Editorial gets immediate results
Who says newspaper editorials don't have any impact?
Nov. 29 Capital Times editorial:
Now that Dane County Board Chairman Kevin Kesterson has been convicted of lying to a sheriff's deputy investigating political wrongdoing at the county level, he should have the decency to resign.And a Nov. 29 Capital Times news story:
Embattled Dane County Board Chairman Kevin Kesterson has resigned as both chairman and supervisor, ending his 10-month ordeal stemming from charges that he lied to a police officer about his knowledge of an e-mail smear made by a former supervisor against Supervisor Don Eggert.
posted by xoff @ 4:31 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
While some may see this as a victory of public opinion, it is really a sad ending to an even sadder situation.
Kevin unfortunately tried covering for a "friend's" idiotic mistake that was meant as a dumb joke but was elevated into a "smear" campaign. What Kevin failed to see was how much more importance the New Dane places upon the non-issue.
What Kevin is guilty of, in poliitical terms, is commiting a Gary Hart atrocity, the Bill Clinton fib. He failed to forsee the inflation of a non-issue and chose to dismiss it. The dismissal (the "lie") becomes the thin ground that the critics then get to stand on, knowing that they now have legal ground (however feeble the issue itself may be) to crucify the enemy.
Should he now be blasted for stepping down? I would hope not. Upon realizing that he truely did underestimate the importance of the issue and his initial attempt to cover it up, he tried to take his punishment and move on by pleading no contest. $1,000 fine, community service and a mutilated political reputation is no small punishment. A lesser politician (say maybe Scooter Jensen?) would have fought and continued to deny their wrongdoing.
Hat's off to Kevin for ending up being the mature politician in the middle of a very immature scene.
Now lets watch the feeding frenzy that we will call the Dane County Board really move in to high gear. Thank God I live south of the Dane border!
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