"Being an elected official does allow me to represent the best interests of the office and the people I serve," said Jenifer Keach.
And that is the whole point. An appointed medical examiner will be serving at the whim of the politically charged County Board of Supervisors and create a powerful county patronage post. Because the current coroner has brought professionalism, accountibility and renewal to the office, county republicans are beginning to realize that if you can't beat your opponent at the polls, you can just legislate them out of office - Texas style.
With that said, there appears to be even more going on than meets the eye, particularly with the County Board and their push to redefine the office. Word has it that the County Board member at the center of the power grab, Adam Peer has quit as County Republican Party Chairman and has begun campaigning for the Republican candidate running against Tami Baldwin. Peer seems to want to distance himself from possible conflicts of interest as the party chair and his membership on the board, but it could be too late.
What impact that will have on the board is too soon to tell, but another concern in the coroners race is the possibility that the third candidate in the race running as an Independent, Melissa Haverley could siphon votes away from the democratic candidate allowing a republican to win by default. The Gazette newspaper has been pumping up the volume for their republican friends any way they can to retake this important county position. Rock County voters will have to be vigilant to sweep out the dirt if they want to restore government by the people.
Not reported in Gazette>>>>>Local Democrats kick off campaign
14 comments:
If they really cared about the people they would let the voters decide whether or not to switch to a medical examiner. My biggest concern is just that, they took it out of our hands without any input from the people. Their minds were already made up before the meeting was even started. The way the meeting was set-up, with all commentary from the people hurried in at the begining, was shameful. Mr.Elliots threatening and derogatory statements made to Mr.Nelson after the meeting showed his true colors as well. Shame on them for treating the voters as stupid.
I don't like the coronor's position being political. I do like voting for the best person for the job however. I know we can't have it both ways either. A political position should be a position for a person that makes our laws. Who really cares if the coronor is a republican or a democrat or from the green party? As long as the best person is in the position that is all that really matters.
I agree. It was made political because of Adam Peer. He just can't stand the fact that a better qualified Democrat got the job. None of this garbage came up when Gilbertson (who was stealing drugs) was in. Why? Because she was a Republican.
Gilbertson really never had any opposition running against her either.
Whoever said Jenifer Keach is professional is dead wrong. I am a medical examiner in the state of Wisconsin and have been on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Coroner and Medical Examiners Association and she is the farthest from professional. We are trying to make this field more professional but we cannot with people like her. She wore tight jean shorts with a red thong hanging out the back at the conference in June when everyone else had suits on. She has no clue about investigations either and we all have heard she is burning drugs in her back yard. Come on professional, not!
Jenifer Keach's Chief Deputy Kris will also tell you that Jenifer burned drugs in her backyard on more occasions than one. She lied to the county, does anyone really want a coroner in office that is unethical and already lying. Rumor also has it from her staff that she is falsifying documents too. She is saying she is working certain hours and she is not. To add on to the last person, I believe unprofessional.
Keach hurt our whole family by releasing our loved ones name to the media before we were even notified. Her job is to properly notify the family, she did not do that.
I have dealt with Jennifer on a number of occasions and she does a very professional job. She is a very kind individual with the family in mind when informing them of the death in the family. She burned perscription drugs in her backyard it wasn't illegal.
The Public Safety and Justice Committee reviewed the resolution to abolish the office of Coroner and replace it with a Medical Examiner several times over the past year and it was discussed at least once before Karen Gilbertson was elected. The decision to change the office at this point in time (as opposed to any point in the previous 12 months) may or may not have been politically motivated, but I am sure that many members of the County Board gave the issue due consideration before voting. That the vote was almost evenly split tells me that the issue is not as clear cut as some would have us believe. The voters have lost the opportunity to choose their Coroner in the 2010 election. The next two County Boards will have the opportunity to revisit this issue if the voters demand it.
Jenifer Keach
Rock County Coroner
Unfortunately, allowing anonymous comments will lead to personal attacks, but the worst kind are from those who claim to be professional themselves without having the professionalism to substantiate their comments with their identities.
Once again Jenifer Keach has responded to this blog with her ID, which is a lot more professional than I can say for some others.
The Association must have some policy regarding its board members personal/public statements. Apparently the board is in need of professional help.
Keach is the best canidate for the coroner's position. She brought back an office that was full of corruption and in total dissary.
Why would voters elect haverley when she comes from the same corrupt office the county is trying to get away from? The office should not be politicized but it should also not be run by the same people that disgraced it before. It seem there are a lot of rumors running around and no one has asked Brad or Melissa about there role in the theft and mal treatment of the office. Maybe if the press asked them about there role and drilled on them they would find out why they were let go.
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