Speaker Should Have Known Better
Wisconsin State Journal
February 2, 2010
Dating a payday loan lobbyist in his personal time while addressing the issue of industry regulation in his job as Wisconsin Assembly Speaker was a "stupid" decision by state lawmaker Mike Sheridan, according to the editors of the Wisconsin State Journal. The Democratic politician insists that his public and private lives exist separate from each other, yet critics cannot help but observe that he has back-pedaled from a regulatory crackdown on payday lending since striking up a romantic relationship with Shanna Wycoff . She -- as a lobbyist on the payroll of Axcess Financial of Cincinnati, which operates the Check 'n Go franchise -- and other industry lobbyists are rallying hard against a proposed limit on what payday outlets can charge borrowers in Wisconsin, where fast-cash providers have spread rapidly. While legislators are not legally prohibited from dating lobbyists -- as long as the lawmaker does not accept anything of monetary value -- the Journal says Sheridan should have known that the public would view his dalliance with Wycoff as a conflict of interest.
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