Randy Hopper (pictured) is owner of Mountain Dog Media, owner of four radio stations in Wisconsin towns including Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Chilton. He is also a Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, and his politically-charged anti-union vote has put him on the list of politicians up for potential recall.
The double trouble for Hopper is the fact that his wife is very publically announcing her intention to sign the recall petition, according to reports. She has issued a statement confirming that their marriage has been on the rocks for over a year after he kicked off an affair with a young staffer.
Alysia Hopper stated, “It is correct that my husband, Randy Hopper, started an affair in January 2010 with a then-25-year-old Republican aide. This affair has caused great emotional pain for my children and me. Randy moved out, without attempting marital counseling, as of May 2010 and now lives mostly in Madison.”
Hopper’s stations include News-Talk KFIZ-AM Fond du Lac, AC WFON-FM in the same town, and two sports outlets, WCLB-AM Sheboygan and WMBE-AM Chilton.
18 Republican senators in the state voted to support newly-instated Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state union employees, while 14 Democrats holed up in Illinois in an attempt to deny a quorum.
Hopper issued a statement on the union/budget matter, saying, “For far too long the state has spent money it simply doesn’t have. The passage of this bill tonight is about moving Wisconsin forward. Repeated attempts were made to negotiate and compromise on this issue, as was evidenced by the emails released earlier this week. But the democrats chose the status quo and stayed in Illinois for the last three weeks instead of doing their jobs. Their political posturing put the families of 1,500 state employees at immediate risk, and our action tonight prevents that from happening.”
An aide said that the situation between the Hoppers was a private matter, and was headed for divorce.
Nonetheless, it is adding unfavorable publicity to that already generated by Hopper’s vote, which made him a charter member of a group of 10 Republican senators being targeted for recall. In short, Hopper’s name has now gone national.
