Brian Deschane is gone from state government, but he won't soon be forgotten.

Deschane, the 27-year-old son of a prominent supporter of Gov. Scott Walker, resigned from his state job following public criticism over his appointment to an $81,500-per-year job in the Walker administration. He informed officials at the state Department of Commerce, where he had been named administrator of environmental and regulatory matters in February.

"He has resigned," said agency spokesman Tony Hozeny.

Hozeny said he didn't believe Deschane gave a reason for leaving the government job.

"Not that I know of," Hozeny said. "He just resigned."

Earlier this week, Walker demoted Deschane from the post after No Quarter highlighted how Deschane - who has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions - had landed his plum assignment.

Walker's team gave Deschane the cushy job despite the governor's repeated statements that the state is broke and government workers are overpaid.

The column was picked up around the country, viewed online by hundreds of thousands of people, and posted on more than 26,000 Facebook pages.

On Tuesday, Walker announced that Deschane would return to his previous position as a bureau director at the Department of Regulation and Licensing. He was appointed to that $64,728-per-year position in mid-January at the recommendation of Walker's chief of staff, Keith Gilkes. The move did not stop the criticism of Deschane.

"Most people in their 20s would kill for a 'demotion' to $64,000, but the children of Scott Walker contributors have a certain lifestyle to maintain, apparently," said Mike Tate, chairman of the state Democratic Party.

It is not clear why Deschane chose to resign rather than accept the demotion. He did not return calls to his cellphone.

A directory of Department of Regulation and Licensing employees shows that all four bureau director slots are filled, suggesting that Secretary Dave Ross may have replaced Deschane after he left.

David Carlson, spokesman for the Department of Regulation and Licensing, could not be reached for comment.

Hozeny, the Commerce Department aide, said he doesn't usually speak for other agencies. But Hozeny said he had been told that Deschane never returned to the Department of Regulation and Licensing after his demotion.

Deschane is the son of Jerry Deschane, a longtime official and lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders Association. The group gave more than $121,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, leading up to last November's election.

The elder Deschane acknowledged that he may have talked to Gilkes about getting a state job for Brian Deschane. But the father said he doesn't believe his group's financial support of the first-term Republican governor led to his son's state job or promotion, which provided a 26% pay raise.

Deschane beat out two highly qualified candidates for the administrative post.

The first, Oscar Herrera, is a former state cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Scott McCallum with a doctoral degree and eight years' experience overseeing the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites. The second, Bernice Mattsson, is a professional engineer who served since 2003 in the post to which Deschane was appointed and has more than 25 years' experience in state government.

Neither got an interview.

Perhaps they might now.

Credit where it's due

Walker's staff and his critics argued with one another last month over whether the governor intentionally inserted a tax break for the prefab home industry in his budget bill to benefit one of his bigger campaign contributors.

A Walker spokesman said the first-term Republican had no idea the tax break would benefit Wausau Homes. A Democratic Party spokesman said he couldn't believe Walker did this by accident.

As it turns out, both sides may be wrong.

Ross Kinzler, executive director of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance, said recently that he has concluded that the budget item would not affect Wausau Homes. He had earlier said that it would help out the Rothschild-based firm.

"Wausau Homes delivers materials to the job site directly," Kinzler said. "Based on that, the tax provision would not apply to Wausau."

The governor proposes exempting certain prefabricated homes made in Wisconsin from the sales tax if they are to be shipped to and located in another state. The state estimates that this would cut state revenue by more than $500,000 over the next two years.

Kinzler has said his members are at a competitive disadvantage because of the way Wisconsin and Iowa officials apply the sales tax.

Wausau Homes' co-owners and the co-founder's wife donated a total of $25,000 to Walker's campaign fund last election. The trio also has been active with Americans for Prosperity, which helped organize tea party events.

Tom Schuette, president and co-owner of the firm, declined to comment on Kinzler's analysis of the tax break. Schuette earlier had said he was being targeted for criticism by the "corrupt relationship" between the Democratic Party and union leadership.

Daniel Bice can be contacted by phone at (414) 224-2135 or by email at dbice@journalsentinel.com.