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Walker dismisses questions about emails

By Kay Nolan,  May 29, 2012

MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker dismissed questions today about alleged bid rigging during his time as Milwaukee County exec because “no one won the bid” in the end.

Walker’s appearance at HUSCO International in Waukesha came on the heels of a report that the ongoing John Doe probe is looking an emails exchange between Walker while county exec and longtime associate John Hiller on a proposed real estate contract in which Hiller was involved.

“For all the hype about emails and all this other discussion, the fact of the matter is, nobody won the bid,” Walker told reporters. “It’s pretty clear, if that’s the hype, nobody won the bid. The only people that won were the taxpayers.”

Walker’s county administration considered moving the Aging Department out of its then home in 2010, but rejected the bids and eventually moved the agency into a county building.

“The county, under my administration, opted not to take any of the bids that were offered and instead consolidated space at county facilities and saved the taxpayers money,” Walker said. “That is a true and factual statement that goes beyond what was being reviewed.”

Walker declined to answer whether a secret email system — previously discovered to have existed as part of an ongoing John Doe investigation — was used to discuss bids for leased space for the county’s Department of Aging offices.

“I can’t talk about the particulars because I’m following those rules,” Walker said, repeating his stance that he was told by the Milwaukee County DA not to discuss the probe.