Citizens for a Strong America
This article is currently outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Citizens for a Strong America | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Columbus, Wis. |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Top official: | John Connors, President |
| Founder(s): | R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl |
| Budget | |
| 2013: | $0 |
| 2012: | $2,048,000 |
| 2011: | $4,620,025 |
Citizens for a Strong America (CSA) was a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization located in Columbus, Wis. It was active in supporting conservative candidates and organizations in Wisconsin. As of 2015, the organization appeared to have ceased most of its operations, and its website no longer existed. CSA collected $0 in revenue in 2013 and spent down most of its assets that year.[1]
Mission
The organization described its purpose as follows:[1]
| " |
To promote and conduct research on public policies that reduce tax burdens on families, increase public safety, and protect the rights of parents to make decisions about their children's medical, psychological and educational well-being.[2] |
” |
Work
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign estimates that Citizens for a Strong America spent $985,000 on issue advocacy ahead of the April 5, 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court election between incumbent Justice David Prosser and Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg.[3] The Brennan Center for Justice has somewhat different figures for 2011, estimating that CSA spent $836,090 on television ads during the state supreme court race.[4] The group ran two advertisements, one criticizing Kloppenburg for suing farmers and businesses on behalf of the state and the other questioning the validity and appropriateness of a pro-Kloppenburg ad run by the Greater Wisconsin Committee.[3]
In 2011, CSA also helped launch the sporting heritage organization United Sportsmen of Wisconsin with a $235,000 grant.[5][6] In 2012, the organization spent approximately $35,000 on radio ads and mailings criticizing several Democratic candidates running for seats in the Wisconsin State Legislature, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.[7]
In 2013, Citizens for a Strong America raised $0 in revenue but provided Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce with a $500,000 grant. This expenditure left the organization with $58,783 in assets at the end of that year.[8]
Leadership
Citizens for a Strong America was founded by conservative political strategists R.J. Johnson and Deborah Jordahl. Johnson's wife Valerie Johnson served as the organization's treasurer.[9] A 2013 tax form filed with the IRS listed John Connors as the president of CSA and listed Virginia Marschmann and Jessika Stauffacher as directors.[1]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Citizens for a Strong America's revenue and expenses for the 2010-2013 fiscal years:
| Annual revenue and expenses for CSA, 2010-2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Total Revenue | Total Expenses |
| 2013[1] | $0 | $555,559 |
| 2012[10] | $2,048,000 | $1,459,262 |
| 2011[11] | $4,620,025 | $4,657,471 |
| 2010[11] | $378,903 | $315,853 |
The Washington Post reported that 99.99 percent of CSA's funding came from the Wisconsin Club for Growth.[9] According to OpenSecrets.org, CSA also received $35,000 from the Jobs First Coalition.[12]
Noteworthy events
John Doe investigations
Two John Doe investigations, beginning in 2010 and ending in 2015, were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R).[13] Citizens for a Strong America was one of 29 conservative organizations that were targeted during the course of the second investigation.[14][15]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Citizens for a Strong America Wisconsin. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 GuideStar, "CSA IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, "Hijacking Justice 2011: Citizens for a Strong America," January 16, 2014
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Buying Time 2011: Judicial Public Financing in Wisconsin," April 5, 2011
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Embattled United Sportsmen group has yet to file corrected tax forms," December 15, 2013
- ↑ GuideStar, “United Sportsmen of Wisconsin IRS Form 990 (2011),” accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, "Hijacking Campaign 2012," January 17, 2014
- ↑ Shepherd Express, "Why Did Wisconsin Club for Growth Send $750K to a Dark-Money Group in Missouri Last Year?" December 17, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Washington Post, "How the State of Wisconsin alleges Scott Walker aides violated the law, in 1 chart," June 19, 2014
- ↑ GuideStar, "CSA IRS Form 990 (2012)," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 GuideStar, "CSA IRS Form 990 (2011)," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Citizens for a Strong America: Receipts," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Milwaukee Division, "Eric O’Keefe, and Wisconsin Club for Growth, Inc.," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog, "Wall Street Journal: GAB targeted conservative justices in John Doe defense," September 17, 2015
- ↑ Eric O'Keefe v. Francis Schmitz, et al., "Complaint," accessed September 16, 2015
| |||||||
