It’s Time for a Complaint

AFP is running calls into the school district about the school referendum and the supporters aren’t happy.

West Bend - A national group advocating limits on new taxes and government spending jumped in on a local school building referendum election Friday, just four days before voters go to the polls.

Americans for Prosperity, which maintains a state office in Milwaukee and has offices in other states, sponsored computer-generated telephone calls that began blanketing homes in the West Bend School District on Friday afternoon, according to local residents.

Several members of a local referendum support group have asked the Washington County district attorney’s office to investigate the telephone campaign as a possible violation of state election laws. State laws generally require groups to register with municipal or school district clerks before campaigning on a ballot issue.

I’m pretty sure that the calls are “educational” calls which don’t require AFP to register locally.  The calls don’t tell people to vote for or against the referendum.  They just tell people about it. 

But notice that the complaint was filed on the Friday afternoon before the Tuesday election.  It’s a baseless complaint that will likely be dismissed very quickly, but not before the election.  But they get to get it in the media for a couple of cycles to distract attention away from the issue itself.  This is becoming a somewhat normal campaign tactic. 

I should mention that I am named in this complaint.  It says:

“There is a direct link between Owen Robinson and Americans for Prosperity. See item referencing rally on 10/18 on this website (AFP) and the corroborating item on his blog. Mr. Robinson is an outspoken opponent of the referendum as evidenced by his writings in the West Bend Daily News.”

“Minimally Owen Robinson has connections to the group doing the illegal calling.”

Ummm… OK.  I don’t see how that makes me responsible for AFP’s actions, but whatever.  Seems like they just kind of threw whatever they could into the complaint about anyone who has been opposing the referendum.  I guess that I thought that I had a right to speak publicly about public policy.  Silly me.