Frederica Freyberg:
But first, embattled Chippewa Falls Assemblyman Jeff Wood.

Jeff Wood:
A lot of people seeing that videotape, of me stumbling around, I agree I looked horrible. I have absolutely no recollection of that whatsoever.

Frederica Freyberg:
Rep. Woods' future is on the line after one drunk driving and two driving under the influence arrests in a one-year period leave his job in the balance. He's contesting the DUI charges including the arrest caught on the squad car camera, having been given prescription medications while in alcohol treatment. Now a special committee on ethics and standard of conduct heard from Wood on Wednesday. A vote whether to expel Wood from the Assembly or take lesser action is still pending. Whitewater Republican Steve Nass is not a committee member, but has led the charge to expel Rep. Wood. Thank you for being here. I want to ask you, why do you want so ardently to expel Rep. Wood?

Steve Nass:
I think that the public expects a particular standard of conduct should be in place regarding behavior and conduct of legislators. They don't expect that legislators will repeatedly engage in reckless behavior such as Rep. Wood has done, drunk driving five times, being arrested while driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Frederica Freyberg:
We should point out, I failed to mention, that Rep. Wood had agreed to appear on our program and then at the last moment canceled. I'll continue then, he is contesting the DUI charges linking them to prescription medication, but you don't believe that this should go through the courts before, you know, expelling him, why not?

Steve Nass:
The Legislature is a legislative body. It's not a courtroom. Thereby, we set the standards. When the founders of this state constitution assembled the constitution, they left it open that some day, some time, legislators may have to expel one of their members. It doesn't have to be in a courtroom, it has to be in that legislative body, and that is the state Assembly. And I think the time has come for my colleagues to consider this expulsion. It is very serious. And the public certainly, I believe, thinks that five times driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs a very serious matter and should be dealt with expulsion.

Frederica Freyberg:
This is before the Legislature, before that special committee on ethics and conduct. He testified there before that panel, let's take a listen to what he said.

Jeff Wood:
My mind, I believe, is clearer than it's ever been in a decade, and I believe that I can represent my constituents well. It's not to take back from the disappointment that they've had in me. There's nothing I can do to change that. What I can do is I can set an example of how you overcome your obstacles instead of letting them defeat you. What I can do is make sure that I understand the issues that are before this house for the rest of this session, which I think most of my colleagues know that I do pay pretty close attention to policy, take my vote seriously and I can represent my constituents well. If I'm removed from office, whether it's by expulsion, resignation at this point, or recall, my constituents would likely have no representation until the end of the term. They have spoken that's not what they want. That's not what I believe is best for anybody. And despite the disappointment and embarrassment that I might have caused and have caused and regrets that I have for putting people in danger, I don't believe that's the right solution.

Frederica Freyberg:
What's your response to that?

Steve Nass:
We don't know if that is the case going forward. Rep. Wood just last December after we voted on the drunk driving bill skipped out on a vote and went off to his office and wanted to avoid any discussion at all with the press. As far as not being represented, that happens. Someone could move out, die in office, there are staff in that building in that legislative office that would continue to deal with issues.

Frederica Freyberg:
Wood's attorney says that "a failure to adhere to any standard of moral behavior unrelated to his duties as a lawmaker is not grounds for expulsion."

Steve Nass:
That's ridiculous. By that standard, any legislator could do anything they want whether it is lawful or not outside the building, it would be OK. That is ridiculous. There is a standard that is in the constitution, and we in the state Assembly need to uphold that standard.

Frederica Freyberg:
Why shouldn't we be a more compassionate state and help this man address his substance abuse instead of casting him out?

Steve Nass:
That help can come after he is out. He's tried repeatedly to get help over the years. It has failed.
We don't know if that will be successful or if he will drop back to where he is now. If he resigns or is expelled, he can get that help. We do have compassion and care here in the state of
Wisconsin. He doesn't have to be in the state Assembly. We don't have to gamble with the future.
Thank God nobody was killed.

Frederica Freyberg:
Let me take another listen to Rep. Jeff Wood as he spoke before the panel.

Jeff Wood:
As much as I regret the danger I put people in on the highways and the embarrassment I caused the constituents, I don't regret what happened, because I believe that's what it was going to take to get me sober. In the long run, that's more important.

Frederica Freyberg:
Potentially, he's clean now for good. Let me move on to another thing. Rep. Wood brought up some 30 former lawmakers accused of crimes and misdemeanors who were not likewise going through this process of expulsion. Why set the precedent with him?

Steve Nass:
Historically what he's arguing is that no legislator has been expelled for some of their problems including drunk driving. There's a distinct difference. Should there have been? Perhaps. All of the legislators that he identified there had not been the repeated reckless behavior.

Frederica Freyberg:
It's interesting you should say that, because I went through his resolution and one of the representatives named in 1994 did have this repeated pattern. And it's on the circuit court access site. There are multiple. The same action not taken against him.

Steve Nass:
We can discuss at some point, that is history, whether that should have been done at that time, perhaps that should have been. That's not a reason that we should simply skip by and never do it again. Using that rationale, the legislator should never, ever now or 100 years from, now expel anybody. We need to set the standard right now of behavior and conduct. We need to set that and establish it for generations of legislators to come. If there's a failure to have done that, that's unfortunate, but let us begin now.

Frederica Freyberg:
Thank you for joining us.

Steve Nass:
You're welcome.