50 percent of the vote.

According to Lisa M. Roys, Public Affairs Director for the State Bar, elections revisions could involve an “instant run-off” where voters rank their choices on one ballot.

Roys said that theoretically, if there were three candidates on the ballot, the one with the lowest vote total would be eliminated. Then the remaining votes would be redistributed between the two remaining candidates, depending on where voters ranked them.

There would be no additional costs for that process.

Basting was also disappointed with this year’s outcome, given that both Bertz and Knudson have played active roles in the State Bar for years. Kammer admitted that he did not write one speech or make one public appearance during the race to solicit votes.

“I don’t have anything to do with the State Bar, because I believe it has nothing to offer members,” said Kammer, who begins his term as president-elect on July 1.