Rust Campaign Under Criminal Investigation for Alleged Election Fraud

A criminal investigation into Zach Rust’s campaign for re-election to the Common Council was conducted by the Sheboygan Police Department.

The investigation has been completed and submitted to the Sheboygan District Attorney’s (D.A.) office. The alleged suspect is Deb Klock, a longtime operative of the Sheboygan County Democratic Party.

On February 18, in the late afternoon, a Ring Doorbell neighborhood notification was posted to residents of Sheboygan. A citizen asked why a man had hung something on his door, and then a woman came and removed the flyer.

This incident was quickly reported to Jesse Roethel, a candidate running against Rust for the District 8 seat on the Common Council. Citizens reported that Roethel was placing his campaign materials on doors in District 8. Shortly after Roethel distributed his flyers, a woman was seen removing them, placing them in her clipboard, which displayed Rust campaign materials.

Watch Ring Doorbell video here.

Social media users identified the suspect as Deb Klock, who has long been associated with the Sheboygan County Democratic Party. Klock, who is closely tied to Sheboygan County Democratic Party Co-Chairs Maeve Quinn and Mary Lynne Donohue, is not a low-level volunteer.

Here is a photo from 2017 showing Klock in the front row, flanked by Donohue and Quinn, with the current mayor of Sheboygan, who also has ties to Klock.

Given her extensive commitment to political activism, Klock would presumably know better than to remove campaign materials. Yet, Klock is allegedly the person in the video removing election materials.

Has Sheboygan County Democratic Party been doing this for years?

Was this theft coordinated?

Issues in the Investigation

After Roethel reported the incident to the Sheboygan Police Department, he was informed by two individuals, including a supervisor, that no crime had been committed. Persistent efforts from Roethel led to the launch of an investigation on February 19.

Despite being told the investigation would be submitted to the D.A.’s office for charges, Roethel found out on March 18 that the D.A.’s office was unaware of the investigation. It had been incorrectly submitted and had to be resubmitted formally.

On March 19, Roethel learned that the police had resubmitted the investigation. By March 21, the D.A. was close to proceeding with charges, expected by March 22. However, as of March 29, no charges have been filed.

Despite video evidence and citizen identification of the suspect, the case of alleged election fraud has seen a six-week delay in charges.

Democratic Party of Sheboygan County’s Ethical Concerns

Klock is active in party causes and is connected to co-presidents Quinn and Donohue, as well as Mayor Sorenson.

Is this behavior standard for the party?

In light of such actions for a Common Council election, what might occur during larger elections?

Has Mayor Sorenson received donations from Klock?

Two years ago, under Quinn’s leadership, the Mead Public Library received a more significant funding increase than any other city department, surpassing the police and fire departments.

Did Mayor Sorenson and the Council advocate for this increase, possibly to benefit Quinn and the library?

Donohue is implicated in a federal lawsuit, accused of conspiring to terminate former City Administrator Todd Wolf without cause.

Is anyone concerned by this unethical behavior?

Rust’s Fitness to Serve Has to be Questioned

As Rust’s campaign is scrutinized, his role as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, which oversees the Ethics Committee, came under fire. Rust ignored complaints about Mayor Sorenson’s ethics and delegated the investigation to Adam Westbrook, now facing federal charges for sex crimes against children. Rust’s inaction and support for Westbrook call into question his ethical judgment.

Rust received emails last summer from Sheboygan residents stating they demanded an ethics investigation into Mayor Sorenson on the basis of harassment based on religion. This was related to Mayor Sorenson posing for a photo with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Rust refused to convene the Committee of the Whole to address the complaints.

This, combined with Mayor Sorenson brazenly removing an agenda item effectively silenced local residents from a chance to publicly speak about their harassment concerns by Mayor Sorenson to the Common Council.

Rust and Mayor Sorenson trampled on your right to free speech and silenced you!

With his campaign under investigation and his failure to uphold ethical standards, Rust is unfit to serve.

Call to Action

Contact:

Mayor Sorenson, ryan.sorenson@sheboyganwi.gov
City Administrator Casey Bradley, casey.bradley@sheboyganwi.gov

Ask them what they will do to address Rust’s campaign being under criminal investigation.

Ask Mayor Sorenson about his ties to Klock.

Demand answers into why Mead Public Library received such a massive increase in funding in the 2023 budget?

Tell them Sheboygan deserves integrity in leadership. Oppose election fraud by making your voice heard before the Tuesday, April 2, election. Be informed about your candidates.

Go Vote!

Take Back Sheboygan County knows that many former and current City employees have been reluctant to share their stories for fear of retaliation. If you are one of these, we welcome you to contact us. Your name will not be shared without permission. You can contact us at https://takebacksheboygancounty.com/contact/.

You are the solution! Be part of a movement to improve your community!