Representative Shannon Zimmerman resolves Democrats’ latest allegation | New

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MADISON State Representative Shannon Zimmermans at R-River Falls did not report an $ 800,000 vacation property in Florida, the Wisconsin Ethics Commission recently asked her to change the reporting for. three years.

Zimmerman did not include an interest in a Fort Myers, Florida property after the company, Southern Latitude Retreat LLC, was incorporated in 2018.

State law requires government officials to annually declare businesses and real estate on a Declaration of Economic Interest.

St. Croix County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Myers filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission in January alleging that Zimmerman filed the property information with the Florida Secretary of State in 2019 and 2020. However, Zimmerman had not reported the same information about SEIs that he did. filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

At the May 11 committee meeting, Zimmerman changed his UTE forms for 2019-21 and said they would look to make the form clearer to follow.

(L) the Ethics Commission voted to exercise its prosecutorial discretion; request Representative Zimmerman to amend its 2019, 2020 and 2021 SEIs to include Southern Latitude Retreat, LLC and any partners, officers or directors; and since UTE’s instructions could be clearer on this point, take no further action on the complaint provided the changes have been made as requested.

Representative Zimmerman has now changed his UTEs as requested, and the complaint has been dismissed, Commission staff attorney David Burger wrote to Myers on June 16.

On Thursday, Zimmerman said he previously reported the property to his UTEs but not the LLC.

It was a property jointly owned with my brother that I sold (my interest in it) and I have since acquired a new one, Zimmerman said.

He also stated that he never received $ 1 in rental income from the subject property. When asked about the posts on the vacation properties Facebook page from alleged clients, Zimmerman said he does not operate that page and that he believes the posts may have been an attempt by his brother to generate business for the property.

My brother stays there all winter. Only my brother and (other family members) stay there, so it doesn’t generate any income for me, he said.

Zimmerman said he reported the property to the commission who did not sanction him for not reporting the LLC.

If I had done something wrong, the ethics commission would have done something, he said.

The new Florida property will not be operated as a commercial enterprise, he said.

He only called the complaint to Democrats in St. Croix County who were investigated and discovered there was nothing. They try to find any reason to try to do something (I do) and try to make it bad.

Zimmerman may have been referring to a complaint filed by a Clifton Town man and others alleging that Zimmerman did not actually live in River Falls. Instead, neighbors to the River Falls and town properties alleged that his primary residence was in fact in the nearby town of Clifton, which is outside of his 30th Assembly District.

By a 4-2 vote, the election commission earlier this year ruled that there was no reasonable suspicion that Zimmerman did not live in the district he represents and dismissed the complaint.

Myer reacted to the rejection of his complaint by the Ethics Commission by saying that Zimmerman has the advantage of owning assets that he does not recognize until after an election.

He also claims he’s creating jobs and investing in Wisconsin, but we don’t learn until after an investigation that he’s investing in out-of-state properties and not reporting them properly, Myers said.

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