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Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust

Website:

wisact.org/
Type:

Political Communication Group
Formation:

2023
Co-Founders:

Scott McCallum and David Haynes

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The Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust (WisACT) is a nonprofit dedicated to reducing political polarization in Wisconsin. The organization was co-founded by former Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum (R) and former journalist David Haynes.

WisACT is financially supported by The Carter Center.

Background

The Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust was founded in October 2023 1 but was announced formally on April 30, 2024, at a press conference in Milwaukee. The organization described itself as an attempt to “build bridges across the political spectrum to prevent the erosion of public trust and the rise of political violence.” 2 3 On co-founder David Haynes’s LinkedIn page, WisACT is described as an organization dedicated to “[reducing] the risk of political and identity-based violence and intimidation.” 4

WisACT claims that a “small minority” in Wisconsin “profit[s] from division” and weakening democratic institutions. 5

Activity

The Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust has been holding meetings since at least April 30, 2024. The only event listed on WisACT’s website as of June 2024 was a Zoom meeting held on May 29, 2024: the WisACT Kickoff Network Meeting. WisACT stated that it intended to host monthly meetings. 6 7

WisACT’s aims to provide training in media literacy and conflict resolution, as well as various informational webinars on political polarization. 8 WisACT also intends to train individuals in rapid response to misinformation in the media and threats of political violence. 9 10

WisACT’s website links to dozens of Wisconsin-based organizations devoted to non-partisan political communication, including Braver Angels, Living Room Conversations, Peace and Reconciliation Studies, and the Episcopal Church Sacred Ground Dialogue Training Group. 11

Leadership

Former Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum (R) is a co-founder and “Republican Co-lead” of the Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. 12 McCallum currently runs the McCallum Group, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm. He sits on the boards of the Institute for Sustainable Development, ResponseNet, the Alliance for Innovation, and the Helen Bader Institute of Nonprofit Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM). Earlier, McCallum was a faculty member at UWM and chief executive officer of the Aidmatrix Foundation, a nonprofit that matches charitable corporate donations. McCallum was governor from 2001 to 2003, lieutenant governor from 1987 to 2001, and a Wisconsin state Senator from 1977 to 1987. In the state senate, McCallum was a part of the New Republican Conference, a coalition of fiscally conservative but socially liberal Republicans. 13 14 15 16

David Haynes is a former journalist and the co-founder and “Democratic Co-lead” of WisACT. 17 He worked at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for almost 29 years covering politics, education, and business. In 2017, he created the Ideas Lab at the Journal Sentinel to replace the paper’s opinion pages. Haynes is a member of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. 18

Haynes has historically expressed support for non-partisan solutions to political polarization. In 2018, Haynes expressed opposition to newspapers endorsing political candidates: “I have served on opinion boards since 2006 and never bought the idea that newspapers had any great wisdom to impart in elections. And certainly didn’t buy the idea that anyone listened. The 2016 presidential election is proof enough of that.” 19

Later in the year, Haynes wrote approvingly of numerous organizations like CivilPolitics and the Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion that were “getting Republicans, Democrats and independents to sit down and listen to one another respectfully.” 20

In his farewell column at the Journal Sentinel, Haynes wrote that “journalism in Wisconsin and elsewhere faces an existential threat” due to steeply declining ad revenues, and “the consequences for democracy are worrisome.” Haynes urged more readers to buy subscriptions and for readers to donate to worthy media outlets. 21

WisACT’s steering committee includes Republican Party of Wisconsin secretary David Anderson, Wisconsin Conservation Voters civic engagement director Anjali Bhasin, former Republican state senate majority leader Mary Panzer (R-WI), and former U.S. Representative Tom Petri (R-WI). 22

WisACT’s honorary chairs consist of three former Wisconsin Supreme Court justices and former Governor Martin Schreiber (D). 23

Funding

The Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust was launched with funding from The Carter Center, a global election watchdog group founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The Carter Center launched similar organizations in five other states: Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Michigan. 24

References

  1. “David Haynes.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-d-haynes/.
  2. Lueders, Bill. “The Perils of ‘Cross-Partisanship’.” The Bulwark. May 14, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/perils-cross-partisanship-wisconsin-trump-lies.
  3. Hess, Corrine. “Former Wisconsin governor, journalist team up to promote election trust.” Wisconsin Public Radio. May 8, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.wpr.org/news/scott-mccallum-david-haynes-election-trust-democracy-wisact.
  4. “David Haynes.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-d-haynes/.
  5. “Sorry, wasn’t sure this went through.” Document Cloud. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24656045/wisact-newsletter.pdf.
  6. “Events.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/events/.
  7. “Sorry, wasn’t sure this went through.” Document Cloud. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24656045/wisact-newsletter.pdf.
  8. “Join.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/join/.
  9. Lueders, Bill. “The Perils of ‘Cross-Partisanship’.” The Bulwark. May 14, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/perils-cross-partisanship-wisconsin-trump-lies.
  10. “Sorry, wasn’t sure this went through.” Document Cloud. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24656045/wisact-newsletter.pdf.
  11. “Resources.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/resources/.
  12. “Senior Advisors.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/about/#.
  13. “SCOTT MCCALLUM: Former Governor of Wisconsin.” Institute for Sustainable Development. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.isdus.org/scott-mccallum.
  14. “THE MCCALLUM GROUP, LLC.” State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://apps.dfi.wi.gov/apps/CorpSearch/Details.aspx?entityID=M061814&hash=1462994381&searchFunctionID=a5899739-6161-4e41-b45d-758822b9daa5&type=Simple&q=McCallum.
  15. Hess, Corrine. “Former Wisconsin governor, journalist team up to promote election trust.” Wisconsin Public Radio. May 8, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.wpr.org/news/scott-mccallum-david-haynes-election-trust-democracy-wisact.
  16.  “WISCONSIN TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE-REPUBLICAN PARTY CONNECTIONS.” WisTax Watch. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20100805050410/http://rightwingwisconsinwatch.org/wistax_resources/wistax_resources_gopconnections.
  17. “Senior Advisors.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/about/#.
  18. “David Haynes.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-d-haynes/.
  19. Edmonds, Rick. “To endorse or not? That is the editorial board’s agonizing question.” Poynter. October 26, 2018. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2018/to-endorse-or-not-that-is-the-editorial-boards-agonizing-question/.
  20. Haynes, David D. “Bridging the red and blue divide: Despite the rhetoric, it can still be done. Here’s how.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 15, 2018. Updated November 21, 2018. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/david-haynes/2018/11/15/smart-tactics-helping-bridge-americas-red-and-blue-divide/2008065002/.
  21. Haynes, David D. “It’s been a privilege to serve Wisconsin journalism. You are the key to its future.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. December 15, 2022. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/12/15/its-been-a-privilege-to-serve-wisconsin-journalism-you-are-the-key/69701543007/.
  22. “Steering Committee.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/steering-committee/.
  23. “Honorary Charis.” Wisconsin Alliance for Civic Trust. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://wisact.org/honorary-chairs/.
  24. Hess, Corrine. “Former Wisconsin governor, journalist team up to promote election trust.” Wisconsin Public Radio. May 8, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www.wpr.org/news/scott-mccallum-david-haynes-election-trust-democracy-wisact.
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