Janesville Gazette Swift-Boating Spoden

Tweet

On authorization from Sheriff Runaas, Cmdr. Barb Barrington-Tillman of the counties sheriff department appeared in uniform at a candidates meeting with union representatives AFSCME Local 2489 back in April. Also in attendance was Democratic candidate for sheriff Bob Spoden.

Sensing one of those swiftboating moments, Jan Deters, co-chair of the Rock County Republican Party and her husband, Tom, wrote a letter asking Rock County DA Dave O’Leary to investigate whether Barrington-Tillman had violated department rules or state law. They also pointed out in their letter that Barrington-Tillman is a member of Spoden's campaign committee. The Janesville Gazette eventually joined in on the smear and requested Barrington-Tillman’s timecard for that day which shows her signing out at
6:30 PM, though she went to the meeting at 5:30 PM.

JG excerpt:
The Janesville Gazette filed a request for Barrington’s timecard under Wisconsin’s Open Records Law….

Of course it turns out Barrington-Tillman did the right thing by appearing during the meeting at the request/permission of her boss and was representing the department on the clock and in uniform. This is key, because had she changed from her uniform into street clothes, her appearance with Spoden on the counties timeclock would have been suspicious. But that didn’t happen.

The Gazette eventually questions Sheriff Runaas about ordering the directive and Barrington-Tillman’s timecard, and after discovering that she was following orders and entitled to the flex time pay, the Gazette using all their wisdom and power not only ran the article, but gave this highly dubious report front page headlines. Through their own investigation and reporting they discovered that the accusations against Barrington-Tillman are without merit, and if somebody made a mistake on policy and procedures it was Sheriff Runaas, but that doesn’t matter to the editors of the Gazette. After all, Runaas is not running again for sheriff and is a lame duck.

The article also failed to let the reader know when the Gazette filed for the open records and how long they knew of this frivolous incident before they decided to splash it on the front page. Remember, the meeting in question happened in April. What’s even worse is that they mention Spodens challengers in the article thereby linking up what appears to be a neutral and independent news report is really a back-handed and ugly piece of propaganda.

Realizing the Republican hold on the coroners office is probably over, the Gazette then used the coroners candidates against each other in an effort to destroy the office. They don't want to lose another county office to a Democrat, so they are now focused on the sheriffs race and along with the Republican party are attempting to do a number on Spoden’s candidacy. What the Gazette wants, it usually gets. Rock county deserves much better than this kind of misinformation, we need a good newspaper.

Janesville Newspapers Raise Eyebrows

Tweet

The front page headlines, “Sheriff complaints get hearing” of the Oct. 3rd edition of the Janesville Gazette focused entirely on Rock County Sheriff Runaas and the complaint filed against him by two women. They ran two articles side by side under the title, detailing the alleged verbal transgressions and reporting that a third unnamed woman had filed a complaint against the sheriff in 2004. But this time around, the paper seemed to have gone out of their way to separate the two leading candidates for sheriff from the controversy. Nowhere did the articles contain references to Chief Deputy Spoden or Wasemiller. This was surprising.

But fast-forward to the weekend of Oct. 7th and both the Janesville Messenger and the Gazette ran front page stories on the Sheriffs race. The Messenger I would admit carried equal coverage on all the candidates and some issues, but while they mentioned the womens complaint of Spoden in the Runaas case, they de-emphasized the accusers link with the Wasemiller campaign. The Messenger along with some readers seem to think that because the women’s complaints were filed before they joined Wasemillers campaign that leaves him (Wasemiller) off the hook. It does as far as the Runaas is concerned, but months later after filing the complaint, and as members of Wasemillers campaign, the victims decided to publicize their complaint in statements made to the Gazette. In their interview about the complaint, the women basically told the Gazette in rather uncomplicated terms that Spoden would make a terrible sheriff and Wasemiller would make a good one. They certainly have the right to say this, but lets face it, it nearly invalidates their credibility and lends to a suspicious motive. You don’t come out making serious allegations against Joe Democrat and in the same breath start making endorsements of Joe Republican two months before election. Unfortunately, you can't take back words and make things unsaid.

Also, my guess is that had the women never joined the Wasemiller campaign, they probably would not have gone public with their complaint in September.

Now I turn to the Gazette, and they continue to blow my mind. The Oct. 7th edition included a article on the frontpage titled, “Winning the race for $heriff” and yes it had the dollar sign instead of the letter ‘S.’ The first paragraph nearly explains it all.

JG excerpt:
If dollars were votes and the Rock County sheriffs election had been held on Sept.5, Republican Scott Wasemiller would have beaten Democrat Bob Spoden in a close race.

