The first letter below appeared in the July 24, 2012, Tomahawk Leader. The next one was a follow-up, with a response from the challenger.

As you probably are aware, Incumbent Sheila Pudelko is running for Lincoln County Clerk. As the Aug. 14, 2012 primary election draws near, we are trying to get people like you to take a closer look at Ms. Pudelko and why she is the only choice that makes sense for the residents of Lincoln County.

Ms. Pudelko took over as Lincoln County Clerk in November of 2010 for the unexpired term of Bob Kunkel after his tragic and untimely death. Ms. Pudelko was selected by the County Board over 27 other applicants.

As for qualifications, Ms. Pudelko is a resident of Lincoln County and has been since May of 2010. Ms. Pudelko has over 30 years of governmental experience, with 27 of those years as the Clerk/Treasurer for the Village of Rothschild, and almost two years as the Lincoln County Clerk. Sheila has been an invaluable asset to the municipal clerks of Lincoln County. Ms. Pudelko has gone to extraordinary measures over the last year helping the election inspectors, as well as the clerks, adapt to sweeping changes in election laws. She has given up Saturdays and evenings conducting extra training, and has fed us at her own expense. These efforts have paid off as evidenced by the documented improvements made by all municipalities over the last few elections.

She has made herself available to us for all questions at any time, providing us with her cell number and taking calls from us early in the morning, at night, and on weekends, as many of the town clerks work full time jobs and are unable to call during “office hours.” Her municipal clerk experience gives her the ability to answer basically any question we clerks may have, not just election related.

These are just some of the reasons why we are supporting Sheila Pudelko in her campaign for Lincoln County Clerk, and we would like to see you do the same. The only way to really do that is to get out and vote for Sheila Pudelko on Aug. 14. Show you care about Lincoln County; vote Incumbent Sheila Pudelko on Aug. 14.

Sincerely,
Amy K Duley, Clerk, Town of Pine River
Mary Baltich, Clerk, Town of Wilson
Naomi Fischer, Clerk, Town of Merrill
Corrie Schoone, Clerk, Town of Harrison
Deborah Raymer, Clerk, Town of Scott
Heather Marheine, Clerk, Town of Somo
Andrea Michaud, Clerk, Town of King
Judith Buch, Clerk, Town of Rock Falls
Betty Lucas, Clerk, Town of Skanawan
Kristy Ament, Clerk, Town of Harding
Cynthia Lokemoen, Clerk, Town of Birch
Linda Dorgan, Clerk, Town of Russell
Ann Eckman, Clerk, Town of Bradley
Lou Israel, Clerk, Town of Tomahawk

To The Voters of Lincoln County:

We unfortunately find it necessary to write a second letter in regards to the upcoming election and the race that is being run for Lincoln County clerk. In the previous letter we voiced our 1st Amendment right of free speech and endorsed incumbent Sheila Pudelko for the job based on her qualifications and experience. No mention was made of her opponent, Chris Marlowe, and his lack of qualifications and experience.

Last week Mr. Marlowe made phone calls to some of the clerks who signed the letter stating that we were in violation of Wisconsin State Statute 19.59 (br) and saying that we could each be fined $1,000 for signing the letter with our job titles. In response to this, a copy of the letter was sent to the Wisconsin Towns Association with a request to interpret the statute. The attorney who responded stated, “The clerks are fine here. The statute referenced alludes to promises, etc., for someone to support a particular candidate. Instead, merely saying who you are and that you hold a type of position together with an endorsement is fine. So I do not see any ethical wrongdoing here.”

We have great concern with how Mr. Marlowe handled this situation. He has managed to now create feelings of animosity between himself and the clerks as some of those contacted felt he was threatening, harassing and bullying. Is this how he would like to begin a new job?

As for Mr. Marlowe’s qualifications and his comparing himself to Bob Kunkel, he may have the same qualifications that Mr. Kunkel did when he first ran for county clerk, but he does not have the years of experience that Mr. Kunkel gained as county clerk. Mr. Marlowe has stated that he will learn the job. Who is going to provide him with that training? Why should the taxpayers of Lincoln County pay him for on the job training when we have a candidate who is already qualified in Sheila Pudelko?

We are sorry for Mr. Marlowe’s job loss. Would he be so interested in becoming county clerk if he were still employed? Mr. Marlowe’s interest in the election process can be shown by looking at his lack of voting history. This can be found by going to https://vpa.wi.gov clicking on Voter Search and typing in Mr. Marlowe’s name and birth date which are on his website. Then click on his name and “View Voting History.” We would also encourage you to look at Mr. Marlowe’s history in Wisconsin Courts at http://wcca.wicourts.gov/index.xsl.

Mr. Marlowe may be a “nice guy” and he may have grown up in Merrill, however, that does not make him qualified for the job of county clerk. Mr. Marlowe has no experience in government, Ms. Pudelko has 30 years. For all these reasons we would like to endorse Sheila Pudelko for County Clerk. Show you care about Lincoln County; vote Incumbent Sheila Pudelko on Aug. 14.

Sincerely,
Amy K. Duley, Clerk, Town of Pine River
Mary Baltich, Clerk, Town of Wilson
Ann Eckman, Clerk, Town of Bradley
Cynthia Lokemoen, Clerk, Town of Birch
Judith Buch, Clerk, Town of Rock Falls
Betty Lucas, Clerk, Town of Skanawan
Lou Israel, Clerk, Town of Tomahawk
Naomi Fischer, Clerk, Town of Merrill
Andrea Michaud, Clerk, Town of King
Corrie Schoone, Clerk, Town of Harrison

(Editor’s note: Because the election is next Tuesday and Lincoln County clerk challenger Chris Marlowe would not have adequate time to respond to the comments in the letter above, the Tomahawk Leader asked him to submit something on his side of the story. He was not privy to what was contained in the above correspondence; only that we had received a follow-up to the initial town clerks’ letter that was previously published in the Tomahawk Leader. What he provided follows.)
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Would think twice before using title

Dear Lincoln County Voters:

Some of you may have noticed that in the July 31st edition of the Tomahawk Leader the clerks of some of the townships wrote an endorsement of the incumbent county clerk in their official capacities as clerks of your town. Since these endorsements were made as the clerk of your town, I’m wondering whether they speak on behalf of their town or on the behalf of their town boards since they took the position endorsing a political candidate – not as an individual, but as a public official of their town.

Because this seemed unethical to me, I did some checking and found that according to the State of Wisconsin Code of Ethics for Local Officials Section 19.59 (1)(br) “No local public official ... may, directly give, or offer or promise to give ... his or her vote or influence to or for the benefit of a candidate, or a political party ...”(my emphasis). Of course, I am not an attorney, but my interpretation of this language would make me think twice before I’d agree to use my official title and the trust that the voters have bestowed in me to influence an election.

I’m sorry that some of these clerks feel offended by the suggestion that they should be careful not to even appear to use their titles in elections in a way that might suggest they speak on behalf of their towns or their town boards. It was never my intention to offend anyone. In defense of many of the clerks, I do not believe it was their intent to use their titles on that letter.

If you put your faith in me and elect me your county clerk, I promise to work hard each and every day to make Lincoln County better for us all.

Sincerely,
Chris Marlowe
Candidate for Lincoln
County Clerk
Merrill