Meeting With Assembly-person Elect Dan Knodl...

I enjoyed a meeting and cup of coffee with Dan Knodl on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He had indicated a willingness to meet since we hadn't yet had that opportunity.

We discussed his campaign 'issues' and he appeared to be very contrite, wishes that it hadn't happened and indicated that he was ready to face the penalty.  I felt that he was being honest and forthright during this discussion.  He recognizes that this will dog him for a good long time to come, but wants to do a good job for the district and hopes to eventually move beyond this chapter in his elected life.

His purpose in our meeting was to indicate that he wanted to "stay grounded" and open lines of communication with people throughout the district.  He indicated that he had already tendered his resignation from the Washington County Board; I'm not certain of the effective date of that resignation.  I believe that spot will be filled by appointment with the full Board's approval.

We joked about the 'broom closet' he was likely to be given as his Madison office since the 'newbies' who are also in the minority are not among the favored.  He said that he would qualify to have a single staff person and that he was already involved in the interview process and hoped to have made his decision by December 15th.  His choice will likely be made from among seasoned staff people who were working for a member that lost his or her re-election bid and were seeking a new position.

He said that he intended to spend a lot of time in the district so that he could keep himself abreast of its needs, and so that he didn't fall into the "trap" of being caught up in the position where people are all trying to make you feel good so that you'll support their position on this and that.  He is working now to identify issues that he can begin to work on hoping that this will help him establish his credibility even as a minority freshman assembly-person.

He professes to be a conservative.  He mentions his business experience and indicates that he is a 'property rights' believer.  He mentioned that he will remain a member of the Wisconsin Tavern League but will not be involved in leadership roles as he had been.  He understands that it will be very difficult for him to establish his credibility especially since the Republicans are in the minority in both the Assembly and the Senate.

He has developed a list of issues that he hopes to become involved with, and indicated that he was open to people's suggestions for additions to this list.  Among the items already on the list are spending reductions through things such as the sale of some state-owned property that could benefit both the state treasury and the communities that would acquire newly taxable property within their borders.

I would invite readers to offer their thoughts for Mr. Knodl as to issues that are important in this coming two-year period.  I'd also like to encourage his periodic contributions to this Blog as a guest writer if his schedule permits.  He was stung by some of the comments (relating to his family) that were posted to my earlier Blogs.  I indicated that I am not permitted to edit comments, but that, had I that opportunity again, I'd probably have decided to pull the offensive comment in its entirety, which I am permitted to do.

All in all, we had a good first visit.

Assembly Race Questions...

The Ozaukee County District Attorney, Sandy Williams, filed charges against Dan Knodl in Washington County for making false statements on campaign literature on Friday, October 24th.  This stems from his use of various names stating these people were "Friends and Supporters".  Some of those that were identified have indicated the they are not supporters of Knodl or didn't give him permission to use their names in that manner.  Knodl has offered up different reasons for this having happened although that hasn't satisfied critics.  One of those named on the Knodl list was Washington County DA, Todd Martens, who therefore named Sandy Williams to be the special prosecutor in the case.

Knodl faces misdemeanor charges that carry fines of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.  He obviously hasn't been proved guilty; he has only been charged.  Charging, however, seems to suggest that the case was sufficiently strong so as to warrant the trial.  DAs aren't always victorious when they bring charges, so this can't be suggested to be a 'slam dunk' either.

We will likely go into the voting booth on November 4th without resolution to this issue.  Obviously many have already voted using absentee ballots and likely weren't aware of this charging when those votes were cast.

Knodl was the victor in his Republican primary and faces Charlene Brady who was the Democratic victor in her primary race.  The voter turn-out was heavily weighted to the Republican side as is not uncommon in this district.

My question is, "What will this charging do so far as your voting decision?"  Will you change your mind if you had intended to vote for Knodl and vote for Brady instead?  Will you vote for Knodl in spite of the charges?  Will you use the write-in approach or simply not vote in this race?  What will you do when the curtain closes behind you?

Without regard to the eventual outcome, one thing is certain; this casts yet another pebble of doubt and mistrust into the political pool for the skeptics among us.  There were already plenty of ripples on the surface of that pool.