This story was first published by WPR.
Gerard Randall, a top Wisconsin GOP official who helped secure the Republican National Convention for Milwaukee, has left his position as host committee secretary after reporting by WPR in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch brought the questionable history of his nonprofit to light.
The MKE 2024 Host Committee confirmed the resignation to WPR Thursday afternoon with a one-sentence statement.
“Gerard Randall resigned from all his Host Committee positions and duties,” it says.
Randall serves on a variety of boards of Milwaukee nonprofits, including Visit Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Museum. He is also the first vice chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and chair of the group’s African American Council.
As secretary of the RNC host committee, Randall was paid about $23,000 in 2022, according to tax forms.
In recent weeks Randall has been under scrutiny for his work as executive director of the nonprofit Milwaukee Education Partnership.
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Wisconsin GOP official questioned over his no-bid contracts from Milwaukee Public Schools
Some Milwaukee school board members questioned whether a local nonprofit that received nearly $1.3 million in no-bid district contracts over the past decade was delivering on its promises to improve student achievement.
On Nov. 15 Milwaukee Public Schools ended its decade-long affiliation with Randall’s organization, which received nearly $1.3 million in no-bid contracts during that time.
The decision was made by Superintendent Keith Posley in response to two board members, Missy Zombor and Henry Leonard, asking the district’s accountability office to review whether the Milwaukee Education Partnership violated a contractual code of conduct.
WPR and Wisconsin Watch reported Randall was paid more than $64,000 last year for work that was not completed. And school board members previously expressed concern that other services the partnership provides may duplicate those already being done in the district.
The Milwaukee Education Partnership’s website also listed people as members of the board of directors who had ended relationships with the partnership years ago.
WPR’s reporting showed the nonprofit’s tax filings falsely listed several high-profile officials as board officers. Contacted by a WPR reporter, those officials said they had been identified as board members of the organization without their knowledge.
They include Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, Posley, Milwaukee Area Technical College President Vicki Martin and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone.
On Nov. 15 Randall emailed media, through a spokesperson, saying he was proud of the work his nonprofit had done. He called previous reporting “misleading” and said it painted an “inaccurate and incomplete picture” of the work he’s doing.
Posley did not respond to requests for comment when asked if Randall would have to pay back funds to Milwaukee Public Schools for work that had not been done.
