GOP cries foul: Clerk's office to extend hours after Kerry visit (Madison, WI)

GOP cries foul: Clerk's office to extend hours after Kerry visit 11:10 pm 10/26/04 Patricia Simms Wisconsin State Journal

Madison election officials have decided to keep the clerk's office open late Thursday night after a Downtown rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.

State Republicans are calling the extra 3 hours a blatant political campaign contribution.

"I'm sure they have reasons that will sound well and good," state GOP communications director Chris Lato said Tuesday. "But when you look at it, the act is accommodating presumable John Kerry voters who will be attending a large John Kerry rally a couple of blocks away.

"(It) is tantamount to a contribution to a political campaign only they are using taxpayer money to do it."

"For years, we have been encouraging municipal clerks to try and accommodate voters by opening up on Saturday and staying late on other days," Kennedy said. "What we are seeing is the clerks recognizing this is good government service for the voters."

Deputy City Clerk Sharon Christensen said she, City Clerk Ray Fisher and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz - who publicly supports Kerry - made the decision to keep the office in Room 103 of the City-County Building open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

"With the rally," Christensen said, "it was anticipated there may be people coming up to vote absentee. Instead of turning away people at 4:30 p.m., when we normally close, we decided to have office hours until 8 p.m."

Christensen said the clerk's office will also be open Friday until 5 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lato said the city is spending taxpayer money to accommodate the Democrats. "I think it's pretty clearly a form of contribution to the John Kerry campaign. They are . . . incurring goodness knows how much in additional costs solely to accommodate attendees at a John Kerry political rally. Any taxpayer ought to be outraged."

But Kerry spokesman George Twigg said the Republicans' complaint is ridiculous. "The doors are open to one and all," Twigg said. "If the Republicans want to send some supporters down to early vote, I'm sure they would be allowed to."

Sorry, I had to go to work tonight but I did get up there to protest the Democrats. It was funny actually. I was by the side of the area marked off for the rally and the secret service said you can't be here. I said isn't that the fence that marks off where their area ends. He said you can't be here so I said I will ask the police because I think I have a right to be here. The police said no you can't be here. I said well where are protesters suppose to be, can you show me? They pointed way in the other direction of the area and told me I had to go over there so I said OK and they kind of prodded me in that direction so I walked into the crowd and made my way through the outer edge of the crowd with my protest sign held up for most of the length of the area. Some people said you can't be in here with that sign and I said I can the police directed me to go this way. Lots of people reacted to my sign. My sign said "Kerry is just a Demon in Disguise. Hell is his Abode." It had red flames on the bottom of it and going up the sides. It was great and God protected me from the mob. We also had other signs. One sign had a red heart with a black line going through it and said ONLY Heartless, Mind Numb, Democratic Zombies would kill their own Offspring. You have Chosen Death." The other one said one said "The Government is not your Mama. Grow Up Baby!"

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