Nasty Election mailing tied to Sen. Tom Tiffany, R:
Last edited Fri Feb 6, 2015, 09:24 AM - Edit history (2)
Nasty Election mailing tied to Sen. Tom Tiffany, R: http://bit.ly/1C4AhsF #wipolitics #wiunion
4 hours ago • Bill Lueders Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
..........The battle wounds of politics are very much on display in Oneida County in northern Wisconsin, where claims of election law violations involving a prominent state senator are now under review by the state Department of Justice.
Days before the April 1 election, fliers mailed to voters in four Oneida County Board races warned that some county supervisors had a plan to “ELIMINATE DAMS!*” in Oneida County, an incendiary charge. The fliers were identical, except for the name of the candidate who would “Stop Their Dam Plan!” and “Save Our Dams.”
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What makes this backwoods issue of larger import is that the controversial fliers are the handiwork of Wisconsin state Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, a rising star within his party and chamber. He admits helping craft the wording of this and another flier, accusing the county board of being eager to sell a county building at a loss.
Tiffany was also involved in sending the fliers out. He says he acted not as a state senator but as a resident of Oneida County: “I care about my county. It’s important to be engaged.”
Tiffany defends the mailing. He says that besides Martini’s “instrumental” role on past DNR dam removal projects, he serves on the board of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, which is “associated with” the national group American Rivers, which has “a bias toward removing dams.” River Alliance officials say the two groups have no formal ties.
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According to Jensen, a draft land-use plan favored by Martini included language that was removed when some towns objected: “Support dam/drainage way repair and removal where appropriate.” This language, which Martini says he did not craft, is the basis for the flier’s feverish claim of a plan to eliminate dams.
In October, a citizens group formed in response to these mailings filed a complaint with the Oneida County district attorney, who forwarded it to the state Justice Department, which says it is under review. The complaint alleges possible violations of election law involving the fliers’ content, origin and funding.
More on this next week.
Bill Lueders is the money and politics project director at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
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