Gerard Randall, GOP official under scrutiny for nonprofit work, resigns from 2024 RNC host committee

The secretary of the Host Committee for the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee resigned Thursday in the wake of reports raising questions about the work his nonprofit had done with Milwaukee Public Schools funds.

"Gerard Randall resigned from all his Host Committee positions and duties," according to a statement from the MKE 2024 Host Committee.

The resignation comes two weeks after Milwaukee Public Schools cut ties with Randall’s non-profit, the Milwaukee Education Partnership. School board members found it was unclear what work he had done with MPS funds, and Wisconsin Public Radio reported he appeared to falsely claim prominent officials were on his leadership team.

Randall’s organization won contracts from MPS totaling more than $1.2 million since 2012. Several officials listed on his board of directors, including state Superintendent Jill Underly and Medical College of Wisconsin President John Raymond, have said they were never on the board.

A source close to Randall said he was taking a leave to tend to health issues.

Randall, first vice chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin and chair of the group’s African American Council, helped clinch the Republican National Convention for Milwaukee.

He was paid $23,077 by the Host Committee during 2022, the most recent tax filing by the organization. At that time, he was the only board member who was being paid, records show.

The convention will be held July 15-18, 2024, and is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the city.

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of members of the media gathered for a walkthrough of the downtown sites where the massive event will take place.

Randall has lost jobs before because of concerns about his handling of government contracts.

In 2007, then-mayor Tom Barrett forced Randall out as CEO of a council overseeing workforce agencies, after numerous reports criticizing the council's leadership, and a state audit that found inconsistencies in the council's claims for reimbursement.

Randall then landed contracts as a consultant for the county until then-county executive Scott Walker ended that. The Journal Sentinel reported Randall's reports about his work lacked detail.

Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected]. Rory Linnane can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin GOP's Gerard Randall resigns from 2024 RNC host committee