In what may be a first for local elections in Racine County, a candidate hired a hand-writing expert to challenge the nomination papers of his opponent.
Supervisor Ken Hall called in the expert to challenge signatures on challenger Brian Dey's nomination papers. Dey turned in his papers with 103 signatures - three over the required 100.
Hall challenged the signatures and three were tossed out, leaving Dey with valid papers. Hall then hired hand-writing expert Jim Ferrier, a former Milwaukee police captain, to review Dey's signatures.
Hall reported Wednesday that Ferrier found two additional duplicate signatures, which would bring Dey's total under the minimum.
"Accountable government begins with respect for the election process, its laws, and deadlines," Hall said in a press release. "This matter is back to the County Clerk to decide, but serious candidates easily avoid issues like this by planning, scheduling, and doing the work needed to gather far more nomination signatures than the minimum in order to ensure they qualify for the election ballot."
Dey is a former member of the Racine Unified School Board and Caledonia's weed commissioner. He is challenging Hall for the County Board's 15th District.
Ken Hall is the dirtiest politician we have in this area.
ReplyDeleteAnd that says something.
Actually, Dey is a current member of the Racine School Board.
ReplyDeleteJust exactly how desperate is Hall to keep Dey off the ballot?
Hmmm Fred, you are overblowing again. I wouldn't call Ken Hall "the dirtiest politician" because he is challening the signatures. It is his right to challenge. Had Dey had enough brains to get a few dozen more, and he could have without a problem, had he spent a big more energy in getting the signatures, we wouldn't be here, would we.
ReplyDeleteIf Dey can't do the simple step 1 in getting signatures, who wants him on the board making decision anyway.
Oh please, this is going a little too far don't you think? I don't know either candidate but I find this ridiculous. Hall has been watching too many episodes of Forensic Files.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that people in that district who may or may NOT vote for Hall support his move in challeging signatures. Some actually are caught up in thinking that Dey's bad signatures fall into the phrase "identity theft" -I fell into this discussion last night at dinner in Wind Point and while I felt identity theft was a bit overused in this instant, it gave me some insite as to what people thought.
ReplyDeleteI am sure the Powers that Be on the County Board would love to see Brian Dey remove Ken Hall from his seat. They have never been transparent in their dealings, have stonewalled videotaping the general public meetings and absolutely Hate (one of Fred's top verbs) the publicity Ken Hall brings to their realm.
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of auditing some County Executive financial reporting, and while supporters of McReynolds and his majority may downplay the dollar amount in question, the findings are not so much the amount, but the fact that they spend a good deal of time covering each other's questionable practices with their claims of entitlement.
They just don't think it's any of our business.
Diane, I'm sure there are people who would love to see Ken Hall defeated. And I'm sure there are people who would love to see Brian Dey fail. You may very well find problems with McReynolds for all I know.
ReplyDeleteBut that has nothing to do with the fact that hiring a handwriting expert is just a little over the top. Is he so scared he won't be able to hold onto his seat? This just makes him look very small, very small indeed. And now I've heard the attorney helping Hall is Cory Mason's wife? It's a small county isn't it?
Well Anon, that would be a rhetorical question on your part, but if you really wanted an answer you could ask Ken Hall personally.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to see more county citizens attending the County Board meetings to see who's creating these changes
in their districts.
After all, in a capitalist society, those who pay, say. More and more tax payers are finding their voices.
Ken Hall pays taxes, too, doesn't he, Anon? Since potentially Mr. Dey may be representing Mr. Hall's interests. Mr. Hall may vet him anyway he sees fit.
Interesting Diane how you totally avoided answering my question. We are specifically talking about Ken Hall hiring a handwriting expert. How about sticking to the subject?
ReplyDelete"But that has nothing to do with the fact that hiring a handwriting expert is just a little over the top.
ReplyDelete1. Is he so scared he won't be able to hold onto his seat?
2. This just makes him look very small, very small indeed. And now I've heard the attorney helping Hall is Cory Mason's wife?
