Oct. 16, 2002 Charges Against Chvala Could Change State Political Landscape By Melanie Fonder WisPolitics Correspondent Chuck Chvala A political bombshell dropped today when the state Senate's majority leader lost his battle to postpone involvement in a scandal that has been plaguing the state Capitol for more than a year. Chuck Chvala had sought to delay the filing of charges by alleging that Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann had a conflict of interest in the case, but a Dane County judge rejected that claim today. If Chvala is charged with serious crimes, it would be a boost to Republicans looking to re-gain control of the state Senate -- Dems currently hold an 18-15 majority. But Republicans fear that charges against Chvala could lead Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard to feel compelled to issue charges against Assembly Republicans. "It's a bombshell," said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin. "Now you have two Democratic state senators (in potential trouble)...it can't be helpful." State Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, was charged in June with 18 felony counts and is not seeking re-election. Chvala is not up for re-election until 2004. Republicans reacted with cautious optimism Wednesday over their chances of retaking the Senate in November. "This is huge," said one conservative operative. "I don't think it's going to be just Chuck Chvala," said one Democratic strategist. "I think this is going to be bipartisan. That could make it a wash." Senate Democratic sources talked privately about the likely scenarios, assuming Chvala would be charged with serious crimes. One source outlined two scenarios: Chvala would voluntarily step aside as majority leader within a few days of charges and Rod Moen, the assistant leader, would take over as interim leader. Or, Senate Democrats would quickly convene and elect a new leader. Sources said Sens. Russ Decker and Gary George were the most likely to go head-to-head at this point. Senate Democrats clearly were worried about having a leader under an ethical cloud this close to the election and said the best way to avoid potential damage was to make a quick change in leadership. As one Assembly Democrat said today, the telephone lines among the Senate Democrats have been hot all afternoon as the majority party leaders try to decide what to do. One top Democrat said if Chvala steps down, Decker will have the votes to be leader. ``Decker's got more than enough votes. We can keep the majority -- as long as we move in the next day or two,'' the Democrat said. Madison Democrat Dave Travis, a longtime member of the Assembly, said today he’s talked with several senators -- although not the man of the hour himself. “The senators are talking among themselves to determine what the best course of action would be,” Travis said. “There’s going to be an election for leadership in three weeks anyway. And so how do you handle this three-week interim?” Travis called it a “sad day in the Legislature,” adding he wished such revelations would have been brought out earlier and not just prior to the election. "That tars everyone." Several media reports indicate that charges against Chvala will be filed on Thursday, and Chvala himself began telling associates today he expects charges to be filed then as well. Chvala also is testing out his colleagues as to whether he could keep his leadership position, Dem sources say. Attorney General Jim Doyle, who is challenging GOP Gov. Scott McCallum, could benefit from his call for Chvala and Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Town of Brookfield, to step down from their leadership posts. But Ed Thompson, running as a Libertarian for governor, could also benefit from further scandal in Madison, several sources noted. Jensen and Chvala have long been rumored to be targets of the secret investigation, and Assistant Majority Leader Steve Foti, R-Oconomowoc, has also been mentioned. Heck, who attended the hearing Wednesday morning, said the fact that charges were ready to go in August but were delayed until now because Chvala's attorney was out of the country was surprising. The specific charges against Chvala were not released at the hearing, but it was revealed that Dane County District Court Judge Sarah O'Brien signed a probable cause order against Chvala on Monday. "The train has already left the station," Milwaukee Assistant District Attorney David Feiss told the court in reference to O'Brien's action earlier this week, according to WIBA-AM in Madison. Dane County Judge Paul Higginbotham, who ruled this morning against Chvala's request, made his decision from the bench and will not be in the office until Friday to sign the final written order. -- Jeff Mayers and Joanne Haas contributed to this report.