Several things here. No.1: If there's one office you don’t want money tied into, it’s the law enforcement office of the sheriff. Instead of dealing with the issues, the Gazette continues to fabricate suppositions as a meaningful way to shift public attention or more importantly, create excitement for their favored candidate. In this case however, it may have backfired. The paragraph could also imply that the candidate with the most money gets the most votes and although in many cases that is true, why they would choose to politicize the sheriffs office in this way is shocking. They not only did Wasemiller a disservice, but Spoden, Keller and their supporters as well. No.2: Inside the paper, the Gazette then prints the names and the amounts given by all the major donors to each candidates campaign. Sure, this is public information that is available if you know where to look, but considering these are mostly private individuals and residents of Rock County and not some special interest or corporation, the Gazette went way too far in their misguided attempt to create a story. Doing this with Green, Doyle, Ryan, Gard, J.B. Hollen or Falk might have some merit, but the sheriffs office? No.3: With Republicans taking a well-deserved pounding at the White House and in Congress, the Gazette writes that all the candidates said voters will ignore party lines and choose the best candidate. What would you expect them to say? Typically, Congress is a cross section of the voting population and both are partisan to different degrees. Smart candidates know who their audience is, and speak accordingly. When they are among their party, only then will you get the partisan answer you expect.
In addition to the sheriffs article, a letter writer to the Gazette makes an attempt to discredit the link between the accusing women and Wasemiller, complaining that people shouldn’t attribute to Wasemiller the airing of the ladies complaints. Fortunately, it was the women who linked with Wasemiller and endorsed him in their publicity statements. Letter writers and people like myself who see the obvious connection have no need to fabricate anything regarding the controversy.

JG letter excerpt:
Our civil protection should have no party. We believe in Wasemiller. He’s earned our respect and that of many through the years, not only in law enforcement but in his church and with youth. His family works hard together for God and the community.

Why is it so bad and negative to publicize and support the political philosophy of a political candidate running for elected office, but perfectly fine and good to publicize and support the religious beliefs of a political candidate? Is Wasemiller running for the wrong office? Perhaps he should consider the priesthood or a ministry.

Wasemiller swiftboating Spoden

Tweet

Two women working on Republican Scott Wasemiller's campaign committee for sheriff, accused retiring Rock County Sheriff Eric Runaas of sexual harrassment when they worked in the department. Former clerk-typists Donna L. Fink and Jackie Riesterer accuse Runaas of making dozens of sexually graphic comments from 2004 to 2005.

While working for Rock County, the women spent much of their work time talking inappropriately about a relationship between Riesterer and a deputy, according to the response briefs. Another employee reported that the women "were not professional, goofed off a lot, and talked about men with chatter akin to that of high school girls," according to the briefs.

The women filed their complaints about Runaas only after they were reprimanded and disciplined for their own sexually inappropriate behavior said Michele Ford, a Milwaukee lawyer representing the county. Although the women seem emotionally hurt by the Republican sheriffs potty mouth and sexual banter, they made sure to somehow drag Wasemillers democratic challenger into the controversy.

The women threw complaints everywhere until finally settling on their intended soft target, Chief Deputy Bob Spoden. The women said Spoden blamed the women for encouraging sexual comments. The women also say Spoden and Becker reacted angrily to their claims that Runaas harassed them. Spoden happens to be running as a Democrat against Republican Scott Wasemiller to replace the accused Runaas as sheriff. Runaas is retiring after serving since 1998.

Both women seek back pay, interest and attorney fees. They also seek reinstatement to full-time work with the county. The women can’t lose here no matter if accusations are unfounded because if Wasemiller wins, the women will gain reinstatement to full-time work for their extra effort.

The Janesville Gazette learned of the complaints Monday from Ms. Fink. She said voters should know about Spoden's alleged handling of the situation. Don’t worry, Ms. Fink, the Janesville Gazette is a pro at this. The primary accusation of sexual harrassment against Runaas will become secondary now that they have some ammunition to swiftboat a democratic candidate.

Forgetting about their verbal harassment charge against Runaas for the moment, the ladies found the composure to offer these political soundbites.

"We just want people to know what kind of atmosphere is at the sheriff's department and what kind sheriff Bob Spoden would make," said the accusing Fink. The distraught Riesterer said, "Wasemiller is honest."

As you can see the swiftboating technique is no longer a national phenomenon. Republicans with the help of their media friends are able to employ these deceptions in local contests to gain votes. The Gazette is giving Spoden the same treatment they gave Democratic Rock County Coroner Jenifer Keach. They report on allegations, opinions and distortions and present them as the undisputed truth.
Read the Gazette swiftboat article here.