By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Several election complaints were filed by Town of Delavan Board members against each other in the weeks and days leading up to the April 6 election. The Wisconsin Ethics Commission and the Walworth County District Attorney’s office have now both issued rulings on those complaints.
Supervisor Katherine Gaulke filed a complaint against Dixie Bernsteen, a write-in challenger for election to the board, for displaying campaign signs that did not have the proper attribution regarding who paid for the signs. Gaulke also referred her allegations to Town of Delavan Police Chief Ray Clark who forwarded then to Walworth County Sheriff Kurt Picknell.
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission issued a ruling on May 11 stating that it had found “probable cause of a violation of the law” but decided to exercise its prosecutorial discretion and issue a warning rather than take further enforcement action and the complaint was dismissed.
District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld issued a ruling on May 21. Wiedenfeld sent a letter to Picknell that was provided to the Enterprise. In it, Wiedenfeld wrote that he had reviewed police reports, photographs and letters from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission regarding the complaints.
Wiedenfeld said Gaulke provided photographs of political signs and letters of support that did not identify a source of contribution or disbursement from a candidate committee regarding the signs Bernsteen posted and letters sent out by Town Chairman Larry Malsch and Town Supervisor Mary Knipper.
Gaulke, Malsch, Knipper, and Bernsteen were competing for three seats on the board. Wiedenfeld said Gaulke speculated there might have been other violations of the law but no verification or evidence was uncovered to support that claim.
Wiedenfeld said his investigation determined that Bernsteen told a police detective she was unaware it was a violation for signs to not identify the source of contribution or disbursement because the signs had been previously used and were repurposed for this campaign.
According to Wiedenfeld, it appeared Bernsteen violated the law but did not, in his opinion, rise to the level of criminal conduct and he declined to file charges in this matter.
In regard to Gaulke’s complaints against Knipper and Malsch, Wiedenfeld chose not to file charges in those cases as well.
Knipper admitted to sending a letter to several people requesting their vote in the election and said she did not realize such a letter needed to identify a source of contribution or disbursement to her campaign. She said she now realized she had made a mistake. Wiedenfeld said it appeared Knipper did violate the law but he declined to file charges.
Malsch admitted to sending a letter to some friends endorsing himself and Knipper in the election but Wiedenfeld found no evidence it was paid for by a campaign committee or was coordinated with Knipper’s campaign. Wiedenfeld said he found no evidence of a violation of the law by Malsch.
When made aware by the Enterprise that Gaulke had filed a complaint against him, Malsch said at the time he would consider filing a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Gaulke if he found her letters to the editor leading up to the election failed to contain an attribution revealing who paid for them. Malsch did go forward with that complaint.
The Ethics Commission ruled on May 11 there was no reasonable suspicion of a violation of the law regarding Gaulke’s letters.
Wisconsin law does not require an attribution for letters to the editor. The complaint Malsch filed against Gaulke was dismissed.