3. It's a small county isn't it?"
1. Ask Ken Hall. I am not psychic, nor in comunication with him.
2. Ask Ken Hall or Rebecca Mason, as my answer in the first applies to this one as well.
3. Only for cowards who post anonymously.
Now then Anon, what subject would you like me to stick you with?
How about Diane's opinion regarding Ken Hall hiring a hand writing expert? She seems to have opinions regarding everything else, why can't she actually stick to the subject and quit rambling on about McReynolds, a capitalist society, who pays taxes, yadda yadda yahha.
ReplyDeleteFace it, this does not paint Hall in a very good light. But of course, I only expect Diane to once again avoid responding to the subject of the article. Let's hear some more about how many people attend county board meetings instead. Or maybe we can expect more comments analyzing anonymous posters?
You say you are not a psychic Diane, yet you seem to be able to speculate on the feelings of the "powers that be" on the county board, but you find it impossible to comment on Ken Hall.
Silly Anon,
ReplyDeleteI have no opinion about Mr. Hall's hiring a penmanship expert with his own money. What he does with his money doesn't concern me.
What elected oficials do with tax money bothers me much more.
Was this an act of desperation? No, I don't think so. I don't think challenging election paperwork is a bad idea. If I remember correctly, Mr. Hall was criticized for submitting his campaign finance paperwork a day late.
Would Rennert find any other way even is the expert could prove falsification of signatures? No I do not think so.
Do I think the general population right now is suspicious of elected officials? Yup.
I can't vote for Ken Hall, but I did in his bid for CE and I would vote for him if he represented my area.
And, why are you hiding?
Silly Diane,
ReplyDeleteI would think then, you should be concerned about this issue since it indeed wastes valuable taxpayer's money by having county employees waste their time to investigate all Ken Hall's frivilous claims of wrongdoing.
Challenging signatures and paperwork happens all the time, hiring handwriting experts because someone wants desperately to prove wrongdoing but has no proof, well that's something else.
Why does it bother you so that I am posting as anonymous? Is it so much more valid of an identification process to use a first name which may or may not be real?
If you have no opinion about this particular issue, then why bother even posting here to begin with. Sounds like you are just needing an outlet to vent your frustrations about the County executive. Problem is this article is about Ken Hall, not the CE.
Of course the general population is suspicious of elected officials, all of them, including Ken Hall.
Anon,
ReplyDeleteYou can't seperate the individual county supervisors from the CE because they are supposed to provide oversight to the CE's job. In order to do that we need a majority of supervisors that are not afraid to question his job performance and representational quailties for our county.
I don't live in Hall's district, but his election matters to me for this reason; It's literally no different than having a majority of one party over another in any legislative body.
Though the postions of supervisor are supposedly non-partisan each and everyone of those supervisors hold a certain amount of loyalty to one party or another. It's simply impossible in today's political climate to dimiss that fact.
Handwriting expert? If I were running for office and thought there was funny business going on I would pursue the matter to the fullest extent I could because that's what clean government is all about. Unfortunately, we need election police from signature collection all the way up to actual vote tabulation. Since the greatest weight of that lies on the candidates themselves it's only natural that any candidate that can afford to pursue this to the fullest should feel compelled to do so in quest of the cleanest elections possible.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnon, no one has more interest in this race than Mr. Dey himself. That is why I ask who you are. Are you simply a detractor of Mr. Hall's or a supporter of Mr. Dey, and why?
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of Mr. Hall's, Mr. Sharkozy's or Ms. Lange's requests for documentation were a waste of time or money. I paid for my copies of the mileage reports, someone else will have to ask for the expense reports listing the CE's companion's expenses on the out-of-town trips.
The Board is lopsided with yesmen. To quote the current sitting Board Chairman,.."Anything Mac says is fine with me. I trust him." Of course he would. He's a founding member of the ol boy network.
I don't want to hear about "they don't get paid very much..." They sure fight hard enough to keep these seats so if it isn't for the pay, what is it for? The honor?
If what they do is so honorable, you would think they would try to get as many people as involved as possible. They would want these public meetings videotaped as an example of good government and respectful discourse.
You do, I take it, attend the meetings in Ives Grove?
And my name Is Diane and I post regularly at Kay's.
Why are you so shy and what do you have to hide?