REPORT ON THE TYPE OF CAMPAIGNING WE DO NOT WANT IN THIS COUNTY/CITY

Candidates shocked by campaign mailings
By Eric LaRose Sheboygan Press staff

Andrea Covey of Sheboygan is used to getting politically themed mail around election time, but nothing prepared her for the letter she opened Tuesday.
"I was just disgusted," said Covey, 24. "How desperate is somebody that they have to do this to somebody else?"
The letter, which had no return address, was riddled with personal allegations, some with racial overtones, against 6th District Ald. Bonnie Cerda, who is running for re-election.
"It just seemed very racist and unfounded," Covey said. "I've gotten things like, 'You shouldn't vote for this person because of this,' but nothing like this."
Before the Common Council meeting Wednesday night, Cerda said she was in shock when she first heard about the letter.
"There's definitely been an outcry from the citizens that it's not right," Cerda said. "I have to yet read it, so I don't have any thoughts about it yet, but it's definitely not good."
The letter was one of two that were arriving in 6th District mailboxes Tuesday, the day of a primary election that pitted incumbent Cerda against two challengers seeking the seat. The second letter slammed one of Cerda's two opponents, Jeff Schukow.
"I was sickened by the whole thing," Schukow said. "They basically accused me of being a deadbeat dad. I don't know where this came from. I felt really bad about it, for myself, and when I heard about what happened to Bonnie I really felt bad."
The third candidate, Tony Rios, said he had not seen either letter and had not heard whether one had been circulated about him.
"You can be assured that I had nothing to do with it," said Rios, who was eliminated in Tuesday's primary.
Who sent the letters remains a mystery and it hasn't been determined how many homes received them.
A copy of the letter directed at Schukow was sent to the home of Mayor Juan Perez, who does not live in the 6th District. Perez said he received it over the weekend and had no idea it had been part of a mass mailing.
"I just assumed it was from someone trying to keep (Schukow) out of office," Perez said. "This was a sad day in Sheboygan politics."
The letter was a shocking reminder for Perez, who went through a similar experience during the last mayoral election.
"This happened to me last year. I still have the letter. It made my wife cry when she opened it," Perez said, adding the letter was racist in nature.
Police Lt. Dave Schafhauser said someone brought the Cerda letter into the station Tuesday, but did not know whether the department had begun an investigation.
"We thought there may be a violation of campaign finance law," said Schafhauser, who said detectives did not know offhand whether any laws had been broken. "It's not a law that we typically investigate. We would have to do some research, talk to the district attorney."
Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco said it is possible the flyers could be in violation of an election statute, but he would not know without examining the documents and applicable regulations.
"My initial reaction is it's probably a civil thing, but it depends," DeCecco said. "The elections statutes are just so specific on these things, I wouldn't even hazard a guess to this."
Schafhauser said he did not recall the department ever investigating similar flyers.
If the letters were an attempt to sway voters, they didn't seem to work since both Cerda and Schukow survived Tuesday's primary and advance to the April general election.
"I was kind of amused that Bonnie still go 51 percent of the vote," Covey said. "Even after all of this."
Cerda and Schukow both said they were confident the letters weren't sent as part of either candidate's campaign, and both said they are committed being professional throughout their campaigns.
"We're going to continue running the same campaigns that we have," Schukow said. "This just doesn't make any sense. This was just sad and sickening."
Readers respond
I was appalled and offended by the flier I received on Tuesday concerning Bonnie Cerda. It was extremely racist and vindictive. Such a slanderous attack on one's person should be dealt with accordingly. Ignorance like this must not be tolerated! — Nina Altenberger of Sheboygan