DE PERE, WI… State Senator André Jacque (R-De Pere) released the following statement today in response to the settlement of the Green Bay City Hall snooping case against Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich’s administration.
“This is a landmark win for protecting our civil liberties, and exactly what we demanded from the very beginning: a guarantee from Mayor Genrich that he will no longer spy on his citizens.
We have two court orders—one from a liberal state judge ordering the listening devices removed, and another from a federal court—that make clear that what the City did here violated state law and the Constitution. Those opinions will further stop would-be future violators—including the Mayor—from pulling this nonsense again.
I continue to believe it critical to fight for the rights of my constituents and to hold Mayor Genrich accountable for spying on private conversations at City Hall in violation of what the court has held is clearly established state and federal law.
Had the Mayor simply admitted he made a mistake, immediately removed the listening devices, and stopped trying to egregiously invade citizens’ privacy when I first asked him in February 2023, 18 months of costly litigation would not have been necessary. Instead, his unwillingness to agree to these terms earlier and his subsequent legal maneuverings have now cost the City and its taxpayers over a half million dollars in legal fees and settlements. In fact, the cost to taxpayers would have been higher had we not chosen protection of civil liberties over a higher payout from the City: the City’s attorney offered us a higher settlement amount if we would have accepted a weaker statement opening the door for Mayor Genrich to pursue unilateral action regarding citizen surveillance.
I’m pleased to have finally settled the case, which unquestionably creates historic precedent to prevent government spying from ever happening again.”
While a criminal investigation of the Mayor’s actions remains ongoing, the civil lawsuit lodged by the Wisconsin State Senate and Sen. Jacque in his official capacity will now be settled with a declaration by Mayor Genrich and the Green Bay City Council that they will not reinstitute the unconstitutional surveillance scheme and pay the State Senate $200,000.
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