Green Bay mayor to Tom Tiffany: ‘Keep our city’s name out of your mouth’

Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany recently appeared on a local radio station and made statements directed at Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich surrounding the 2020 election. 

President Donald Trump still believes the 2020 election against Joe Biden was rigged and he points to examples in Wisconsin as proof. Tiffany, who can’t afford to lose Trump’s support, continues to fall in line with the president on this issue. 

“There were a few improprieties here in Wisconsin,” Tiffany said on 620 WTMJ in recent days. “The Dane County clerk in 2020 said that you can just declare yourself to be indefinitely confined. Remember, this one was during COVID. He did not have the legal authority to do that.

“The second thing is, the Zuckerbucks that came in, $15 million dollars, and the Green Bay mayor hired a political operative from New York City to come and help them in Green Bay. They ultimately forced the city clerk, an elected official, out.  It should only be election officials that take care of elections. That political operative, not elected, ended up with three of the fours keys to the central count.  

“That doesn’t mean the election was (not legit) … it doesn’t mean that. But you have these improprieties and people continue to ask questions about it. What I’ll be focused on as governor is to make sure we have good elections, that it’s easy to vote, hard to cheat.”

Tiffany added he would like to see federal legislation pass requiring voter ID nationwide and some form of proof that a voter is a U.S. citizen. 

Following the interview, Genrich, a Democrat, took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast Tiffany. 

“Hey @TomTiffanyWI – Keep our city’s name out of your mouth when you’re spewing lies about the 2020 election,” Genrich wrote. “Or even better, just knock it off entirely. If you think it’s a path to political success, talk to Michael Gableman. He can’t charge by the hour anymore.”

Wisconsin Republicans hired Gableman to investigate the 2020 election but he was ultimately fired and disbarred after the investigation found no evidence of fraud but cost taxpayers millions. 

Dan Shafer with The Recombobulation Area reached out to Amaad Rivera-Wagner, a current Assembly representative who previously served as the chief of staff to Genrich. 

In that role, he and his family faced harassment, vandalism and very real threats to the point where they needed police protection, he told Shafer in 2024. Shafer asked Rivera-Wagner if he watched the WTMJ interview. 

“Yes,” said Rivera-Wagner. “And I am pissed. It’s bullshit and it led to real people’s lives being threatened, harassed. Millions of taxpayer dollars wasted.”

Rivera-Wagner issued a press release on June 3. He said in part: 

“Let me be clear: this has been investigated, litigated, reviewed, and debunked. No fraud was found. No issue affecting the integrity of Green Bay’s election was found. Yet these conspiracy theories continue to be repeated by people who know, or should know, better. That is not leadership. That is dangerous…

“These lies were not harmless. They cost taxpayers $2.3 million. They drew bipartisan condemnation. They fueled threats against public servants, election workers, police officers, and families. If an elected official can’t tell the difference between facts and conspiracy theories, they have no business asking to lead our state.”