When I started poking around local government entities in an effort to learn more about the planning process in Franklin, I was taken aback by the palpable suspicion with which I was regarded at every turn. My inquires were (and often continue to be) met with polite-but-curt replies, and information is rarely offered freely.
A peek at recent local history sheds some light.
I remember getting odd fliers in my mailbox a few years back, when I was fairly ambivalent about the workings of local government beyond that which affected my immediate surroundings. I was aware that a group had it in for certain members of city government and were making some pretty broad accusations.
Evidently, "Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership" succeeded in ousting the persons that they felt were "hindering progress." I hear the occasional faintly derisive reference to "the former non-progressive" city council at current meetings.
I left messages with Basil Ryan, the former alderman who seems to be the prime mover behind these charges, many months ago attempting to gain some insight into this imbroglio, but haven't heard back. He has quite an interesting website here. (A quick quote: "The following web pages will show you the corruption, influence and favoritism that continue in Franklin.")
Franklin citizens group accused
DA's office files civil charges alleging campaign finance violations
By ANNYSA JOHNSON
anjohnson@journalsentinel.comPosted: Dec. 17, 2006
Franklin - A local political action committee that campaigned using what turned out to be false or exaggerated claims to elect a pro-development Common Council in recent years has been accused by the Milwaukee County district attorney's office of violating state campaign finance laws.
The civil charges, issued this month, accuse Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership and former treasurer James Seymer of filing a false registration statement and failing to accurately record how much money it collected and spent between April 2003 and July 2004.
Though it names only Seymer and the citizen group as defendants, the complaint sheds light on how the organization's activities were financed, at least in part, by loans and contributions from local business interests, including Ted Grintjes and James Rhiner, longtime members of the city's Economic Development Commission and Community Development Authority.
"This only scratched the surface," Basil Ryan, the former Franklin alderman ousted by the group in a recall election whose complaint to the DA's office prompted the civil charges, said Friday. "I'm pushing for criminal charges. This group was warned. They had to know" their reporting obligations.
Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who filed the forfeiture action, said he found no evidence of criminal intent. Both Seymer and the citizen group face fines of up to $3,500.
According to the complaint, Seymer registered Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership as a political action committee in 2003 but sought an exemption from financial reporting requirements, saying it would not collect more than $100 from individuals or more than $1,000 in a calendar year.
The complaint says the group then went on to accept contributions totaling $900 from business owners Howard Salter and James Stack in 2003. In addition, it said, the group reimbursed Rhiner and Grintjes a total of $300 they spent on printing fliers for FCRL, without documenting those loans.
According to the complaint, the group spent more than $1,600 on printing services between March and June 2003 but reflected only one payment, for $421, on its campaign finance reports.
Ryan uncovered the amounts by looking at the finance reports of state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale), whose company did the printing, and who is required by law to disclose any client with whom he does more than $1,000 in businesses.
Stone said Thursday that he is not affiliated with the group or its members other than as a vendor.
James Seymer could not be reached for comment Friday, and Rhiner, who is listed as the citizen group's current treasurer, did not return a telephone call.
Seymer's father, recall activist Orville Seymer - a founding member of both the Franklin group and the broader Citizens for Responsible Government - said any errors in filings were unintentional. Orville Seymer said his son had moved out of Milwaukee County but would not say where.
Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership emerged in March 2003, saying it intended to recall Ryan and anyone else members saw as blocking the city's economic development efforts. Over the next year, the group replaced four of the six sitting aldermen with one of its founding members - Ald. Steve Olson - and three others sympathetic to its agenda. Olson later distanced himself from the group.
The group made what turned out to be false or exaggerated claims against opponents in fliers, claiming in one case that the candidate knew a sex-offender home was being planned for Franklin and that the candidate did nothing to fight a landfill expansion whose height would "exceed the Empire State Building."
"It was 'take the office at all costs.' That was the tactic they used," said former Ald. Don Dorsan, who lost to Olson and complained to the district attorney's office that the group had knowingly distributed false information about him.
Dorsan said the group's actions had discouraged others from running.
"You'd need a lot of money to fight this group," said Dorsan, who chairs the city's Environmental Commission. "The average guy who wants to be in office for all the right reasons doesn't have those kinds of resources."
Link: JS Online:.
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