To the editor:
This is in response to Mr. Weber’s letter to The Democrat last week.
Before I start, let me make one thing clear: I am not speaking for my brother or his campaign. He hasn’t read this, nor have I talked to him about it. In Mr. Weber’s letter he had a few questions for me, and let’s be honest, allegations — none of which were true, or were, at best, half-truths. Honestly, I wish he would have called me or fired me an email.
First of all, he refers to me as the complainant. He actually said “Kyle Birkemeier’s brother,” so he could be talking about Glenn; I don’t know. While I was working at the polls, I saw commissioner Diana Biddle enter the chute leading up to the Bean Blossom fire department. I have asked The Democrat to run the photo again with this letter. Look at it and see if that does look like a violation of the election law stating candidates cannot be in the chute. I have worked the polls on and off for 20 years for various candidates in three states. I had always been told that this was illegal. I figured I was wrong and took some pictures anyway. I decided to do some research and found out that this could be indeed be a felony.
Next, Mr. Weber says that election complaints in primaries could only be reported by members of the same party. If this were true, why did they hear it? If that is the case, shouldn’t Mr. Weber’s entire letter be directed at the election board instead of me? Regardless, my next step was to talk to one of the Republican candidates in that primary to see if they wanted me to report it and I was told to go ahead. So I filed my complaint with the clerk’s office in June.
Mr. Weber’s big point was that I, on behalf of my brother, am causing taxpayer dollars to be wasted on a special prosecutor. This is just false. In July, I was scheduled at a regular meeting of the election board. I was in Phoenix at the time and had to be in attendance on the phone. Honestly, I missed about half of what was said at the meeting because I couldn’t hear. This isn’t the fault of the board or really anyone else, it’s just the way it was. I have since listened to the board meeting’s audio and Mrs. Biddle basically said that she was confused and didn’t see the signs that said “No electioneering beyond this point.” I was told she was talking to a poll worker and two other people in the door. The board voted and did vote 3-0 in favor of Ms. Biddle, but made sure to tell her not to do it again. Since this was a regularly scheduled meeting, by filing this complaint I cost the county a grand total of $0. I called the county clerk and here is what she told me on Oct. 16. “The board is paid an annual amount no matter how many meetings we have.”
Now as for filing for a special prosecutor, that wasn’t me. I didn’t file for one. I did not go to the judge or local prosecutor and ask for one, nor did I ask anyone to do it for me. Mr. Weber is just wrong. My actions cost the county no money. You don’t have to take my word for it; go ask the court — something Mr. Weber couldn’t be bothered to do, apparently.
Now as to the very first question in your letter, have shameful politics come to Brown County? Well, let’s see. I am not running for office and yet I get accused of doing something I didn’t do because I am a candidate’s family member. I get attacked for reporting what I thought might be a crime to the proper authorities in the proper way. All the accusations are thrown at me by someone I have never had any dealings with or, to my recollection, have never even met. All of Mr. Weber’s accusations could have been instantly disproven with just the tiniest bit of research or effort to reach out. But instead of doing that, I am attacked as part of a pathetic, thinly veiled attack on my brother’s campaign. So, have shameful politics come to Brown County? Yes, it sure looks that way.
As for Mr. Weber’s last question “Why would anyone in Brown County vote for Kyle Birkemeier?” I’m voting for him because this kind of gaslighting and garbage has been going on for far too long. I’m sick of the cronyism and incompetence. I want a candidate who doesn’t waste money on unneeded projects and then raise taxes because there was no financial planning involved in the initial phases. Every person reading this knows someone who has been burned by the county government.
So, I ask you, the reader, do you want that to change or not? Frankly, I do. That’s why I am voting for Kyle Birkemeier for commissioner.
Alan Birkemeier, Wychwood Drive
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