Marathon County Board candidate to file complaint against opponent with Wisconsin Ethics Commission

Damakant Jayshi

A candidate for Marathon County Board said he will file a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against his opponent that centers on campaign finance materials distributed in Dist. 23.

Chris Voll, who is challenging incumbent Supervisor David Baker for the Dist. 23 seat, told Wausau Pilot this week he will file the complaint with the WEC alleging Baker misquoted Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard in his campaign materials and used Leonhard’s words without context.

“Candidates and elected officials should not be misquoting, lying on paper, taking things out of context for potential gain,” Voll said, referring to not only Baker’s material but also additional materials distributed by some Kronenwetter Board of Trustee candidates. Voll is president of the Kronenwetter Board.

“I do hope voters take these actions into consideration when they are voting,” he said. “I have never created documentation as such ever in my 15 years of campaigning.”

Baker distributed a door hanger prominently using a quote from the county administrator that was part of a September 23, 2023 email. Some recipients told Wausau Pilot the quote appears to imply an endorsement from Leonhard, who is prohibited from endorsing candidates.

The door hanger touts Baker’s leadership on the board and uses the quote, “As a leader on the board, your words carry significant weight,” which is attributed to the county administrator. Voll said the words give an impression of an endorsement.

Leonhard said the quote was on an “unrelated matter… and lacks the context of the communication in which it was offered” and is not an endorsement of the incumbent. The county administrator told Wausau Pilot on Wednesday that he did not give Baker permission to use the quote on his campaign materials and was not contacted regarding its inclusion.

“Had I been contacted seeking permission for my statement’s inclusion in said materials, I would have shared the information regarding my ethical prohibition…and expressed concern that the statement could be viewed as an endorsement as it lacks the context of the communication in which it was offered,” he told Wausau Pilot & Review.

Baker denied he was implying any such endorsement in using the quote in his materials. But he did acknowledge the quote was unrelated to his campaign and was made six months ago.

“I did not request an endorsement, nor did Administrator Leonhard provide one,” Baker told this newspaper. “Administrator Leonhard is widely respected by members of the Marathon County Board…Thus, when I received an email from the Administrator that stated that I was a ‘leader on the board,’ I was both pleased and honored.”

Baker said he saw nothing wrong in the use of the quotation.

“I strongly disagree with your assertion that my campaign literature is misleading,” Baker said when asked to comment on the quote in light of Leonhard’s response. He added: “As you can easily see, I certainly did not use any term such as ‘endorsed by’ or ‘endorsed’ that would imply the statement was an endorsement.”

Baker also said the context “around the quoted statement is not required in order to convey the meaning of the opinion expressed in the quote,” a view challenged by Leonhard as well as Voll.

The spring election is on Tuesday, April 2.