MADISON – Democratic candidate for governor Mandela Barnes is touting to voters an energy plan he said he “authored” — but Barnes had no role in writing the document.
The authors of the plan incorporated recommendations from a task force Barnes led while he was lieutenant governor, but Barnes did not write the plan as he claimed in posts on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Even so, Barnes has promoted the plan as his own work as he runs for governor.
“Happy Earth Day, Wisconsin! I proudly authored Wisconsin’s first-ever Clean Power Plan as chair of the Climate Change Task Force,” he wrote in an April 22 post on social media that was still up as of June 23. “No one will fight harder to protect Wisconsin’s public lands, combat the climate crisis, and preserve the natural beauty that makes our state so special.”
The plan Barnes refers to is the state’s 172-page Clean Energy Plan that was released in 2022. It was written by the Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, Great Plains Institute, and Slipstream, Inc., according to the published plan.
The plan is aimed at promoting energy independence, lowering fuel prices, and reducing the harmful effects of global warming. It identifies dozens of strategies meant to reduce Wisconsin’s reliance on out-of-state energy sources, and at the same time, create thousands of jobs in new industries and technologies.
One of the goals is to have 100% carbon-free electricity in Wisconsin by 2050.
Plan acknowledgments cite state office, nonprofits, consultants
In the plan’s acknowledgements, the writers say it was prepared by the Wisconsin Department ofAdministration and the Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, which was created by an executive order by Gov. Tony Evers after the recommendation to do so by Barnes’ climate task force.
The writers say Great Plains Institute staff contributed “facilitation, analysis, resources, and insight throughout the development of Wisconsin’s (clean energy plan).” The group also thanks Slipstream, Inc. for “leadership in coordinating the technical analysis and modeling for the (plan), and the multiple organizations providing technical expertise ensuring timely analysis, ideas, and modeling to support key pathways and strategies.”
And the Digital Media Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is mentioned for being responsible for the design and layout of the plan.
Barnes is not mentioned as an author but the plan’s writers wrote they took into consideration recommendations from Barnes’ task force, among other groups.
Evers’ office notes plan was written by state office
When asked about Barnes’ post claiming to have written the plan, a spokesman for Barnes said May 1 that the former lieutenant governor “was speaking to his work authoring the Climate Change Report, which formed the foundation of Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Plan.”
“No one in this race has done more to lower energy costs for Wisconsin families while building a cleaner economy for our state, and as Governor, Mandela Barnes will build on that record by freezing utility rates and taking on the utility monopolies that have been ripping Wisconsinites off for too long,” Barnes spokesman Cole Wozniak said.
Wozniak then said June 26 the social media post was made “by a member of our campaign staff, not Mandela.”
When asked whether the task force report formed the foundation of the state plan, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said “Wisconsin’s first-ever Clean Energy Plan was authored by the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy.”
“The governor specifically charged the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy with authoring the Clean Energy Plan, pursuant to the executive order that originally created the office in state government,” Cudaback said.
“As one would imagine, the governor’s Task Force on Climate Change and the report of their findings released in 2020 did discuss the importance of clean energy as a strategy for mitigating climate change and made some recommendations for the state to help support clean energy development moving forward,” she said.
“The Clean Energy Plan, however, which was not released until 2022, is what specifically laid out key clean energy goals for Wisconsin and outlined the specific strategy and policy recommendations for how to achieve those goals.”
Campaign points to Barnes’ climate group
Barnes’ campaign also cited Barnes’ work creating Forward Together Wisconsin, a group the campaign characterized as being founded “to lead implementation of President Biden’s historic climate law in Wisconsin, delivering over $1 million directly to low and middle-income families for energy-efficient home improvements.”
When asked how the group led implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in Wisconsin, which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2022, Wozniak said the group helped homeowners take advantage of federal clean energy tax credits created by the law.
“Through that work, in partnership with organizations like Green Homeowners United, the organization directed over $1 million in public funding to make energy efficiency improvements to low income homes in WI, created good paying union jobs and lowered energy costs,” Wozniak said.
Wozniak said the group helped local government officials “to utilize federal funding to transition to solar energy and reduce utility costs” and led a door-knocking education campaign.
When asked to confirm Barnes’ group led implementation of the law, Cudaback said, “As with any law passed by the federal government, the state is responsible for implementing the law.”
“We can’t speak to the former lieutenant governor’s role or participation with the Forward Together Wisconsin organization, as I understand the organization was created in 2023, which would have been after his time in public service concluded.”
Wozniak said he meant to say the group supported the implementation.
Climate policy central to Barnes’ campaign
Evers tapped Barnes to lead the governor’s climate change task force in 2019. The group met from December 2019 until October 2020, when Barnes delivered 55 recommendations to Evers through the 120-page report from the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change.
Barnes has made addressing climate change and energy regulation a key mission of his work as a policymaker and a large focus of his campaign for governor. When Barnes was a member of the state Assembly, he received the Conservation Champion recognition from the League of Conservation Voters each of the five years he was in office, according to his campaign.
He founded his climate-focused group after leaving office in 2023 and has focused much of his current campaign messaging in recent months on lowering utility rates.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Guv hopeful Mandela Barnes says he ‘authored’ a climate plan. He didn’t write it.
Reporting by Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
