Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski’s official calendar for the first quarter of 2025 contains many blank days and several meetings listed at a Starbucks near the Capitol, according to documents released on Apr. 9. The records were obtained by citizen activist Orville Seymer through an open records request.
The contents of Godlewski’s schedule have raised questions about her daily activities as Secretary of State, especially as she is currently running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat. Seymer said, “What does Sarah Godlewski do all day long?” after receiving the calendars he requested in December.
Seymer stated that it took nearly four months to fulfill his request for copies of Godlewski’s calendar from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2025. “If you simply scroll through her calendar, you will find days with nothing. In fact, there are weeks (that have) nothing, but it appears that she has a lot of meetings at the Starbucks near the Capitol,” Seymer said.
A review of the calendars provided by the Secretary of State’s office confirms that many pages are blank or list only one or two Teams meetings—a Zoom-like platform—alongside multiple entries labeled “Starbucks.” The office responded to Seymer’s inquiry in writing: “Time reflected on the calendar that is not expressly designated in the calendar is used for other official priorities.” However, these priorities were not specified in their response.
Godlewski was appointed Secretary of State by Governor Tony Evers after withdrawing from a state Senate primary and previously served as state Treasurer.
