Promotion of ex-Gunderson aide announced at WI DNR

Call it The Gundy Effect 2.0:

Mike Bruhn, a veteran GOP legislative aide and current WI DNR legislative liaison, has been named DNR Assistant Deputy Secretary,  replacing Scott "Gundy" Gunderson, the agency's former #3 agency official and part of Walker's DNR/"chamber-of-commerce mentality" who has moved to the Wisconsin Revenue Department.

DNR Secretary and former developer Cathy Stepp made the announcement in an all-staff email at 4:27 p.m. today:

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to join the Governor in congratulating our Mike Bruhn in his new role as Assistant Deputy Secretary.  While he'll be in a different chair at the DNR, he will still be involved in many of the same issue areas that you're all familiar with. 

For those of you who don't know much about Mike's background, here is some info: 

Mike was born in Janesville, Wisconsin and lived in a number of different cities across the state before moving to Windermere, Florida in his teens where he attended West Orange High School.  Mike is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He spent more than thirteen years working in the Wisconsin State Assembly before working here at DNR.

Mike brings an undying enthusiasm and excellence to his daily work, and it is only fitting that given his depth of experiences in state government, this role will fit him like a glove.  Please join me in congratulating him--and thanking him--for taking on this new role!

Gunderson, an ex-Assemblyman from Racine County where he owned a fishing and hunting supply store, made headlines at the agency when he helped a former campaign donor get easy treatment for pollution violations stemming from improper disposal on farm fields of human septic tank waste by a fertilizer hauler.

For Bruhn, it's his third position tied to Gunderson.

This biographical information about Bruhn's history was taken from a July 12, 2011 DNR news release when Bruhn joined the agency:

Michael Bruhn has been named legislative liaison...

Michael Bruhn previously served as the primary legislative staff member to former Rep. Scott Gunderson, who is currently DNR's executive assistant. Bruhn clerked various legislative committees and was the legislative staff leader on issues related to firearms, hunting, fishing, and business regulations. 

Bruhn served as a City of Sun Prairie alderman from 2003 through 2005 where he was chairman of the personnel committee responsible for negotiating union contracts with city employees. He has a B.A. in political science and sociology from the UW-Madison. 

I am not sure if this appointment is what was rumored earlier today, or another shoe involving a senior DNR official will drop.