Flyer targets Rossbach, Nephew supporters
False claim leave residents wondering who wrote it
Alex Davy
staff writer
A negative campaign flyer attacking city council candidates Will Rossbach and John Nephew claims that it was "Prepared and Paid for by Maplewood Voters Coalition Political Action Committee, Bob Schmidt, Chair."
The flyers, postmarked Oct. 5, appear to have been mailed to residents displaying lawn signs supporting Rossbach, who is an incumbent, and Nephew. The MVC actually endorses Rossbach and Nephew, and has been a vocal critic of Council Member Rebecca Cave, who is seeking a second term.
"My integrity is at stake in this," Bob Schmidt told the Review last week. "Using my name, and the name of the MVC, is basically identity theft."
Maplewood resident Kevin Matheny, who supports Rossbach and Nephew, says the flyer immediately raised red flags.
"My first reaction was "Oh, well, this is depressingly predictable.' But then I noticed the byline on the bottom and said "Wait a second, don't I know the Maplewood Voters Coalition?'"
Matheny went online and looked up the MVC's web site, where its endorsements are clearly displayed.
"I was offended," Matheny says. "The fact that whoever did this would misappropriate someone's name - that's just wrong." He immediately contacted Schmidt, who spread the word to Rossbach and Nephew.
"I was not a happy man," Schmidt says.
Muddying the waters
"This is a deliberate attempt to undermine or discredit the MVC," says Stephan Flister, publisher and editor of the Maplewood Voices blog. "It takes our time and attention away from the real issues of the campaign."
The MVC plans to pursue a criminal complaint, Schmidt says, but has no intention of launching its own investigation or spearheading legal action, as it did with the recent campaign practices complaint it filed against Rebecca Cave and the Maplewood Firefirefighters Association.
"Personally, I want to catch (whoever wrote and mailed the flyer) and have them prosecuted to the fullest," Schmidt says. "But we don't have the ability or the desire to handle something like this on our own." At this point, he says, he's just hoping local law enforcement will be able to take action.
"We were not founded to be a watchdog group," Schmidt says. "Our primary motivation is to endorse and support candidates we feel will have a positive impact on our community. We want to go back to doing what we were doing."
Ominous, threatening
Falsified authorship is not the only aspect of the flyer to raise local hackles. The flyer, headlined "Is this who you support?" concludes by stating "Please remember that placing a campaign sign in your yard is seen by your neighbors and reflects on your character. Your neighbors know the "real story.' Trust your Police and Firefighters!"
It's a statement that some residents find threatening. "What that message says is that if you put a Rossbach sign on your lawn, you're a low character," says Keith Miller, a retired police officer who worked for the city of St. Paul for 33 years. "This really irritates me. It's poor politics."
Matheny agrees. "It's got an ominous, almost threatening tone to it: "Not only are these bad people, but you're supporting bad people and we're watching you,'" he says. "Is this saying that action is going to be taken against me? I found myself looking at my two lawn signs, wondering if they're going to be there in the morning."
Candidates react
"I have no idea who did this," says candidate DelRay Rokke. "I've pledged from the start that I'm not going to enter into any kind of negative campaigning, and I'll keep that promise.
"I'm just trying to run a cleaner, leaner and greener campaign and get people to vote for community improvement of Maplewood."
To date, the flyer has not officially been connected to any candidate's campaign.
"Obviously, this is poisonous to the political process," Nephew says, "But I'm not a victim here, really. Bob Schmidt is."
Making people angry is only going to hurt his opponents, Nephew predicts. "I don't see these kinds of tactics as being very effective. This is probably getting me more volunteers and donations."
Incumbent Rebecca Cave was contacted for comment, but did not call back during business hours.
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