Welder lauded by Scott Walker in speech is sex offender
By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel Updated: 10:51 a.m.
Emphasizing his role as a job creator, Gov. Scott Walker praised Christopher Barber's initiative during the governor's annual "state of the state" speech on Wednesday.
Barber, 32, left the ranks of the unemployed to land a seasonal job as welder at Ariens Co. in Brillion in late 2012, eventually turning that into to a full-time post, according to a press release from Walker's office. Newspapers around the state ran a photo of Barber giving a big wave to the crowd as he exited the Assembly podium to a round of applause during Walker's televised address.
"These are the faces of an improving economy in our state," Walker said of Barber and others. "Wisconsin is going back to work."
But there is a reason that Barber -- a resident of Two Rivers -- has had trouble finding steady work in the past.
Records show that he is a registered sex offender with two felonies and three drunken-driving offenses. Because of his checkered past, Barber has been in and out of jail and prison for much of the past decade, with his probation having been revoked at least twice.
Tom Evenson, a spokesman for Walker, said Wednesday evening that the administration had contacted employers in the state to see if they could recommend workers hired since Walker took office in 2011 who would be interested in being mentioned in the annual speech.
Barber fit the bill.
"Obviously, if we had been aware of this individual's prior convictions, he would not have been invited to participate," Evenson said by email.
Asked if Walker's team had conducted background checks on the various individuals cited in the state of the state, Evenson declined to respond.
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