GOP QUALIFICATIONS
GOP candidate for Wisconsin state treasurer Orlando Owens has a history of foreclosures and bankruptcy

Ben Baker, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wed, July 6, 2022 

Orlando Owens, running for Wisconsin state treasurer, speaks at the 52nd Chicken Burn, the unofficial start of the 2022 GOP campaign season.

MADISON – Republican candidate for state treasurer Orlando Owens has a history of financial troubles dating back to the early 2010s, including two foreclosures and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to court records.

Owens faces an Aug. 9 primary challenge from attorney and state GOP operative John Leiber. The winner will advance to take on the eventual Democratic nominee on Nov. 8 to replace outgoing treasurer Sarah Godlewski, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate.

Owens' bankruptcy filing in 2012 indicated he racked up predominantly consumer debts totaling almost $250,000, according to public records made available by the Eastern District of Wisconsin's bankruptcy court.

Both foreclosures occurred on properties previously owned by Owens and his ex-wife as part of their real estate business.

Records from the Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts also indicate Owens owed JP Morgan Chase $169,427.72 in 2010 and Bank of America $132,638.93 in 2012 following mortgage foreclosures.

Landmark Credit Union — which was listed as an additional defendant in the 2010 case — also sued Owens alleging he owed the bank $9,914.15.

Though Owens was listed as a defendant in the 2012 case and his name was still on the deed for the property, a campign spokesperson said Owens' ex-wife was awarded the property and said he did not bear responsibility for its foreclosure.

In 2008, Owens' first wife filed for divorce before his personal finances began to suffer. Owens attributed his financial difficulties to the end of his marriage and credited his religious piety for his subsequent economic recovery.

"What we (my ex-wife and I) did not do well was our marriage, and through patience and God not giving up on me, I was able to recover from all those things," Owens said. "Only in America can my story be created: Someone who came from nothing, started several businesses, went through very tough times, rebounded 15 years later, and to be where we are now? Only in America."

Owens filed for bankruptcy as well as his second foreclosure four years after his divorce and two years after his first foreclosure. His ex-wife was listed as a defendant in each of the foreclosure proceedings.

Owens was also convicted of a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct in 2008 for which he was sentenced to 18 months' probation, required to complete a course in refraining from violence and "maintain absolute sobriety," according to Milwaukee County court records.

Leiber said he was "concerned as a Republican" by Owens' financial records and misdemeanor conviction and worried his opponents' history could prove to be a liability in November.

"I think everyone deserves a second chance," Leiber said "I just don't know if that second chance should be running for treasurer."

Owens acknowledged the negative impact of his past actions and the financial difficulties he faced as a consequence but said his faith and trust in his country set him on a path of personal growth.

"Through my faith in redemption, that anybody can fall down and get back up if you believe in God, if you believe in America," Owens said. "Look at where I am now."

Today, Owens is remarried, has a 13-month-old son and works as the southeast regional director for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.

Owens is also a co-founder of the Joseph Project, a faith-based, multicity urban workforce development organization established by himself, Johnson and Milwaukee-based pastor Jerome Smith.

The Owens campaign has voiced support for reforming the office of treasurer through expanding its role in government and restoring a handful of responsibilities stripped away by the Legislature.

For instance, Owens called for greater local level activity from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands — on which the treasurer serves as a commissioner — through crafting a "county by county" needs assessment strategy and tailoring agency involvement to those needs.

Owens also expressed hopes for the office to regain the power to conduct audits currently assigned to the Department of Revenue during his potential tenure.

"I really would like to see an accounting of the state books from all the COVID money we got and all the money that our state receives that no one can really tell the people where it went, who got the money, where's the money," Owens said. "I think those are some major questions we have to be able to answer.

His stance is a notable departure from that of the Republican-controlled Legislature, which sought to limit the treasurer's power through a series of acts in the early 2010s and approved an amendment to outright abolish the treasury in 2015.

Along with his position on the treasurer's responsibilities, Owens has not shied away from weighing in on hot-button cultural issues — which he would have little control over as treasurer — such as opposing vaccination mandates and Critical Race Theory, an academic school of thought not taught in Wisconsin public schools as "steeped in Marxism."

"It's definitely counter-productive to the American philosophy and ideals." Owens said on a podcast. "It is also, in my humble opinion, anti-God."