Press Release: Walker Announces Cabinet

MADISON -- Today Governor-elect Scott Walker announced the leadership team that will help achieve the goal of ensuring Wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs by 2015.

"I am excited that these top-notch individuals have agreed to serve the state of Wisconsin as members of my cabinet," said Walker. "This diverse group will join me in public service to help reshape government so that our state can efficiently provide the basic level of core government services taxpayers expect and deserve."

Secretary of the Department of Administration Mike Huebsch has been the State Representative for the 94th Assembly District since 1994, serving as the speaker of the assembly and sitting on the Joint Committee on Finance for a portion of his tenure.

Secretary of the Department of Commerce Paul Jadin served as the president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and the mayor of Green Bay.

Secretary of the Department of Health Services Dennis Smith served as the head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under Secretaries Thompson and Leavitt and as a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources Cathy Stepp served on the Natural Resources Board, as the State Senator representing the 21st District, and as co-chair of the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee. She has also has been employed as a vice president at Magnum Truck and Equipment, Inc., worked with the Wisconsin Builders' Association, National Association of Home Builders and numerous other local builders' associations. Stepp is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying Wisconsin's snowmobile trails each winter and hunting turkeys.

Secretary of the Department of Transportation Mark Gottlieb served as an alderman in the city of Port Washington from 1991 to 1997 and as mayor of Port Washington from 1997 to 2003. Before that he worked as a civil engineer for 20 years prior to his election to the assembly. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Wisconsin.

Secretary of the Department of Revenue Rick Chandler owned his own company, served as the secretary of DOR from 2001-03 and Wisconsin state budget director from 1987-2001.

Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Ben Brancel is a fifth-generation farmer, was the Wisconsin director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, and served in the Wisconsin Assembly, as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, speaker of the Assembly, and as the secretary of DACTP under Governor Tommy Thompson.

Secretary of the Department of Children and Families Eloise Anderson served as the director of the California Department of Social Services, Wisconsin administrator of the Division of Community Services, and as an assistant to the county executive of Dane County. She also previously worked at Northcott Neighborhood House, a community organization, in Milwaukee.

Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development Manuel "Manny" Perez has experience as an income maintenance worker, EOC investigator / mediator, affirmative action officer, director of IT, VP of operations and COO, North America product manager for Manpower Managed Services, and for the past three years president/co-owner of a staffing firm.

Secretary of the Department of Corrections Gary Hamblin served as a professional law enforcement officer for 39 years starting by serving for the Sawyer Co Sheriff's Dept, the Dane County Sheriff from 1997 to 2006, and as administrator of the Division of Law Enforcement Services with the state Department of Justice under Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions Peter Bildsten grew up in Baraboo and is a 30-year veteran of the Wisconsin financial services industry, serving as Chairman and CEO of First National Bank and Trust Company of Baraboo for six years before leading a successful merger with Wells Fargo Bank in 2002. He also served as Wells Fargo's District President for the Greater Madison area, worked for the Summit Credit Union, spent eight years in senior lending positions with North Shore Bank and Bank Mutual. Additionally Bildsten spent ten years in the private mortgage insurance industry and seven years with Verex Assurance in Madison. In 2009, Bildsten was brought in as CEO of Maritime Savings Bank to help the troubled institution get recapitalized or merge with another institution. He's been working on Maritime's merger with North Shore Bank since September of this year.

Secretary of the Department of Tourism Stephanie Klett is the Emmy Award-winning host of the Discover Wisconsin television and radio series which promotes tourism all across Wisconsin, and managing director of the Discover Wisconsin Media Network.

Secretary of the Department of Regulation and Licensing Dave Ross is a lifelong Wisconsin resident who owned his own business for 20 years before being elected mayor of Superior.

Executive Director of WHEDA Wyman Wynston is a community economic development, redevelopment executive who is a tax increment financing and new market tax credit expert that has 14 years of senior management experience at WHEDA. He is currently a senior commercial TAD manager in the Atlanta Development Authority.

The filing deadline has now passed, and the candidates are ...

Bruce Hagen
Kevin Peterson 
Don Raihala
Gilbert Davidson

Matt Osterlund will have to wait until 2015.